Hold up, who?
Customer support was always important. But it’s now a key differentiator between companies, a top consideration for customers, and a profit-generating force in its own right. Whether you’re a well-established firm or just starting to scale and grow, a successful customer support team can help attract new business, boost retention, and increase sales among your existing customer base!
Customer support also isn’t just about finding a quick solution to any one customer problem anymore. It’s about building a long-term relationship, one where each customer interaction offers opportunities for deeper, more valuable engagement.
Customer expectations also continue to grow. Customers expect quick, easy, and effective support, and they’re willing to look elsewhere if they don’t get it. And whether a company exceeds or falls short of customer expectations is often directly tied to business success. It’s a high-stakes game—61 percent of customers would now defect to a competitor after just one bad experience.
We’ve all been in this situation – you go into a shop and are greeted with a couple of mumbled words, no hint of a smile, and blank faces in response to a question.
We all know that people can have off days, but being friendly and courteous is one of the most important factors that makes good customer service, in person, online, and over the phone.
This doesn’t only involve smiles, it also means showing professionalism and respect for your customer. For example, if you run a shop, you can respect your customers’ time when queues form by being more urgent and apologising for the wait.