Starting your customer support function
Going from zero to 1 customer support person
Building a customer support team is best done with a clear plan.
When you’re starting a support department from zero you want to ensure it is structured to succeed. Talkr shares with you the building blocks that can make up a solid foundation.
Define what great customer service means for your company
Every business claims to offer excellent customer service. However, not every customer has a positive experience, indicating that room for improvement exists. It all starts with defining what "great" is.
The specifics of the service quality you will offer must be decided upon before creating a support department, and your entire team must be involved in developing that definition. Once you've established what "great service" means for your business, you'll have a benchmark to use when evaluating your support staff.
Deliver on your company values
Since company values are made public, customers expect to be taken care of. The very clear definition of "great service" states that the support team (as well as the entire company) must be trained to never violate them.
For instance, if your business values speed or honesty, you should base your definition of great service on those values and empower your team to uphold them.
Remember that customer care teams can only provide service as good as the rest of the company will permit. Your level of service must have some rather distinct boundaries to your level of service.
Be consistent in exceeding customer expectations
Consistently go above and beyond for your customers if you want to differentiate yourself from the competition:
What are the average response times in your sector — and those of your main competitors? How can you make such instances better?
What standard of service are potential consumers used to, and how can you consistently go above and beyond their expectations to win them over time?
By adopting this mindset, you create your company's distinct concept of great customer service, which your competitors will then have to try to match.
Hire the right people
Finding and hiring a great customer support team is essential if you want to offer high-quality, efficient customer service. When choosing new members for your support team, you should make sure to ask yourself these questions:
What is the ideal support personality?
What skills should your support staff have?
How will you integrate them into your team?
How do you keep them?
If you are finding it difficult to give answers to these questions you can always reach out for help. Talkr can offer solutions and help you quickly find highly motivated, talented people ready to join and ease pressure on your team!