SwiftCase

Five of the best ways to collect customer feedback

Exceptional customer service is more important than ever, now that
customers can switch to other providers in a matter of minutes. If
you’re not responding to complaints and enquiries, and promptly
troubleshooting the issues raised, then you could find yourself falling
behind the competition.

What are some of the most effective methods of
collecting customer feedback that give you clear information for
improving service?

Online Forms

Your company website may include an
email address, but web-forms let you tailor the precise kind of feedback
required. Make sure you include fields for all the criteria needed, and
the layout is clear and easy-to-follow. Decide which questions are
mandatory, and which may be relevant, but not essential.

If you provide a range of products, use dropdowns to narrow down the options for
customers. Include a general comments box along with your questions, in
case there is anything you haven’t covered. And always remember to
collect a name and email address to follow up any correspondence.

Live Chat

Live chat provides a messenger-like pop-up allowing you to
communicate with customers in real time. When a visitor is detected, a
customer service representative is assigned to ask if they have any
enquiries. This is a good way of giving very specific information before
a potential lead loses interest, although it does require employing or
re-designating trained staff to answer questions.

Small businesses that do not receive a large amount of web-traffic be able to handle the
occasional enquiry with existing staff, but as a business grows, this
might not be feasible. One solution is to utilise a dedicated chat-bot.
This is not ideal, as it can be obvious to visitors they’re not
communicating with a real person, and the range of information it can
give out is limited to what you’ve pre-programmed.

Customer Service Evaluation

After enquiries have been resolved, consider sending out an
email to follow up on how satisfied the customer is with the conclusion.
Include a rating system out of five, so you can track your progress over
time. If customers weren’t happy, give them the option of explaining
why, so you’re able to avoid making the same mistakes again.

Follow-up Calls

Calling customers has the advantages of direct communication,
giving you a good idea of their mood and tone. This method can be used
like follow-up email, after a query has been resolved, or even just to
check up on a long term client and see how they’re getting on. Often
you’ll find they’ll bring up a question or problem that would otherwise
go unmentioned in text-based communications.

It’s always good to keep in mind not to be too pushy. Nobody wants constant, unsolicited phone
calls.

Reach out on social media

Many brands now use social media to get
an idea of how the general public perceives their brand. Direct
messaging on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook allow for enquiries
or comments to be addressed privately, or publicly on a timeline.

Alerts can be set up to let you when somebody has mentioned your brand, and let
you follow up immediately with your official account. This is important
because younger customers in particular will often go straight to social
media with their concerns, rather than get directly in touch.

If you’re interested in a business process management platform that could dramatically improve your customer service performance, get in touch today.

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