Notify customers before doing something.
Welcome MarketingProfs readers! When you’re done reading this post, check out some other great posts or consider subscribing to Service Untitled for free.
Communicating with customers consistently is essential to great customer service. Customers like to be kept in the loop and doing so is important to keeping them happy. With that in mind, companies should make a genuie effort to notify customers before doing something to their account or to anything that affects them.
Contact them through different mediums. Most companies have announcements sections of their web sites, but the unfortunate truth is, a majority of customers don’t keep up with these sections. Try to contact customers via email, by posting an announcement on their control panel, by text messaging them, etc. The key is to be creative and to understand how customers prefer to be contacted.
Be clear and honest with timelines. If something is going to take two hours, say so. Don’t say it will take an hour and a half – be on the safe side. Tell customers how likely something is to be delayed, how routine the change is, etc. Being honest with customers will save you problems and upset customers in the long run.
Communicate what is being done and why. If you tell a customer that their account is being upgraded to a new software version, that doesn’t mean much to them. Explain exactly what is being done and why it is going to help the customer. If you say that the software upgrade will make their service more reliable or easier to use, the customer will be much receptive.
Be prepared to answer questions. Communication almost always results in questions. Being clear and concise is extremely important, but you should always be prepared for customers to ask questions. Questions are fine. Answer them honestly, quickly, and with a smile. Doing so will help ease the customer’s mind and assure them that you have the situation under control.