Better service, lower costs?
Excellent customer service is much more than just a buzzword – it is the key to sustainable business growth and can make the difference between the success and failure of your company. Companies that continuously improve their service not only gain loyal customers, but also reduce their costs in the long term. In this article, we will show you how to do this so that you too can sustainably improve your customer service, learn proven strategies and avoid common mistakes.
The reality of today's customer service
- Challenges: Many companies face similar problems: long response times, a lack of consistency across different channels and insufficiently trained employees.
- Common mistakes: A lack of self-service options, confusing knowledge bases and a lack of customer feedback are just a few examples of avoidable mistakes that affect customer satisfaction.
Strategies for improving customer service
1. Establish a customer-centred corporate culture
- Understand customer needs: Actively listen to your customers to better understand their expectations and problems. You can find more information in our article on customer-centred working.
- Employee training: Invest in training to strengthen empathy, communication skills and problem-solving competences. For tips on how to do this, see our article on customer service tips.
2. Offer multi-channel communication
- Channel integration: Enable your customers to communicate via phone, email, live chat and social media.
- Omnichannel strategies: Ensure that information is synchronised across all channels to provide a seamless customer experience. You can find current trends on this in the Deloitte study on customer service in Germany.
3. Provide self-service options
- Knowledge bases: Provide customers with well-structured FAQs and tutorials. You can find out how to build an effective knowledge base on our page about knowledge bases.
- Chatbots: Use AI-based chatbots to quickly answer simple enquiries and relieve support teams.
4. Obtain and utilise customer feedback
- Surveys: Regular customer satisfaction surveys help to identify weak points.
- Feedback analysis: Use the feedback to continuously improve processes and services.
5. Use technological support
- CRM systems: Implement a powerful CRM to manage customer data effectively. Find out more about our CRM consulting services.
- Analysis tools: Use tools to predict customer needs and create personalised offers.
6. Create a customer portal
- More efficiency: A customer portal offers your customers a central point of contact for all concerns. It not only improves the customer experience, but can also reduce support requests and increase efficiency.
- Benefits of a customer portal: Customers can track orders, view invoices or communicate directly with the support team.
- Implementation: Use proven tools and technologies to build a customised portal. Find out more on our Create a customer portal page.
Optimise customer service costs
Efficient customer service not only improves customer satisfaction and saves time, it also reduces your costs. Here are some approaches to reduce costs without compromising quality:
- Automate processes: Use chatbots and virtual assistants to process routine enquiries quickly and cost-effectively. Automated ticketing systems can also increase efficiency.
- Set up self-service portals: Providing FAQs, tutorials and knowledge bases allows customers to solve problems on their own, reducing the number of enquiries.
- Data analysis to increase efficiency: Predictive analytics helps to predict customer needs and optimise the use of resources.
- Process optimisation: Regular reviews of internal processes can uncover and eliminate inefficiencies.
Best practices and case studies
JobCloud AG: With the support of Leafworks, JobCloud introduced a lean and efficient support system based on Zendesk in just 8 weeks. This enabled a noticeable improvement in customer satisfaction and considerable time savings for the support teams.
The Quality Group: Within just 3 weeks, The Quality Group was able to significantly reduce first response times thanks to Leafworks and Zendesk. This was achieved through the use of automation and optimised processes.
Holmes Place: Holmes Place has set itself the goal of relieving its employees on site of administrative tasks. With Leafworks, an efficient system was set up that focusses fully on the members and guests.
Yuma GmbH: By migrating to Zendesk and connecting all online shops, Yuma GmbH was able to ensure flawless communication. The solutions provided by Leafworks helped to effectively solve all problems and optimise the service.
Avoid these mistakes
Unclear communication: Misunderstandings often arise due to unclear or contradictory statements.
Ignoring feedback: Don’t neglect the valuable feedback from your customers.
Slow response times: Customers expect quick responses – make sure you fulfil this expectation.
Conclusion
Improving your customer service starts with an initial discussion. Let us analyse together where your company stands and what potential remains untapped.
Arrange a consultation with our experts now and find out how we can take your customer service to the next level.
