Customers demand excellence from the companies they do business with

young man hands holding credit card and using phoneIn today’s world, people aren’t afraid to speak up for what they want. And they don’t want to settle. Customers will complain or go elsewhere if their needs aren’t being met.

From a business perspective, that means people might leave negative reviews on your website or social media channels. They might even boycott your products or encourage their friends and family members to do the same.

With people standing up for themselves and being vocal about their likes and dislikes, it creates a higher bar for businesses to reach. Customer demands are real and as a business owner, you need to take heed.

What do customers want? Customers want the products and services they buy to live up to expectations. Beyond that, they want to get their questions and concerns addressed quickly. They want answers as soon as possible. They don’t want to wait. Whether they’re currently shopping, or they received a product and they’re not happy with it, they want a resolution, fast.

What does this mean for you as a business owner?

Ideally, your website should have an easy-to-find FAQ page that customers can access before, during, and after the buying experience. You should also consider incorporating a chat feature on your website. That way, when a customer has a question, they can simply type it in the chat bar and get answers immediately. You could have a chatbot programmed with answers to common questions and even offer the option to speak with a live agent when needed.

You need to make sure that all of your customer service contact options are readily available. Customers shouldn’t have to go searching for your phone number, email address, or complaint box. They should be able to find these points of contact in a hurry.

When it comes time to reach out to you, customers want to get assistance as soon as possible. They don’t want to wait on hold for a long time. It’s a busy world out there and people are juggling lots of responsibilities. What’s more, customers want the option to reach out to you when and how it’s convenient for them to do so. That means it’s best to have 24/7 support and provide multiple channels for which customers can reach out to you.

Customers expect and demand excellence. To stay competitive, your business needs to provide quality service and be easy to reach.

Customer stats that may have you reconsidering your business strategy

Group Of People Shopping ConceptCustomers’ expectations have been soaring lately. As competition continues to grow and things become easier than ever to access, customers have bigger demands. If they don’t receive the type of service they want with one company, they may leave that company and go elsewhere. Customers don’t need to feel locked in when there are other options out there. So, what keeps them coming back to your business? Well, we want to dive into this a little by going over some interesting statistics. It’s not just about the products or services you provide, but also the overall customer experience that matters to them. Let’s take a look at a few of these stats.

Customers’ expectations are incredibly high right now

As we mentioned in our introduction, expectations are high and it’s important to be aware of this. According to HubSpot, many leaders in the CX industry have expressed this. In fact, 90% of industry leaders have reported these high expectations. Businesses can meet these demands by relying on a trusted outsourcing partner who can provide excellent customer support solutions.

Customers may leave if they have a negative experience

A startling 49% of consumers have shared that they’ve had more negative experiences over the course of this year, according to Amazon. This could be the reason that 69% of customers will try to find a resolution themselves (source: HubSpot). People will try to avoid long conversations and bad encounters. However, sometimes customers simply need to reach out, and a negative experience could hurt the business. If customers in the U.S. have a single negative encounter with a business, they might leave; in fact, according to PwC, 17% will. And if a U.S. customer has a few of these experiences, they’re even more likely to leave, PwC reports 59%.

Customers talk about their experiences

Whether a customer has a good or bad experience with your business, they are likely to talk about it. In fact, HubSpot reports that a large percentage of agents feel this way, 85% to be exact. This is important to know because reviews and word-of-mouth advertising can make or break a business. Forbes reports that “90% of people are more likely to trust a recommended brand, even if the recommendation is from strangers.” They also report that “on average, word-of-mouth drives $6 trillion in annual global spending and is responsible for 13% of all sales.” They even say that “26% of people will completely avoid a brand if their friend or family tells them about a negative experience…”

Overall, you can see how these stats reflect that customers expect excellence. They desire positive brand experiences and may leave if they have negative encounters. They also like to share what type of experience they’ve had with businesses, which can further impact a business’s sales. This is why it’s more important than ever before to partner with a trusted contact center that can provide customer service solutions that will keep consumers happy. Please visit our website today to learn about our offerings. We’re devoted to keeping customers satisfied.

Great teams provide the best customer service

Successful entrepreneurs and business people achieving goals, business team conceptA strong sense of collaboration and community in a workplace can make all the difference between an effective, efficient (not to mention, fun) dream team and an office nightmare. Many leaders struggle with how to build the best team they can and facilitate collaboration, especially given the uncertainty of recent times and the rapid change it can bring to the workplace. We leverage strong and collaborative teams to provide the very best in customer service solutions to our customers.

Here are three key ways that we promote great teamwork:

1. Communication, communication, communication

Communicating well is the foundation of any good team. Communication means two things: speaking and listening. Speak your mind openly and honestly, and encourage the rest of your team to do the same. Communicate your expectations clearly and in no uncertain terms so that everyone is on the same page. At the same time, listen. Show that you are open to suggestions, concerns, and constructive criticism. Ask questions, and show that you care about the answers. Make it clear that you value the ideas of your teammates. This doesn’t have to mean formal meetings all the time either; touch base and catch up with your team every now and then. We treat our team right and provide them with the tools they need to provide the very best in customer service to our clients.

2. Establish some ground rules

Rules don’t have to be restrictive. All groups have rules, whether spoken or unspoken. Make yours spoken so that everyone understands them clearly and has a chance to offer suggestions. Norms and guidelines, even simple ones like “treat everyone with respect,” help pave the way for a great team experience. Establish rules early, but be prepared to adapt if they don’t work out. Make sure the rest of the team helps create these ground rules by consensus; offering them the chance to give feedback and decide on rules themselves will help everyone understand why the rules are necessary and increase their commitment to following them.

3. Be clear about the team’s purpose and goals

If the team doesn’t understand the “why” of their work, they have less reason to be motivated, attentive, and enthusiastic. Make sure you and the rest of the team know your long-term goals, the purpose of those goals, and how your current tasks (not to mention each team member’s contributions) fit into that big picture. Not only will this increase motivation among your team members, but it also gives you a clear way to evaluate the progress you all are making both collectively and individually.

These steps can help you better manage your company by any metric, whether it’s the morale of your teammates or their productivity. Both employees and the company can benefit from a functional and enjoyable workplace culture.

9 qualities of an excellent outsourcing partner

Happy diverse businesspeople talk at negotiations sit at office tableWhen you’re looking for a quality outsourcing partner, you need to find someone that can represent your brand with excellence. It’s not just finding the best price or the first name that populates in a search bar, but finding someone who meets your specific needs.

Here are nine things to look for:

1. Flexibility. A great outsourcing partner will be someone who flexes to fit your needs, instead of just providing a one-size-fits-all approach.

2. Scalability. What you need now might not be the same as what you need in the future. Partnering with an outsourcing company that can grow with you will set you up for the most success.

3. Experience. Find a company that’s been in business for a while and has the experience to show for it.

4. Brand alignment. Look for a partner that can align with your brand, represent your brand, and essentially be an organic extension of your business.

5. Knowledge development. A company you partner with should take time to help agents understand client-specific content. They should both educate and enrich the agents to the who, where, what, how, and why of the client’s organization and its business processes. This is what helps the agent truly represent the business with excellence.

6. Training. The outsourcing partner should provide training. This should be hands-on, interactive, and paced correctly for the individual agent. It should also include soft skills training to ensure excellent customer service.

7. Quality assurance. You want to ensure that your customers are getting the best service possible. The company you choose should have a way of maintaining quality standards, ensuring adherence to compliance (PIC, HIPAA), and finding ways to further improve the customer experience (CX).

8. Resource management. An outsourcing partner should have a department that handles “traffic control.” It’s a way to help ensure that live contacts are being answered, agents are adhering to their schedules, and agents can receive assistance when needed. (At XACT, our resource management team can also manage callouts, assist in coverage replacement, and ensure that all agents have the adequate coverage they need.)

9. Professional and friendly. Pay attention to how the outsourcing partner treats you during your interactions. You want a company that is professional and friendly. The way they treat you can be a representation of how they treat their team and how their agents will treat your customers.

When you’re on the search for an outsourcing partner to provide customer contact solutions, find a partner that will meet your needs and grow with you. At XACT, you’ll find that we meet all of these points (and more), so visit our website today.

How to improve clarity during conversations

Misunderstandings can be common in professional or personal settings. It’s all too easy to have conversations and both parties walk away with a different understanding. Of course, this isn’t ideal for any relationship. It can lead to arguments, but it can also lead to lost business when dealing with customers. So, how do you improve the clarity within these conversations? African hr manager listening to caucasian applicant at job interview

Get to the point. Try to keep yourself from going off on tangents. Stick to what message you want to deliver. Provide enough information that the customer will understand without providing so much that the customer loses track of the point.

Use common language. Avoid jargon. Stick to more simplistic language, instead. You don’t know your customers’ background or level of understanding, so it’s essential to speak in a way that most people understand.

Don’t make assumptions. Help avoid misunderstandings by gaining clarity yourself. Reiterate what you hear your customer asking for to ensure that you meet their needs.

Use bullet points when emailing. Customers are more likely to look for the message’s key points rather than read through the whole thing (especially if it’s a long email). So, to help prevent them from missing important details, use bullet points. This can help them find the essential topics in a flash.

Ask your customer if they have questions. Don’t assume your customer completely understands your message. When you’re done speaking, ask them if they have any questions.

Clarify your message. When the conversation is ending, take a minute to summarize what transpired during the conversation to ensure that there aren’t any misunderstandings before you close.

Include resources in written conversations. Send them over if you feel that specific resources would help provide better clarity to the customer. But, don’t add attachments without explaining what the attachment is and why you’re adding it.

Ask an open-ended follow-up. Before ending the conversation, ask customers or professionals if you can help them with anything else or if they have any other questions. If you may have misunderstood something or the customer didn’t tell you everything the first time, it’s good to ask this question before ending the conversation. It can help ensure that they leave satisfied.

Misunderstandings happen for several reasons. For example, sometimes, a person doesn’t understand what a word means. Other times they make assumptions, etc. That’s why it’s essential that you know what your customer is saying and that you also provide clarity in everything you say.