Customer service is the process of providing help and advice to people who have purchased or may want to purchase a product or service.
Concept
Customer service is the process of helping potential or existing customers to buy or use a product or service. Customer service may be performed by specialized personnel in the course of their daily work. Automated systems, such as computerized telephone directories that route customer calls to the correct department, can also be used for customer service.
Customer service is often the main point of contact an end user or customer has with a company. Companies will look to improve customer service to increase brand loyalty and customer retention.
Why is customer service important and how does it benefit a company?
Customer service is important to a company’s success for several reasons.
First, customer service makes it easier for customers to make purchases. If someone is advising customers and answering their questions, it makes it much easier for them to buy a product or service. It’s also a valuable way to stand out from the competition. Good customer service can convince customers to buy from you rather than someone else.
After the purchase is made, customer service makes customers happy and able to use the products they bought. This type of service is also useful for advertising, as companies can turn the fact that they support their products after they have been sold into an advertising campaign. This also encourages repeat orders, as customers who have had a pleasant experience will want to come back for more and possibly tell their friends about it.
Customer service can also reduce negative publicity. If a product breaks, a consumer may discourage their friends from buying that product. If the company provides good support, it may prevent him from telling others not to make the purchase.
What are the requirements to work in customer service?
Customer service job requirements vary widely from company to company. But common denominators include: the ability to communicate clearly with the customer and a pleasant demeanor.
Good customer service employees must have strong people skills. This includes empathy, emotional intelligence, and charisma. Customer service employees must be able to relate to people in a natural manner and become a trusted advisor to customers, even if they have never met a customer before. They must be able to determine why the client is seeking services, even if the client does not clearly articulate their needs.
In many cases, clients cannot articulate the problems they are facing or what they need help with. In these cases, the customer service worker must be able to investigate to determine the course of action that will best help the customer.
Customer service work also usually requires communicating with customers via telephone, computer chat, or e-mail. Basic phone and computer skills, including competent typing, spelling, and grammar, are important requirements for customer service jobs.
Customer service workers should also be familiar with the products and services their company provides. This will allow them to answer any questions that their customers may have. Specializing in a specific product or service that a company provides can be valuable, especially if there are several employees with different specialties on the customer service team.
How can employers reduce the cost of customer service?
Employers can reduce the cost of customer service in several ways.
Automation
One option is automation. In the past, a person was required to answer the phone and direct calls to the appropriate department. Many companies now use an automated phone system where the customer answers prompts describing the help they need. The program that answers the phone then routes the call to the right people.
Similarly, companies have begun using chatbots to help customers over the Internet. These bots can perform tasks such as checking the status of orders or answering basic questions about products and services. More complex inquiries can be directed to a customer service representative in a chatbot.
As simple as it is – creating good quality products
Another way to reduce customer service costs is to create products that require less customer service. If a company’s products break down less often, its customers won’t need to call for support as often, reducing the need for customer service staff.
Providing self-service support options can also reduce the need for customer service personnel. For example, creating a frequently asked questions page and posting it on a company’s Web site can reduce the number of customer calls with questions that are answered in the FAQ section.
Working on customer service team
Companies can also save on customer service costs by allowing their customer service team to work remotely, as long as the customer service employees are not providing face-to-face service. This reduces office costs by allowing the company to maintain the same size customer service team.
What is the difference between customer service and customer support?
The difference between customer service and customer support is small but important.
Simply put: customer service is the process that builds relationships with customers.
Customer support is the process that maintains that relationship.
Customer service involves more than just solving a specific problem. It is a communication between a customer and an employee where the employee tries to analyze the customer’s needs and help them maximize the value they get from a product or service. This can be anything from a sales representative advising a customer on the level of service they should purchase, to a cashier asking someone if they had trouble finding something in the store that day.
Customer service employees help with customer service, but are primarily concerned with solving a specific problem. Helping with individual issues is part of customer service but does not cover all aspects of customer service. It is more effective at maintaining relationships than building them, but it can also play a role in building relationships.