Setting your team’s customer service values can help create a workplace mindset that draws everyone together with a common purpose.
Everyone stresses the value of a customer service culture. Additionally, leaders spend a lot of time planning out their goals. Similarly, values communicate a culture’s goals. How do you set your organization apart?
Gain the Power Found in Defining Your Culture
Whether you develop it or not, your business culture will always exist. In other words, your culture will be based on unspoken ideals and values.
Intentionally setting your team’s customer service values helps create a workplace mindset that draws everyone together with a common purpose. In addition, it attracts staff and customers.
Remember that customer service fundamental principles must be shared by the entire organization. The best method to promote a value is to lead by example.
Furthermore, correct those who violate your values, whether they are managers, coworkers, or even customers. The consumer is always right, but that doesn’t excuse rudeness. Setting clear limits demonstrates your principles. Inspire a culture that aligns with your values.
As a leader, you must express your values through actions, public remarks, and inter-office communication. If you want your values to matter to your firm, you must be consistent. With a strong corporate culture, you’ll attract people who share your beliefs. Opponents tend to keep their distance.
This list of customer service values can help you advise and support your frontline employees.
1. The Value of Accountability
Your customers expect you to keep your promises, and your customer service team is your company’s “face.” They help customers with issues. Accountability means your agent owns the problem and works to resolve it.
To achieve this value, you must empower your agents to make quick judgments. For example, “I’m very sorry that happened. Let me address that issue for you,” is an apology. However, when confronted with “I’ll have to ask my manager,” the customer can become frustrated.
2. The Value of Optimism
Wouldn’t you rather be around someone who is upbeat? Negativity affects not only employees but also customers. In addition, it’s not only annoying, but it reflects poorly on your brand.
Problems should be met with a positive attitude. Positive remarks make even difficult problems seem manageable. Never say that nothing can be done about a problem. Open your thoughts to a positive outlook that seeks solutions rather than problems.
3. The Value of Sincerity
Good customer service is genuine. Customers don’t want to deal with robots reading scripts. They’ve probably already spoken to your chatbot. They want actual people who respond to them personally.
Encourage authenticity by soliciting staff input. Encourage expression and interest in who they are as a person. This will be reflected when the customer calls.
The first basic rule of good customer service is to respect your own employees. When respect pervades your company, you attract respect. There must be respect for self and job. In return, employees respect the customer.
Respect for the customer service department is essential. Try not to see it as merely a cost center. Additionally, it’s important to see it as a center for solutions. Likewise, it’s also a center for answers and opportunities. When clients call, they should immediately feel the difference in enthusiasm and attitude.
A company that encompasses this value of sincerity is the care package company, Spoonful of Comfort. Instead of focusing on their product itself, soup care packages, the company is rather focused on taking a genuine approach to all interactions with both customers and clients.
Rather than business-minded marketing posts, their blog is filled with posts about how to support and care for your friends and family. Like this article about supporting a friend through a difficult time. Learn to value sincerity in your business.
5. The Value of Trust
Communication is built on trust. It implies being honest, even if you’ve erred.
Everyone is human. Errors will happen. The trick is to admit it and try to correct it. Making honest blunders and working to repair them builds consumer loyalty.
Trust your agents and let them solve problems on their own. If they have to ask permission for everything, it implies you don’t trust them to accomplish it on their own. You hired them for their talent and ability. Therefore, train them and then let them go.
6. The Value of Communication
To paraphrase a famous writer: The single biggest obstacle in communication is the illusion of communication.
It’s easy to assume you comprehend what someone else says. So it is with customers and friends. If you’re unsure, don’t be afraid to ask and make certain. In addition, wait for your turn to speak, and while your wait, really listen.
7. The Value of Loyalty
To earn employee and consumer loyalty, you must be loyal. You’ll get the most from your team when they know you regard them as people. No one wants to be seen not merely task-performers or automatons.
Lead by Example and See Better Results
All the above values can help earn clients’ loyalty. People pick brands that represent their values. Strong values are good for business and generate good buzz.
In conclusion of this section, it is the leader’s job to be a good example of the values upheld by the company. Intentionally doing so will benefit your team’s performance.
Image Source: FreeImages
In today’s competitive business landscape, customer service has become a key differentiator for companies seeking to stand out in the market. Successful businesses like Amazon have shown that prioritizing customer service values can have a wide-reaching impact on the growth and success of a company. By building a customer-centric culture and fostering excellent core values for customer service, businesses can excel in providing exceptional experiences to their customers.
A. The Importance of Support Knowledge and Empowerment
One of the foundational aspects of excellent customer service is the knowledge and expertise of support agents. Employee empowerment plays a crucial role in ensuring that support agents can demonstrate service knowledge without passing the buck. To create a culture of autonomy, companies should motivate employees to understand customer intent through market research and awareness of industry trends.
Staying informed is key to fostering support knowledge. Apart from online courses, employees should have access to resources such as newsletters and webinars that provide insights into customer service values and industry best practices. Subscribing to thought leaders’ newsletters, like customer service and CX guru Shep Hyken’s, can help employees contextualize customer service values with different topics. Additionally, companies can provide resources like academies, ebooks, and case studies to enhance employees’ understanding of customer expectations and behavior.
Pro tip: Encourage employees to expand their horizons and gain new perspectives by subscribing to relevant newsletters and joining collaborative communities that share valuable insights.
B. The Power of Empathy in Customer Service
Empathy is a fundamental customer service value that can create a strong bond between customers and brands. By putting themselves in the customers’ shoes and understanding their perspectives, support agents can build trust and comfort with customers. Simple acts of empathy, like actively listening to customers and acknowledging their frustrations, can go a long way in creating a positive customer service experience.
Zappos, a leading retail company, is known for encouraging its support agents to go off-script and embrace customers’ narratives. This approach allows support agents to connect with customers on a deeper level and provide personalized experiences. For instance, a Zappos support rep once engaged in a 10+ hour call with a customer, demonstrating the power of empathy in building strong customer relationships.
Examples of empathy statements that reflect company values towards customer service:
- “Your frustration is truly understandable.”
- “I’m going to try my best to make you forget this poor experience.”
- “I would have the same concerns if I were in your position.”
C. The Role of Transparency in Customer Service
Transparency is a crucial customer service value that builds trust and effective communication with customers. It involves being candid about mistakes, owning up to them, and proactively addressing them before they escalate. By communicating openly and honestly with customers, businesses can ensure that their customers are well-informed and understand any issues that may arise.
Transparency with customers includes proactively announcing bug fixes, product downtimes, or any other potential disruptions. Companies should find creative ways to communicate with customers during service interruptions, such as using social media platforms to provide updates and reassurances. Adobe, for example, used a tweet with a playful image to inform customers about an AWS outage and express gratitude for their patience.
Transparency in the workplace is also essential. By fostering transparency within the company, support reps can share first-hand knowledge about customer issues, which can provide valuable insights for product improvements and business strategies. Platforms like Workplace by Facebook can facilitate cross-functional communication, enabling teams to share learnings and feedback.
D. The Customer-First Approach
A customer-first approach is a core customer service value that prioritizes the concerns and needs of customers over company interests. Every support decision should be guided by the goal of providing exceptional customer experiences that align with both business objectives and customer expectations. By adopting a customer-centric mindset, companies can create loyal patrons and differentiate themselves from the competition.
Jeff Bezos, the CEO and founder of Amazon, is known for prioritizing customers by encouraging an “empty chair” in meetings, symbolizing the presence of the customer in decision-making processes. This customer-first approach ensures that crucial business or product-related decisions are made with the customers’ best interests in mind.
To truly embody customer service values, employees should be encouraged to go beyond their defined roles and think creatively to ensure customer satisfaction. By empowering employees to take ownership and find innovative solutions, companies can demonstrate their commitment to providing exceptional customer service.
Example: Jonathan Samuel, a Senior Product Consultant at Freshworks, went above and beyond his role to help a customer find a unique feature/solution, showcasing the company’s commitment to being a true customer champion.
E. Establishing Cross-Collaboration for Seamless Customer Service
Effective customer service requires collaboration among all customer-facing functions within a company. By working together and aligning with major decisions, teams can ensure that customers receive consistent and outstanding service. However, inefficient communication and lack of collaboration can lead to customer frustration and dissatisfaction.
To foster cross-collaboration, companies should invest in technology that enables seamless communication and collaboration among different teams. Helpdesk solutions with built-in team collaboration features, like Freshdesk, allow multiple functions to work on the same ticket without losing important customer context. This streamlines processes and prevents customers from being passed between departments, ensuring a smoother customer service experience.
F. Empowering Employees to Evolve
Personal development and growth opportunities are crucial to keeping customer service employees motivated and engaged. Employees should see value in the company and recognize the possibilities available to them. By providing training and access to relevant information, companies can empower support agents to take on more responsibilities and become experts in their field.
Building a culture that incentivizes employee initiatives and rewards their efforts in taking on greater responsibilities is essential. Employees should be encouraged to contribute their insights and takeaways from customer interactions to help shape product-market fit, feature rollouts, and new solutions. This horizontal process involvement allows support agents to play a larger role in the company’s success.
G. Setting up a Customer Service SOP
A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is an essential tool for ensuring consistency and excellence in customer service. It serves as a playbook that outlines the specific customer service values and guidelines that employees should follow. SOPs provide a repeatable approach for identifying and resolving customer issues, ensuring that support agents are on the right track.
Mapping the customer journey is the first step in creating a customer service SOP. By identifying all the touchpoints where customers engage with the company, businesses can ensure a seamless and connected customer experience. SOPs also include aligning support benchmarks with service culture, analyzing customer needs using data, and efficiently managing escalations.
Pro tip: Make customer service values a part of your internal mission statement to empower employees to live by these values. Recognize and reward employees who embody these values, both formally and informally.
H. Continuous Improvement: The Key to Exceptional Customer Service
Continuous improvement is a vital customer service value that allows businesses to stay ahead of the competition. By consistently seeking feedback and analyzing customer experiences, companies can identify areas for improvement and enhance their customer service practices. Every interaction with a customer should be an opportunity to learn and grow.
Customer service metrics and analytics provide valuable insights into the performance of support teams. By collecting data and tracking key metrics, companies can identify trends, patterns, and areas that require attention. This data-driven approach helps foster a culture of continuous improvement and ensures that customer service remains a top priority.
Example: Dell, Inc. built a successful business by organizing itself around the idea of direct customer feedback. By listening to customers and continuously improving their products and services, Dell achieved remarkable growth and customer loyalty.
Customer service values are the foundation of exceptional customer experiences. By prioritizing support knowledge, empathy, transparency, and a customer-first approach, businesses can create a culture of excellence. Effective cross-collaboration, employee empowerment, and continuous improvement further enhance the delivery of outstanding customer service. By embracing these values and incorporating them into everyday practices, companies can build strong customer relationships, drive loyalty, and achieve long-term success in the market.
