Customer service strategies – modern ones

Move over traditional customer service strategies

As a result of today’s competitive economy, it is imperative for businesses to come up with customer service strategies that will allow them to retain their customers and keep their business ahead of the competition. ‘Traditional’ customer service strategies are no longer as effective. These days, companies must use “modern” customer service strategies, where employees engage with customers and provide a new customer experience environment that businesses are increasingly expected to offer.

Here are some of our favorite modern customer service strategies that will help your business succeed.

Strategy #1: Provide good customer service to your employees
Contrary to popular belief, good customer service does not only entail ensuring customers are satisfied with your product. Professional speaker and author Shep Hyken, who works with companies who want to develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees, provides some insightful customer service strategies on his blog (hyken.com/blog).

In Hyken’s post Three Powerful “customer Service” Strategies that work in a Tough Economy, he explains that “Now, more than ever customer service to both customers and employees (internal customers) is paramount to the success of any company. The potential for apathy, even anger, from an employee is high as employee morale potentially slips due to layoffs, wage cuts etc. Management must create an environment that fosters loyalty, both inside and outside of the company, in spite of the tough decisions they have to make.“ In essence, you should treat employees the way you want them to treat your customers.

Strategy #2: Aim for customer and employee loyalty
Simply aiming to satisfy customers is not enough. As Hyken puts it, “Loyalty is more of a bond, even an emotion – a feeling that a customer or employee gets from consistent positive customer experiences and a feeling of confidence about the company. Focus on being better than satisfactory – better than average. Be so good that customers and employees become loyal.”

Strategy #3: Have a strong online presence
Customers are usually more impressed with companies that they find easy to reach out to. One of the easiest and most beneficial customer service strategies a company can adapt is to develop a website that invites customers to connect with them through customer applications.

Strategy #4: Encourage collaboration and co-creation
Creating more social or collaborative relationships with customers is the latest trend in customer service. Engaging customers into the development process and allowing them to co-create with your company is the new way to reward your customers as it surely amps up the customer experience, leading to loyal customers.

Adapt these four strategies with OneDesk

We at OneDesk recognize how important it is for companies to provide an over-the-top customer experience. Therefore, our software was designed with these four strategies in mind. Here is how helps with them:

1. Provide good customer service to your employees
OneDesk allows you to bring your employees into the development process. Ask them for feedback on your product, make them feel even more appreciated by asking for their feedback about employee policies, management style, benefits and even about holiday parties. Collect employee feedback in by inviting them to join a project. From there, they can view and join conversations regarding product feedback from customers, and submit their own.

2. Aim for customer and employee loyalty
Identify, elaborate and incorporate your customer’s valuable feedback with OneDesk’s customer engagement solutions. According to Mark Johnson of 360 Loyalty Marketing, “with engagement comes loyalty, advocacy, trust and passion – the soft side of the customer relationships that directly impacts the bottom line.” Listen and engage your customers through OneDesk’s customer portal.

3. Have a strong online presence
OneDesk is entirely web based. It’s customer portal can even be embedded in your website. This makes it easy for your employees, customers, and business partners to come together in one place.

4. Encourage collaboration and co-creation
OneDesk social collaboration tools such as discussion, blogs and chat allow the whole team to connect and be on the same page. It also facilitates co-creation by:

• Enabling the dialogue between customers, partners and employees, suppliers and other stakeholders.
• Provides the tools to effectively integrate data into the product and service development process.
• Effectively manage the PLM process from beginning to end, and enhance the often fuzzy front-end of innovation.

Related blog posts:

…ask for employee feedback and make them feel valued
Creating Customer Loyalty
Co-create value: Leverage customer insight
Feedback survey tools in
Client relationship management modernized