How to improve customer service? Improve processes!

Every day, learning how to improve customer service becomes more difficult.

Just look: everyone thinks that with easier and faster access to technology, the “commoditization” of knowledge
and the possibility of obtaining raw materials and equipment from anywhere in the world through the Internet would make starting and run a business much less stressful.

In fact, with the fall of these entry barriers it might have been even more common for people, entrepreneurs and investors to want to open new businesses. It is precisely at this point that the challenge arises: an excess of companies offering very similar products and services in the same market!

Internal competitiveness reaches high levels and differentiation becomes almost impossible. In this scenario, customer service excellence and providing additional services, as well as complementary to the product (or the primary service) become critical.

There is no way to improve customer service without continuous improvement of processes through the use of BPM software.

To help you prepare for this challenge, we have separated some information regarding how to improve customer service and how process modeling software can make all the difference in your organization to achieve your desired business results.

How to improve customer service

It is easy to realize that with fewer errors such as lateness, delivery errors, wrong specification or defective products, the better your customer service will be. It makes it seem overly easy, however, in reality serving clients properly means, firstly having efficient and effective processes.

But it doesn’t stop there!

You need more; you need to surprise the customer with a service beyond expectations, then you will have differentiated and added perceived value to products and services, making your mark on your preferred target audience!

So the secret of how to improve customer service can be divided into two main areas:

1. Modeling and continuous process improvement.
2. Information and control systems to meet the customer needs, expecting them always to surprise you!

So think of this: giving the customer what they want, is the least that the customer expects. You may even be ahead of some competitors by doing it.

But to differentiate, be the market benchmark, the “cream of the crop”, you need to offer something else, but something extra that the customer wants.

For this, information systems, data collection and storage, and especially data that’s transformed into valuable information are crucial elements.

After all that talk, it is clear that a quality BPM system will assist in seeking to improve the service to customers on both of these points

• By improving processes.
• Through the collection, analysis, and quick information sharing.

The five magical questions of customer service

The key to improving customer service lies in answering these 5 questions:

1. What does the customer want?
2. When do they want it?
3. How much does the customer want to pay?
4. Which customer wants it?
5. Which area of the business is best to attend to the customer?

So once again we insist: there is no way to improve customer service without the help of administrative management and information systems. With them, you can make the right offer to the right customer, at the right price, at the right time and through the most appropriate department.

10 more great customer service practices

In addition to these two key points discussed above, other more usual measures should be taken:

1. Selecting appropriate personnel committed to working in customer services, such as SAC and others.
2. Constant training of customer service staff
3. Defining a customer service policy and developing a service manual.
4. Responding to complaints as quickly as possible.
5. After answering, solve the customer’s problem!
6. If the solution is delayed, keep the customer informed of the progress of the solution.
7. Involving the sales team in customer service so that they can show an interest in the product or service sold to fully meet the customer needs. This can preserve your relationship with them.
8. Using social media to support the service and to collect customer data.
9. Constantly monitoring calls.
10. Analyzing data and turning it into information for decision making and process improvement.

If your business needs a BPM system that models and monitors through intuitive dashboards and online sites, then bring more transparency and efficiency to the communication of your company, by using BPM software.

Also: Do you know what Customer centric processes are? Check them out!