If You Think Customer Service is This, You’re Going to Fail
If the successful parts of your startup were thought of as pillars, along with sales and marketing, customer service is another important part that can make or break your startup. One of the main things business owners get wrong is the true nature of what makes up a great customer service department.
What customer service is Not
First of all, when you’re putting together your customer service department, think of experiences you’ve had dealing with various customer service departments. Think about companies that left you feeling good about doing business with them, and companies you swore you’d never give another dime to. If you structure your customer service to put out fires and cap customer complaints as their main function, you’re missing out big time on creating ambassadors for your brand.
Use customer service to Promote Your Brand
Take a page from the startup clothing company Bonobos. They rewrote the book on customer service. Their reps are called Ninjas, and they are known for stellar customer service. This in turn creates trust with customers and people are comfortable referring others to the clothing store. Turning first time customers into long term patrons of the brand. Also, when human error kicks in, and in the most perfectly designed system it will, there is more latitude to recover from mistakes, because of the trust that any event will be corrected and made right for the customer.
Training is Key
Take the time to set up a training course for your customer service representatives. It needs to be far more intensive than, “Okay, have Sammy show you the ropes.” You need to set clear guidelines for how you expect customers to be treated once they enter the customer service area. This includes training about the products, when to escalate to a supervisor, and goal setting. Goals can include how fast calls and emails are answered and positive feedback goals.
Create a System to Review Your customer service
After the training, you need a way to measure the metrics of your customer service. This is best accomplished through peer review. Set up a system to review interactions with customers via a chat system or email. One method used by Bonobos to keep their Ninjas sharp involves using the email correspondence between Ninjas and customers in a meeting once a month. They go the responses and everyone comments on what could be done to improve the next interaction. They report 90% of their emails get an “awesome” rating.
Watch for Burn Out and Keep Reps Fresh
Regular meetings, peer review, and goal setting are all important, but they won’t protect even the most dedicated rep from burn out. Have internal contests with rewards for your team. If you collect feedback from customers (and you should) reward employees that are giving your customers an awesome experience. When a team member has gone above and beyond to please a customer, shout it loudly. This creates a culture of high standards for customer service.
The common goal for your customer service team should be creating a positive outcome with every interaction, this in turn creates loyal customers that help organically grow your brand. Ramp up your customer service and reap the rewards of giving your customers the high touch treatment.
