Over the years, customer service has changed, developed and moved on from being a slow process. Modern customer service is faster and easier, streamlined, and designed to ensure that every customer is happy with the service they have received. Rather than simply relying on the phone, or customer service in person, now you can communicate with your customers using a variety of methods, including email, social media, live chat and instant messaging too. Using all of these channels is known as omni-channel customer service and can be a hugely beneficial way to ensure that every single one of your customers is happy when they come to you.
Tell me more about omni-channel customer services
It is quite common that people confuse the idea of multi-channel customer service and omni-channel customer service. Mainly down to the fact that both approaches rely on several customer service channels.
The key difference is that multi-channel customer service will look at how you can use each one as a stand-alone entity. Omni-channel will bring them all together, ensuring that they provide customer service as one seamless package.
Why is it worth it?
Now, we know what you are thinking; if one channel works well enough, then why do you need to bring it together with others? That old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, doesn’t apply in this modern world. In fact, we should always be looking at ways to make things better to improve our service.
This means that considering the benefits of omni-channel customer service is incredibly important to do.
It offers excellent service across the board
Gone are the days when customers were happy to know that one particular approach of contacting a business is the best. They want to know that no matter how they are getting in touch, they will receive the best service that they can.
If you are making sure that you take an omni-channel approach, it shouldn’t matter how your customer gets in touch; they should always get a great level of service.
Omni-channel customer service helps you to respond quickly
Social media is an excellent tool for business. Not only does it allow you to engage with your customers with ease, but it also promotes your brand and what you can offer too.
The only drawback with social media is that it means that customers can start to expect a much quicker response to any enquiries that they may have.
The good news is that social media is an easy way to respond to customer queries, mainly if it is a quick answer, which means that you will keep your customers incredibly happy and create a reputation that you can be trusted.
Omni-channel customer service allows customers to help themselves
As a customer, sometimes you will want to solve a query yourself, significantly if this will save you time. This means that you, as a business, need to ensure that you give customers a way to access at least some of the answers that they need themselves.
The best way to do this is to ensure that you have an excellent quality FAQ page put together. This will help them to be able to find an answer at their own pace and, in turn, stop them from having to get in touch with your customer service team.
It introduces you to live chat
Lots of businesses seem to view live chat as too robotic and will not help them; however, this is not the case. Live chat gives your customers an option to quickly find a solution to their problem without having to wait around for you to answer, which will always put you in the best light possible.
It doesn’t ignore email
As well as allowing you to use newer methods of customer interaction, another great thing about omni-channel customer services is that it helps you utilise some of the older ways too.
This includes email correspondence. While you may already use it, being aware of how best to use it and provide a smooth and fast response will always be welcome for your business.
You are also focused on security
Security is something that you should always focus on with your customers. So, if you can find a way to improve customer service and keep all that key data secure, then all the better.
Wrapping Up
If you want to make sure that you deliver customer services that are hard to beat, you will like to learn as much as you can about the most modern approaches that you can take. That way, you not only provide the best service possible but, you also can set yourself apart from your competitors and ensure that you are a market leader. If you’d love to learn more, speak to one of our experts today.
