The Key Component to Customer Service

It’s the smaller things that make a big difference, and while this sounds a bit cliché, in the world of customer service it still continues to be true. Poor customer experience is the number one cause of customer defection, more so than product or price. Experience is everything and it’s time to get it right.

Getting it wrong is extremely costly. In 2016, 61% of consumers switched brands and a survey found that a staggering 67% of customers defect because of poor experience, not product or price. Get it right and customers will be happy to pay a premium of up to 16%.

Ever-Rising Customer Demands

Customer demands are advancing at the same rate as technology. Everything is becoming faster and easier to do, with customer service being no exception to this. The arrival of Amazon, Uber, Netflix, and other disruptive businesses has redefined expectations. Customers are bringing with them the expectations of what a good experience looks like from these other companies. Now, more than ever, they know what great customer service is and they expect the same.

What these businesses have done so well is that they have used technology and data to create a stronger bond with their customers that focuses on their experience across the whole lifecycle. They have adopted technology to create a greater experience that enhances, not loses, the human side of their business.

Knowledge Is the Key Component to Customer Service

Like a door without a hinge, the relationship between knowledge and customer service is as equally codependent—you cannot provide customer service without the knowledge to support it.

Cast a thought to how often a customer service agent answers the same question or why a customer can’t find the information that they’re looking for. Now ask yourself, why does this happen? The answer is because knowledge isn’t being used in the right way and that means that you’re making an ineffective use of time, resources, and money.

Only when you have good, usable knowledge at your fingertips, that’s tailored to your audience, can you provide quality customer service to your customers. This means that you can provide a personalized experience that breaks down business silos, paving the way for innovation and going beyond customer expectations.