19 Ways to Exceed Your Customers’ Expectations

Our readers share their tips on how you can exceed your customers’ expectations.

1. Focus on soft skills to create an excellent customer experience

Most of our compliments in the call centre are related to how we make our customers feel.

Customers expect the rational part of the call to run smoothly – getting the soft skills right is where they really notice the difference.

With thanks to Colleen

2. Respond within 24 hours – even if you don’t have a definite answer yet

We believe that it is important to respond within 24 hours – even if we do not have a definitive answer.

If we don’t have an answer, we use the opportunity to explain the delay to the customer and set their expectations.

With thanks to Jo

3. Make it standard practice for agents to introduce themselves

How an agent answers a call is so important, as it helps set the tone of the whole conversation.

By getting your agents to introduce themselves when they answer a call, the customer will feel that they are talking to a “real person”.

This can also help agents build rapport faster and create an all-round better customer experience.

With thanks to Helen

4. Log social media contacts so you can staff the channel appropriately

We use our CRM to log social media contact.

We then run reports to get an idea of the amount we deal with – and alter our staffing accordingly to deliver the best possible service.

With thanks to Mathew

5. Reduce your focus on Average Handling Time

We have reduced the focus on Average Handling Time (AHT) and increased our focus on the customer experience.

With thanks to Jo

6. Segment customers by revenue to look after your top spenders

Segment customers by Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), so the more they spend, the quicker they will get through to an agent.

This will help ensure that your top customers get the VIP treatment they deserve.

With thanks to Mark

7. Score your social media team on speed and customer satisfaction

Our social media team’s performance is measured on speed and customer satisfaction.

With thanks to Karen

8. Add self-help options to your IVR to avoid long periods on hold

Add self-help options to your IVR, so customers have the option to drop out of the queue and fix the problem themselves.

With thanks to Mark

9. Make sure your customers are aware of your SLAs

We find that customers who fully understand our SLA response times are happier with our service and usually comment on how we’ve helped so quickly.

However, our customers who aren’t completely clear tend to have a less positive outlook on our service.

With thanks to Luca

10. Respond directly to any negative feedback

We respond directly to any negative feedback – no matter how it is received.

With thanks to Jo

11. Give your agents complete ownership of a customer’s problem

We give our agents complete ownership of our cases.

This provides a single contact point for customers needing to call us back.

With thanks to Stuart

12. Treat all customers with the high level of care you’d give if you’d upset them

I think we need to treat all our customers with the same level of attention that we give to our customers that are upset.

With thanks to Peggy

13. Phones should take priority over emails

I think that phones should take priority over emails, as these are people who require an instant response.

By contrast, emails come in from people who don’t expect an immediate response and are happier to wait that bit longer.

With thanks to Tamison

14. Create teams of specialists to increase response times

For speed of response, we have created dedicated teams which specialise in one particular channel.

For example, phone, social media, etc.

With thanks to Karen

15. Tailor your service for each customer

Tailor your customer experience to the needs of each individual who comes through to your contact centre.

With thanks to Jade

16. Move simple queries to self-service for a better all-round experience

Move your easier queries across to self-service.

This way, more time and resources can be dedicated to resolving your customers’ trickier queries.

With thanks to Emily

17. Have an automated response on your email outlining your SLA

We have an automated response on our email that outlines our SLA.

This way, the customer knows that we have received their email and will be in contact soon.

With thanks to Laura

18. Keep customers “in the loop” about their order

Get your agents to make proactive outbound calls to your customers to keep them “in the loop” about their order.

With thanks to Candice

19. Review your processes to cover everything in the first call

We have reviewed our entire customer journey to ensure all bases are covered in the first call.

This has helped us to drive down repeat contacts and improve the customer experience.

With thanks to Neil

For more on managing and exceeding customer expectations, read our articles:

• How to Set the Right Expectations on a Call
• How to Manage and Exceed Customer Expectations – With Examples
• Top 10 Tips for Exceeding Customer Expectations