Customer service is a critical aspect of business success. It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is, if the customer doesn’t have a positive experience, they won’t come back.
There are many best ways to deliver excellent customer service, but the most important thing to remember is that every customer is different and you need to tailor your approach to match them.
Some customers are looking for convenience and will be happy with a phone call or email response. Others want more personal attention and will want an in-person meeting or video chat.
Let’s take a look at the best ways to deliver excellent customer service.
1. Listen to Your Customers.
The most important thing you can do to deliver excellent customer service is listen. The best way to do that is by paying close attention to what your customers say, how they say it and what they don’t say.
- Listen for the tone of their voice: Are they excited? Curious? Angry? Happy? If so, then you may need to adjust your approach accordingly.
- Listen for nonverbal cues: Does the person seem scared or nervous when they talk with you? Are there any facial expressions other than smiles or frowns that are present when someone speaks with you (for example, nodding heads)? These factors will help illustrate whether or not a particular interaction has been successful in terms of providing good customer service today!
2. Be Real With Customers.
One of the best ways to deliver excellent customer service is by being real with your customers. If you make a mistake, admit it and move on.
Don’t pretend that nothing happened or that there isn’t a problem when there is one; this will only create confusion in the mind of your client and lead them to question whether or not they can trust you.
It’s also important not to try to be something different than who you really are: if someone asks how long they should wait before calling back after an email fails, don’t say “just call me next week.”
Instead, show empathy for their situation (and maybe offer advice on how long waiting times really are) while also making sure that whatever information was sent out was accurate so as not to misinform anyone else trying similar problems down the line.
3. Be Proactive in Solving Problems.
You can’t always be there for your customers, but you should always be listening. Understanding what’s going on with them and their problems is key to solving them quickly. If a customer needs help with something, offer it—even if it’s not directly related to the problem they’re having.
You might also want to look into ways that you can improve your services or products by offering solutions instead of excuses: “I’m sorry I didn’t get back in touch sooner,” “We’ll send out new copies of your order ASAP,” etc., etc., etc…
This is important because it shows that you take responsibility for any problems and try hard not just apologize but explain how things will work better next time around so that everyone wins!
4. Be Honest About Mistakes.
Don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes.
As a business owner, it’s important to take responsibility for the mistakes you make and own up to them immediately. If you’re making an apology and then trying to downplay or excuse what happened, customers will see right through it—and they’ll likely lose trust in your company as well.
Instead of denying responsibility for something that went wrong (or even worse: blaming someone else), take ownership of the issue by apologizing sincerely and letting the customer know what steps are being taken so things don’t happen again in future situations.
5. Reward Loyal Customers.
If you want to build a strong and lasting customer base, reward your best customers with discounts, free products or services, or even a gift card. It’s one of the most effective ways to encourage repeat business and increase your profits!
A good reputation is one of the best things you can have as a business owner. It will help you attract customers, build trust and loyalty with them, and increase your sales over time.
6. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Body Language and Tone of Voice.
You’ve probably heard it before: body language is important in all interactions. And you know what? It’s true! Body language can make or break a conversation, and there are some things you should be aware of when it comes to the power of your tone of voice.
In fact, studies show that people pay much more attention to eye contact than they do to words spoken aloud. When we look at someone else (or ourselves), our brains automatically interpret this as being either “friendly” or “hostile.”
If you’re nodding along with me here and thinking “that sounds great!” then let’s go ahead and put those ideas into practice: What does eye contact do for us? It signals trustworthiness—and that means confidence!
7. Be Invested in Understanding Your Customers and Their Needs.
When you’re looking to deliver excellent customer service, it’s important to understand your customers’ needs. This can be done in a variety of ways:
- Identify the customer’s needs. When looking for ways to improve your company’s customer service, start by identifying what your customers want or need from you or from other companies in their industry. What are their budget constraints? Do they have any pain points with the product or service that you offer?
- Understand their history with your business and competitors. Once you’ve identified some likely areas for improvement within your existing processes, consider taking a look at other organizations who seem to be doing well in these same areas (and why). By understanding where these companies stand on certain topics—such as pricing strategy versus price point flexibility—you can use this information as inspiration when developing new programs and policies around delivering excellent customer service across all aspects and managing business effectively.
8. Express Empathy When You Make a Mistake.
When you make a mistake, show empathy to your customers. Allow time for responses without rushing them, and offer your help proactively to those who need it.
Ask open-ended questions to understand what others want from you—and provide that information in a concise manner (but don’t be afraid of being too brief).
Smile genuinely at everyone who appears before you, even if they don’t seem happy or grateful enough at first glance; this will go a long way toward building trust among the community. Improving customer satisfaction scores within your organization!
Ask yourself whether any part of the process could be improved next time around?
9. Call Customers by Name Whenever Possible.
Do your customers deserve to be treated like royalty? Of course they do! They’ve paid for a service, so it’s only fair that you speak to them with the respect and dignity they deserve.
But what else can you do? Well, there are plenty of ways in which you can use their name whenever possible—and here are some tips on how:
- Use the customer’s name when greeting them at the door or walking up to a counter
- Use their name in conversation (e.g., “Hi Bob!”)
- Use their name in emails sent out after an interaction between both parties has taken place
10. Keep Appropriate Eye Contact With the Customer.
If you’re looking for a way to build rapport with your customers and improve the overall experience, keep appropriate eye contact with them.
The importance of this should not be underestimated—it shows that you respect them, which makes the customer feel respected by you. It also helps you to understand what they are saying better, as well as how they feel about what is happening in their lives at that moment.
Keep in mind that eye contact is not just an occasional thing; it’s something that should be maintained throughout all interactions with your customers, whether face-to-face or over the phone or email (or whatever).
When someone has been told repeatedly “no,” they tend to have lower expectations than those who have not been told no so often before them; however, if someone knows they will get an answer from another person.
When asking questions or making complaints about their service experience then they may become more confident asking those questions without fear of retribution later down the track.”
11. Use Happy and Appreciative Words in Writing.
When you’re writing, use positive words. Negative words like “no,” “never,” and “I’m sorry” can be difficult to understand and don’t convey the message that you want your customer to hear.
Instead of using these negative phrases, try using more friendly terms such as “I’m sorry I missed your email” or even something as simple as “Thank you for your patience.” These kinds of messages will make it easier for the person reading them to understand what they mean without having to think too hard about it.
The tone used in letters is also important when trying to deliver excellent customer service: include an open-ended question at the end of most emails.
So that there are no awkward pauses before responding; this way you’ll avoid sounding like someone who doesn’t care about what’s been said (which isn’t true!). Use polite language throughout all correspondence; nobody wants their emails read by HR because they were rude!
12. Make a Personal Connection With Your Customers.
When you make a personal connection with your customers, they’ll feel like someone special. And when you have a good relationship with them, they’ll be far more likely to buy from you time and time again.
Here are some ways to do just that:
- Include a personal note in your packages.
- Send thank you cards.
- Send birthday cards.
13. Use a CRM
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a great tool for customer service. It’s a way to organize your customers and their data, which can be used to make it easier for you to see what you’ve done for them in the past and keep track of their satisfaction levels.
You’ll also be able to track their purchases so that your company can ensure that it’s getting paid properly on its bills from each customer account.
The best part about using CRM software is that it allows managers or employees at all levels of an organization—from executives down through lower-level workers—to stay informed about what’s happening with each person’s interactions with the company.
This helps them improve how well they serve customers by being able to see where problems occur before they escalate into bigger issues down the road, which could cost more money than simply fixing things right away would have cost if left ignored!
14. Show Empathy to Your Customers When They Are Upset.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It’s not just a nice thing to do, it’s essential for building trust with customers, relationships with employees and delivering excellent customer service.
When you have empathy for your customers’ needs, they will feel that you understand their situation better than anyone else could.
They’ll also be more likely to tell others about how great your company is because they know that you care about what happens in their lives—and that means more sales!
15. Allow Time for Responses Without Rushing.
It’s human nature to respond quickly when we need something, but that can be a problem. If you’re too quick with your responses, people may feel like they aren’t being listened to or taken seriously—and that’s not what good customer service is about!
Instead of rushing customers through their questions and requests, give them the time they need to ask them.
This will help them feel like they’re getting valued by your company and also prevent any potential problems with misunderstanding.
16. Offer Your Help Proactively to Those Who Need It.
You can help your customers proactively by offering them the help they need.
- Offer your help to those who ask for it. When someone asks you for a solution, you want to be able to provide it in the easiest way possible so that they don’t feel like they’re being asked out of the blue or under duress. If someone calls up and asks how long it will take them to get their order shipped out (they’ve already placed an order), don’t try and talk them down from their expectation—instead, let them know exactly how long it’s going to take based on various factors (e.g., if there are any delays).
- Proactively offer assistance even when no one has explicitly asked for it yet! There are many situations where people might not realize how badly they could use some extra help until later on down the road—but if there’s any chance at all that this could happen then make sure everyone knows about it ahead of time so everyone feels confident enough in their ability without having any hesitations about asking for assistance later on down the road when needed most urgently. Sometimes being proactive instead just makes sense because we all know what happens when things go wrong: we blame ourselves instead of looking back retrospectively at all our past mistakes leading us into trouble-making situations where nothing goes according to our planned schedule. But instead ends up costing us lots more money than necessary due almost solely because we weren’t prepared properly beforehand (or even knew better options existed).
17. Ask Open-ended Questions to Understand What Others Want.
You can ask open-ended questions to get a response. You can also use these questions to get more information and see how the person feels about what they’re saying.
- What did you like best?
- What was your least favorite part of the service?
- How would you rate this experience overall?
18. Smile Genuinely at Everyone Who Appears Before You.
One of the best ways to deliver excellent customer service is by smiling genuinely at everyone who appears before you. This can be difficult, but it’s important for your company’s reputation and success.
If you’re not smiling every day, it shows that you don’t care enough about what people think of them as customers or employees.
There are many reasons why we feel so good when we smile: It makes us feel better; it helps us connect with others; and it fosters trust between different groups in society (like employees working together at an office). Smiling makes sense—but there’s something else too.
Research shows that positive emotions increase productivity among both workers and employers alike! The same goes for when interacting with clients during phone calls or emails.
Making someone smile will make them more likely to buy from your store over time because they’ll see how happy we all are together.”
19. Be Concise in Your Responses to Customers.
Many times, customers will ask you a question that can be answered with one or two words. You should always try to make your response as concise as possible and avoid long-winded explanations. This is especially true when handling complaints or problems.
If you’re ever asked for feedback after providing an answer, ask if they have any additional questions to know more information on the matter at hand.
Why HubSpot CRM?
HubSpot CRM is a sales and marketing tool that helps you generate more leads, grow your business and close more deals. It’s easy to use, has a clean interface and is affordable.
It comes with built-in tools for managing multiple customer records, automating email campaigns, scheduling meetings with prospects or clients on the go using its mobile app (available for Android & iOS) or desktop version (Windows/Mac OS).
If you want to deliver the best possible customer service then HubSpot can be an ideal solution for you. It comes all you need to boost your business.
FREE trial available. Get Started with HubSpot CRM.
