Customer Service – What Are The Most Important Channels To Get In Touch With Your Clients?

Good customer service demands that a business contacts and connects with customers on the customers’ terms. Oftentimes, this means you will need to be available via various channels.  Depending upon your audience, you may need to connect with clients via new media, old media, or both.

When providing customer service there are several channels in which to connect with clients such as:  Phone, email, web self-service, live chat, traditional letter, text messaging, and social media. Understanding how each of these channels work, and whether they work with your particular audience is imperative to your business success.

Click here for full version of the Customer Service infographic from GetApp

Channel of communication your clients prefer

However there are some important things to remember, regardless of the channel of communication your clients prefer, such as:

Be prompt — No matter the issue or the channel used for communication, answer the client as quickly as possible. No one likes waiting around for answers. Even if you’re not sure what the answer is yet, respond honestly and then find the solution.

Under promise and over deliver — Don’t promise the moon and the stars and then deliver only sand. Build trust with your client by under promising and then over delivering. If you don’t build expectations over the top, you’ll have an easier time pleasing the customer.

Update websites — If you keep your websites and FAQ’s updated, you’ll probably find less need for direct contact with customers. Customers who are computer savvy will read the FAQ before contacting you. Make it a goal to keep the FAQ updated with each new issue.

Listen to your clients — Before offering solutions, listen fully to the problem. Often customers will tell you what solution they desire before you offer it. The solution might be easier than you imagined.

Educate your clients — There are many ways to educate your client from videos, to text in the form of blog posts, articles, eBooks and more. There are also some really fun ways to connect with clients and teach them such as using awesome and informative infographics like this one about customer service from GetApp.

Be polite — No matter what, all customer service reps need to be trained to be polite, understanding, and above all, never, ever rude!

Avoid transferring customers — How many times have you been transferred around when dealing with a business. Did you like it? Well, your customers won’t like it either. Try to never transfer customers to more than 2 people to avoid more problems.

Keep good records — Keep good records in a central database that all customer service reps and account managers can view and update with each communication. This will avoid misunderstandings, and will also increase customer satisfaction because the customer won’t have to repeat their entire problem each and every time they contact you.

Use technology well — People do like it when you use good technology to implement your CRM, but it should be in the background, and run seamlessly throughout your business and be as personalized as possible. There are so many different customer service applications that you shouldn’t have trouble finding one.

What are the most important channels to get in touch with your clients?

All of them!  Whatever channels your customers want to use are the ones that you need to use.

The best way to determine this is to read the available research, but to also directly ask your clients using all the channels you currently have available so that you can best serve them. Serving your clients their way, will make you stand out from the crowd so that you can provide the very best customer service that your business is capable of providing.

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