Many see customer service as a shield – a way to defend their business from the dreaded leaky bucket syndrome. However, modern customer service has become about getting out in front of your customers (or potential customers) and letting them know that you’ve got them covered.
The bar has been raised in terms of what customers expect from your business. In fact, one might argue that it’s almost impossible to build a successful new brand without drop dead amazing customer service. The simple reason for this is that too many brands have made it the norm, the accepted state of play. Table stakes.
The best example of this is Zappos. Everyone has heard about their maniacal focus on customer service. In fact, they’ve built a whole company around ’wow’ customer service. Think free upgrades and a call centre that isn’t focused on getting its ‘complaining’ customers off the phone, but actually wants to help. If you ask me, this is some of the best marketing you can do. Some ‘I give a crap about my customers’ marketing is priceless. Which is great for Zappos, but not so great for the average 3 man start-up.
To help inject a little Zappos customer care magic into your business here are 3 really simple hacks to improve your customer service today.