Answer Center America Blog

With each New Year comes a fresh set of goals.  2010 is right around the corner, so it’s a good time to revisit your goals for the year ahead.  As holiday shopping wraps up, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season often results in second-rate customer service and frustrated customers.  With the economy still in a fragile state, competition is high and companies cannot afford to lose business due to inconsistent customer service.

In order to redirect your customer experience down the path to success, here are the top 10 questions to ask yourself:

1. How long do your phones go unanswered?
2. Are customers being put on hold?
3. Are your phones being answered in a professional manner?
4. Does your company offer online support?
5. How knowledgeable are the individuals who handle customer concerns?
6. Are you providing a uniform message on every call?
7. Are all calls being delivered and retuned in a timely manner?
8. Are you tracking what is being said about your company online?
9. Are you monitoring phone calls with your customers?
10. Do you always take the extra step to help customers and resolve concerns?

If your answers aren’t on par with your standards, perhaps it’s time to reexamine your customer service experience for the year ahead.  Trends for 2010 are proving that customer service is making a comeback.  With the increase in competition, companies are making customer service a top priority.  Here are a few ways customer service has changed in the past year:

1. Technology - Technology is changing the way customers interact with businesses.  According to Jupiter Research, companies using proactive chat experience a 30% lift in average order value, and proactive click to call and chat interactions have increased conversion rates by as much as 20%. With an increase in online shopping this holiday season, companies must realize that online support plays a large role in your bottom line. Companies need to move with the culture to keep customers happy. 
2.  Social media – With the increase in popularity among social media, every company’s reputation hangs by a thread.  Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Digg, etc. give customers total power to influence the way others view your product or service.  Three in four US online adults now use social tools to connect with each other compared with just 56 percent in 2007.  As a result, companies need to be even more careful with how their company interacts with current and perspective customers. 

Remember, your customers are your best asset.  For a practical and cost-efficient way to achieve your goals for 2010, give one of our sales consultants a call at 1-800-270-7030 or visit www.goacanow.com.  We can proudly say our main goal remains the same today, as when our company was started back in 1994. We’re dedicated to providing the highest level of customer support, every time. For more information, click here.

Tags: answer center america, answering service, call center, Chicago call center, Contact center, customer service, customer service trends, medical answering service

This entry was posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 3:12 pm and is filed under customer service. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.