Look at any business review site or company ranking and, at least from the customer side of things, one factor has more bearing on ratings than any other. Customer service is brought up again and again as something vital to the success of a business, but also as an area in which so many are lacking. The importance of good customer service is never going away, and here are just a few reasons why.
Handling Complaints
No matter what industry you’re in and no matter how careful you are, things will eventually go wrong in some way. Wher it’s directly or your fault or some issue in the process, complaints will be coming. Handling those complaints in the correct way can make a massive difference to your public reputation, both positive or negative.
Online industries like casino websites rely on their customer service reputation more than anything, and for that reason that industry has gotten their complaints process nailed down. Online casino representatives make sure they know how to solve disputes and find remedies with clear instructions and transparent communication. It means that they can defuse negative situations at the very least, and even give customers a positive outlook in some cases.
Establishing Trust
Customers in general are more educated and far more cautious in recent times, and that means that their trust is a lot harder to win. Veteran business owners know building trust is essential to keep customers coming back, and conversely, losing trust from their customers is one of the fastest ways to put a company in a difficult position.
Especially in the era of AI chatbots that can appear almost human, well-managed customer service can stand out. Simply by having representatives able to keep a natural tone and not sound too ‘corporate’, it can make all customer interactions help customer trust. If you can spare the people for it, having named representatives assigned to specific customers can also help build a good relationship.
Pushing Sales
As experienced marketers will tell you, every interaction with a customer can be a potential chance to sell more. The concept of upselling is fundamental to many larger online businesses in particular, although if it comes through as part of regular customer service interaction, it has to be handled extremely carefully.
For instance, if your representatives are handling any kind of complaint or negative inquiry, it is best to avoid any kind of upselling. The customer is unlikely to be in any mood to do more business and if it backfires, it could actively make the situation worse. On a more general enquiry, however, or especially a product info request, having a skilled customer service agent can be as good as a sales agent. This is an area where a human representative is still leagues ahead of an automated system.
While good customer service is a requirement, great customer service is an investment. Some of the biggest companies in the world built themselves on the relationships with their customers, and it’s something you can’t afford to skimp on.
By Chris Bates
