What this post is about
- Develop an understanding of customer service
- Establish a vision
- Establish individual approaches
- Build a loyal customer base
- Represent values in a credible manner
The customer is king! The seemingly dusty adage has come back into play in a relevant way in times of digital offerings and comprehensive services. If you want to retain your customers as a provider, you have to focus on successful customer support and pursue a holistic strategy.
But what is meant by the so-called "customer service philosophy"? It defines the guidelines that a support team follows to achieve common customer service goals. Here we show you how to find the right values for you and your strategy.
1. Develop a vision
Everything starts with an idea. In addition to the overarching goal of creating lasting customer satisfaction, there are more questions to be answered for a fundamental philosophy. Topics that those responsible need to keep in mind could be:
- Do I only want to help with my customer support?
- Do I want to scale my sales?
- Do I use the additional channel proactively as an additional feedback channel?
Those who can define and formulate their vision will find a more targeted start for their customer philosophy. And please note: this does not have to be communicated externally and can therefore serve solely as an internal orientation.
2. Represent values
Dealing with goals and visions internally is one thing. It becomes much more complex when employees and colleagues have to put theory into practice.
Once the values have been defined, they must be convincingly represented to be credible and authentic.
Turn the defined values into questions that will showcase the philosophy in a simple way. Helpful are considerations such as:
- Do I want to just satisfy customers or make them 100% happy?
- Do I want to make the customer experience unique?
- How far do I want to engage with the concerns and needs of our customers?
- Do the company and the brand behind it want to stand out with honesty in its
communication?
This translates your vision into clear calls to action for all your service agents. Prepare these in bullet point form and make them easily and quickly accessible to all agents.
3. Expand the customer pool
If you act according to a common customer service philosophy, you will find a direct route to their loyal customer pool. Image cultivation and customer loyalty are the rewards that can lead to increased turnover when customers feel that they are particularly well looked after.
In addition to financial effects, another input can be expected from which all departments in the company benefit: open and honest feedback on their own products and services can be expected.
Control their communication by setting up standardized processes for queries, praise, and criticism, as well as eliminating disagreements within the team. Regardless of
responsible agents, make sure there is a consistent voice that customers learn to rely on (and no longer want to go elsewhere).
4. Find a middle ground
On the way to your customer service philosophy, don't forget that a successful strategy is ultimately about focusing on your own business goals.
Always focusing on customer needs can also lead to chaos. After all, just because a person wants a new function or an expansion to meet their individual needs, doesn't mean it has to fit into your organization‘s three, six, and twelve-month plans.
Here at Zammad, we pursue co-creation with our community in the same open-source way. However, for the continuity, quality assurance, and data protection of our smart helpdesk, we must provide the stability that all users want to rely on. At the same time, all new feature requests flow into our future expansion stages! This principle of being on an equal footing is an essential part of our customer service philosophy.
Do you want to dive even deeper into the support topic? Then be sure to read our article "Build the perfect support team - in just six steps!". You have already taken the first step by working out your vision for customer support.
Summary
A good feeling for your customers! Finding the right philosophy will not be an easy task at first. Defining goals and implementing them consistently requires perseverance and discipline on all channels, as well as from all departments and support agents. It pays off to set a clear, authentic line and to focus on sustainability, which makes the customer base and product grow.