KPI Connect Ltd.

New customer service trends emerge all the time because everyone is looking to improve their company’s customer service. Your customers are the lifeblood of your company, so adopting new customer service techniques and mediums can vastly benefit your company. However, just because they are trending does not mean that all of these techniques are effective. Here is a look at both good and bad customer service trends.

Good Customer Service Trends

Text Messages: Studies and surveys show that most customers prefer a text response. They are great for communicating with customers quickly, with little to no hold time. The only real caveat is that your responses have to be precise and accurate. Your customer service agents will need to be highly trained, in order to think and solve problems quickly.

Rapid Response Times: Customers are getting used to customer service response that is nearly instantaneous, and they come to expect it out of every company. So, no matter which medium you use for customer service responses, the faster your response times are, the happier customers will be.

Social Media Outreach: More and more customers are reaching out to companies through social media. It is usually one of the fastest ways to get in contact with a company, and people are taking advantage of it. You are missing out if you are not responding to customer service inquiries on your social media, because companies that are responding publicly are getting a lot of customer satisfaction because of it.

Follow Ups: Customers do not like to think that you solved their problem and then forgot about them. So, a follow-up contact to check in and make sure they are not still encountering a problem can go a long way towards increasing a customer’s satisfaction level. Follow-ups can be done in the form of phone calls, emails, texts, etc., so they are pretty easy to implement.

Scheduling Apps: In this fast-paced world, customers do not want to wait on hold to schedule an appointment. It is far simpler for customers to schedule the appointments themselves. You can implement this system in a couple of different ways: you could add a section on your website for DIY scheduling, or you could use an app like Schedulista.

FAQ Videos: Customers tend to like to solve their problems themselves before breaking down and calling customer service. So, having a large list of FAQs is a great way for customers to troubleshoot. However, they like “how to” videos even more. Short videos that explain how to use features or fix common problems give your customer step-by-step instructions, along with visuals. It is easy to upload such videos to YouTube.

Bad Customer Service Trends

Negative Online Contacts: Just because celebrities get into arguments with their followers online does not mean that your business can afford to. Anyone who represents your company should maintain a positive online presence. Treating a customer badly in such a public way can have a drastically negative effect on your company.

Using Only Facebook: People are turning away from Facebook as more types of social media sites and apps are emerging. So, if your only social media presence is on Facebook, you are missing out on a large customer base.

Exclusively Telephone Customer Service Support: Customers are evolving to use new technologies, and we now have other ways that they can contact us. Text, chat, and email customer service make up a lot of customer service contact volume today. If you are only using telephone customer service support, you are really missing out.

This is the age of the informed consumer. They can see a good business when they see that others like it too. So, when you treat them well, they are really good at writing rave reviews online. So, if you provide good, fast customer service, not only will your customers be happy, they will sing your praises to others. Since the majority of people now rely on the reviews of a business to make decisions on which company they will choose, a great review will hopefully result in even more customers.

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There are a lot of customer service email scripts and templates out there. They are pretty easy to find, and all you have to do is copy and paste to use them. However, while they may be a quick way to communicate with your customers, scripted email responses may not be the most effective way to communicate with your customers regarding their inquiries. If a customer receives a scripted response, they are likely going to call customer service later, and be unhappy. As anyone who has worked in customer service can tell you, if the customer is already upset before contact, it has a real potential not to be a good outcome. The information in this article will help you to avoid that whole fiasco and provide you with more satisfied customers, and an enjoyable customer service experience.

Problems with Scripts

Poorly scripted emails from customer service are common enough that you have probably received one yourself at one time or another. Here is an example of a typical scripted customer service email:

“Hi, <>, Thanks for contacting the XXXX”. Then, it usually goes on to give the customer service team’s hours and days of operation.

There are a few problems with this type of email, and you can sense them as you are reading it. Someone did not use your name, and the whole thing just feels robotic and computerized. Worse still, the email points out that nothing can be done to fix the customer’s problem because it is after business hours. It is one thing to tell a customer that you can’t fix their problems after you have tried, or at least heard what they had to say, but to tell them right away with the first response that you can’t fix their problems, without even talking to them, can be a put off.

How to Send Better Emails and Make Better Scripts

If you do not have a 24-hour customer service response team, and someone sends you an email after business hours, it is okay to use an automated, scripted response. However, the script needs to be written the right way. Rather than stating that you are unable to fix the customer’s problem because it is after business hours, add “This is an automatically generated email” at the end of your automated email. Why does this work? Generally, people who see that the reply they got back was automatically generated, they know that their message was received and once your business is open, they will get a real response. People sometimes will feel anxious if they receive no response back at all and will begin to wonder if their message was received in the first place. So, an automated response helps reassure them that their message was received. When you add that the business is closed at this time, but that their email will be replied to as soon as possible, or answered in order, they at least know they are in line to have a response.

You could consider sending out personalized emails yourself. No matter how big your company is, it should still be rooted in making the customers happy. However, it takes a lot of time and commitment that many business owners do not have. If you are wanting your business to have expanded hours for customer response, it is a great idea to hire a contact center like KPI Connect that is able to provide customer service email response outside of your normal business hours. This way your customers are able to be replied to by a real person vs an automated response. Whether you’re sending personal emails or automated scripted emails, it’s important that your customers feel like they have been heard.

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With the ubiquitous nature of smartphones and social media, both potential and existing customers have more opportunities to connect with businesses and brands – and vice versa – than ever before. No longer can a business thrive solely on the basis of high-quality products and services; in this age of constant connectivity, high-quality multi-platform customer service is the ultimate key to sustained success. While this is true in any field, it is especially relevant if you own and operate an automobile dealership.

You are not just selling cars, you are presenting a lifestyle choice, and a major component of that process is the ability to provide convenient and satisfying customer service that results in repeat business and positive word-of-mouth. Rather than handling these duties in-house, outsourcing your car dealership’s customer service to a reputable multi-channel contact center can make a real difference to your bottom line in many ways.

Reduce Operating Costs

Since most call centers serve multiple clients in a range of industries, the operating costs of the facility, equipment, maintenance, and training are spread out instead of footing the bill all by yourself. By the same token, these agents are experienced, knowledgeable, adept at dealing with customers in a courteous manner, and versatile enough to handle any situation that may arise. With everything already in place, you only pay for services as needed. Whether it’s on a regular basis, during peak periods or holidays, or if you find yourself shorthanded for any reason, the parameters depend entirely upon the unique needs of your dealership.

Increase Customer Satisfaction

Because strict quality control is the name of the game, you can rest assured that the agents representing your dealership will uphold the same high standards of professionalism and dedication to customer satisfaction exhibited by your in-house team. Entrusting your inbound and outbound customer service needs to a first-class call center means reduced hold times when customers try to contact you, and the extended hours offered by firms such as KPI Connect allow customers the convenience to connect with your dealership outside of traditional business hours.

Free Up Staff

Instead of tasking your skilled in-house team with answering common questions via phone, email, web chat, or social media, outsourcing these duties to experienced customer service specialists will free up your staff to do what they do best and focus their valuable time and effort on core business activities. Not only will outsourcing allow your staff to be more productive, but potential walk-in customers will appreciate receiving prompt attention rather than waiting for someone to finish up a phone call or email.

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Pharmacies handle a great deal of sensitive personal information. Not only do they fill people’s medication that they are in need of, they are also privy to knowledge of people’s ailments, all of their medical, insurance, personal information, and more. Most people see pharmacies as one of the most trusted community businesses because pharmacists help people when they are in need of medications that range from minor to life saving. They know that they are able to trust their pharmacists.

So, when it comes to customer service calls, outsourcing may be a scary idea for many pharmacy owners. However, it can actually benefit the business in many ways, and be done in a secure and confidential manner.

As a customer, it can be very frustrating to call your pharmacy, especially if they are known to have long hold times or that your call will be unanswered. This causes a negative customer service experience for customers, especially given that pharmacy calls can be vitally important to their health. Your business likely misses calls every day due to high call volumes and after-hours calls. In other businesses, missed calls are missed business opportunities, which is true of pharmacies, as well. One of the most beneficial aspects of outsourcing customer service calls is that they can help with answering calls during high call volume times, and they can answer calls after hours, creating less work for pharmacy employees and leaving your customers happy knowing that they are able to fill their prescriptions in a timely manner.

For the most part, pharmacists do not end up answering the phones and have assistants or clerks to do so. Today, customers often do not even interact with the pharmacist, coming in contact with assistants or clerks instead unless it is necessary that the pharmacist speak directly to the customer about their medications. Call center agents are trained to handle customer service calls and handle them efficiently. This means that they’re able to solve customers’ problems and answer their questions accurately as they are highly trained. Not only that, they excel at providing customer satisfaction, ensuring that customers come away from the calls feeling positive about them and are far less likely to provide businesses with negative customer service feedback.

Lots of pharmacies have only a handful of employees to answer calls, most of which perform other job duties, as well. This takes them away from their other work and burdens them with a heavy workload. Stressed out employees are not as capable to provide the same level of service to each customer if they have multiple things that they need to do at once. They become distracted, make mistakes, which one doesn’t want in a pharmacy. You’re likely to start seeing a higher employee turnover rate, as well. In this scenario, everyone loses. Outsourcing your customer service calls to a call center can ease their workload and provide your employees with a better working environment with less stress.

If your pharmacy has experienced lots of high call volume, you’ve likely started thinking about hiring more employees to answer the calls. But, when exploring this idea, it doesn’t take long to learn that there are tons of extra costs and equipment needed. Many pharmacies don’t have room to expand to include a call-center or office in which several people can answer calls. But, outsourcing the calls to an already established call center can offset these costs. You won’t be paying to install extra equipment, phones, furnishings or office supplies. Instead, the call center already has them and you’re paying for their associates’ work and training, rather than the equipment they use.

There is a stigma that surrounds outsourcing. Many people believe that it takes jobs from other employees. The reality instead is that outsourcing creates jobs and will improve both employee and customer satisfaction. So, if you’ve ever considered outsourcing your pharmacy’s customer service calls, contact KPI Connect to see how they can help your pharmacy run more smoothly and help more people with their needs.

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Lengthy hold times are a cardinal sin for any business. Once a customer has been banished to the dark void of the hold queue, there is a one-in-three chance that they give up after waiting less than two minutes and never try calling back again. Rather than losing both existing and potential customers, it is imperative to cut back the amount of time a caller has to wait and allow the calls to flow more efficiently. If our first list of ways to reduce hold times was not enough, here are:

Six Ways to Increase Call Efficiency

Hold times can be a call center’s worst enemy.

When a customer contacts a business, the last thing they want is to be put on hold. Making them wait even longer than expected can sometimes be unforgivable. The average caller generally hangs up after less than two minutes on hold, and more than one-third of them never call back. That is a sizable loss of business and a brief window of opportunity, so reducing hold times is an essential part of keeping customers satisfied.

Six Ways to Help Hold Times be Reduced

Long gone are the days of old and outdated call centers, where customer service came last and calls per hour was the most important performance metric. We are now in the era of the modern contact center, where customer service is the number one priority. Modern contact centers have emerged as the new way to approach customer service and offer large and small businesses a number of benefits. We have come up with a list of 6 reasons why you should outsource your customer service to an experienced contact center.

Tools

Modern contact centers use several formats to reach your customers. Experienced centers leverage social media, email, live chats and mail in addition to traditional phone calls. Having the ability to communicate with your customers in the method they prefer will improve their experience as a whole.

Cost Savings

Perhaps the biggest benefit of using a contact center to manage your customer service, is the cost savings. Contact centers spread the equipment, facility, training, and other costs among their clients, which can save large and small business in overhead costs. In addition, contact centers are adept at planning for the peaks and valleys of customer inquiries and can schedule staff accordingly – another cost-savings. In addition, clients also have the ability to pool their resources with other clients and effectively share agents, therefore reducing costs as well. High-quality contact centers have the skills, equipment, and staff needed to deliver top-notch customer service at a price you can afford.

Quality Control

Contact centers thrive when their clients and customers are happy. All excellent contact centers have rigorous quality control processes in place to make sure you and your customers receive top-notch service.

Latest Technology and Systems

Reputable contact centers ensure that their employees, and in return their clients, have access to the latest technology and systems used to reach customers. It is in your contact center’s best interest to keep up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies to ensure they remain competitive.

Availability

When you outsource your customer service to a contact center, you can choose your availability based on your customer’s needs. Whether you need to handle customer questions 24/7 or for a few hours each day, a dedicated contact center can help you meet these needs.

Language Skills

Many experienced contact centers employ associates that speak more than one language, like English and French. By outsourcing your customer service to a bilingual contact center, you can ensure that you meet even more of your customers’ needs.

No matter if you are a Fortune 500 company or a small business, hiring an experienced contact center to manage your customer service is great for business. Whether you are interested in saving money, need to provide customer service 24/7, need bilingual staff, or are looking for new and creative ways to communicate with your customers, look into utilizing a modern contact center for all your customer service needs.

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In the competitive modern marketplace, staying connected with clients and customers is more vital than ever before to the growth of a business. With the rise of the internet and the online world, consumers now have more choices available to them than at any previous point in history – literally at their fingertips. As with any relationship, steadfast communication is the key to fostering a positive and long-lasting bond with customers and clients. One method of keeping in touch with clientele is through Appointment Setting Services such as those offered by KPI Connect.

What Are Appointment Setting Services?

For businesses everywhere, scheduling, confirming, and rescheduling appointments are essential daily tasks that can eat up a significant chunk of time. From multinational corporations to local start-ups, sales offices, and medical clinics, countless hours of productivity are lost each week due to this monotonous process. Traditionally, these duties have been handled in-house by existing staff members whose time could be better spent elsewhere or by the hiring and training of additional staff. Rather than dealing with the hassle themselves, many companies have chosen to outsource this basic business need to a reputable contact center experienced in providing a range of appointment setting services.

A Friendly Voice

When you use professional appointment setting services, you can rest assured that customers and potential customers alike will be pleasantly greeted by a friendly and helpful voice who will be able to fulfill whatever needs and also answer any questions they may have. As an extension of your office, appointment setting specialists undergo extensive training in order to accurately represent your business using customized scripts and services tailored to suit your requirements. In addition to setting up, confirming, and rescheduling appointments with existing clients, specialists can help to generate sales leads through cold calling, resolve customer service problems, issue automated reminders, and provide information about the products and services your company offers.

Experience the Freedom

By outsourcing your appointment setting services, your talented in-house staff can focus their efforts on more crucial aspects of the daily operation of your business. Without the added responsibilities of scheduling appointments, your office can run more efficiently on a day-to-day basis. Thanks to the extended hours offered by KPI Connect, customers can enjoy the freedom of communicating with a representative of your company outside of traditional office hours when it is most convenient for them.

Who Uses Appointment Setting Services?

While the short answer is that virtually any business could stand to benefit from appointment setting services, they are particularly valuable to smaller companies and independent start-ups that have neither the budget nor the physical space to devote to an in-house department. Because the services offered are so versatile and adaptable, almost any industry can make use of them, including financial firms, health care clinics, real estate agents, and any others who rely on appointment setting as a core element of their business model. Regardless of industry, clients appreciate the ease and convenience afforded by these services, ensuring complete satisfaction and long-term customer retention.

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If you do not have bilingual customer service agents working in your customer service department, your customers are definitely missing out. By having agents who can speak two languages, they can speak to a larger number of customers, which could mean improved sales and profit for your company. Without them, any customer that calls in and does not speak English is going to be frustrated by the language barrier. Here are some things you need to know about having a bilingual customer service department in Canada:

Why French?

According to the 2016 census, 7.2 million people speak French in Canada. Most of these French-speaking citizens live in Quebec, where 95% of people are francophone. Because of this, the federal government passed the Official Languages Act in 1969. This means that both French and English are the official languages of Canada, and they’re both in equal standing with each other. So, if your calls come from Canada, it is very likely that you may get a customer is going to speak only French.

The immersion of the French language in culture is not unique to Canada, either. French is one of the most widely used languages in the world, with 225 million francophones worldwide. It is becoming more and more popular, and that number is expected to jump to 700 million worldwide by 2050. It is the official language of 29 countries. In Europe, where the majority of francophone population live, the only language that currently surpasses French is German. However, more and more people are speaking French, and French is expected to be spoken by more people than German by the year 2025. The language is spoken on every continent, and it is somewhere between the 6^th and the 8^th most used language on the internet. So, bilingual customer service agents who can speak French are a great idea to increase the ability of your business to handle people of this tongue.

Bilingual Customer Service Agents

With industry and technology advancing so rapidly, it is becoming more important to utilize bilingual customer service agents in your customer service department. As your company’s client base grows, so will the variety in your customers. With bilingual customer service agents, your company will not only be better able to service your Canadian customer base, you will have access to an international market.

Language barriers between your customer service agents and your customers can be incredibly frustrating for everyone involved. Your CSAs will not be able to understand your customers, and your customers will likely become frustrated when their questions and concerns can’t be attended to because of the barrier. It is easy to see how this can make your customer satisfaction rating go down.

Outsourcing Customer Service

In order to hire bilingual customer service agents, you would likely have to pay them more per hour than standard agents. You would also have to verify their fluency in the language to make sure they can actually speak French well enough to assist your customers. However, if you outsource your customer service calls, you will have access to bilingual customer service agents that the call center has already hired. This is less expensive to your company, it saves you time, and your customer service department will be better equipped to handle your customers’ questions.

All these reasons, and many more, are why you should have a bilingual customer service department or outsource your calls to a customer service call center that features bilingual services. The repeat business from happy non-English-speaking customers will most likely offer big returns, making it worth the effort.

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It does not really matter how great your product or service is, customers tend to remember their interaction with your company more. It is for this reason that a good customer service team and fast responses can improve the overall image of your company.

If your customers are experiencing long hold times, they will hang up, and every lost call is a potential customer lost. However, there are ways to improve the efficiency of your customer service department and ensure that your customers have a good experience with your company with every contact.

Service Level and Occupancy Rate

There are two important measurements used in call centers to determine their efficiency: Service Level and Occupancy Rate.

There are two different parameters of measurement to determine what the “Service Level” is: