Rethinking Customer Service to Start at ‘Hello’ Before a Customer Says ‘Help’

Customer service can be the single most important factor for consumers in deciding which brands to support. Far too often, companies are waiting for problems to arise before they get to know their customers, when what they should be doing is getting to know consumers from the moment of first interaction. At a time when 85 percent of consumers would avoid a brand due to bad customer service, retailers cannot afford to risk even one sub-par customer experience.

As expectations for superior service rise and with almost 60 percent of consumers willing to pay a premium for exceptional service, brands have an important opportunity to rethink their approach. Instead of looking at customer service as a reactive strategy, it’s time to shift the paradigm, recognizing that the customer journey begins the moment a potential customer first interacts with a brand. Companies should start to build an ongoing, intelligent relationship from the moment of first interaction, which is possible by taking a more holistic look at all the data generated from a customer’s interactions with a company.

As today’s modern, forward-thinking brands seek to fine-tune their customer service strategies, here are some ways to shift your approach to modern customer service.

Make Sense of Data for Your Customer’s Benefit

In today’s data-driven world, companies that know how to analyze and maximize data to predict, meet and even exceed customer needs will be in a much stronger position to deliver value. Keep in mind that data collection must begin at that very first brand interaction and continue at every step of the customer journey. The more brands understand about their customers’ unique preferences, the better they can anticipate what they need, minimizing customer frustration and de-escalating concerns before they become problematic.

The right customer service platform can provide retailers with the data-driven insights they need to provide a holistic view of each customer, irrespective of the channel or department they interact with. This ensures consistency and cohesiveness in communication and helps customer service agents deliver a more personalized and frictionless experience.

Let’s say a customer contacts you asking to return an item. With unified data in one system, the process would be quick and easy. Customer service agents would be shown the complete context of that customer’s history so that they can take the right next action, increasing the likelihood of customer satisfaction.

Be Proactive in Your Communication

When customer service becomes proactive and more integrated, retailers can help their customers feel heard, valued and understood — way before they ask for help. Instead of waiting for customers to reach out with problems or queries, companies should think about engaging with customers from the very start. This proactive engagement can take various forms, such as personalized welcome messages and product recommendations. This can be even more valuable when re-engaging unhappy customers, helping to build brand loyalty with targeted offers.

With 76 percent of consumers expecting companies to proactively follow up if there's a problem with their order, proactivity has become table stakes. It’s time to level up with technology and tools that allow your customer service representatives to collect customer data and feedback at every point of the customer’s journey. Look for a CRM platform that can power bulk messaging, targeting specific customer segments based on your unique data, like orders, location, or CSAT.

Personalize Your Customer Interactions

Modern customers crave personalized interactions. Being asked to repeat their issue or problem to multiple people or departments is no longer acceptable. In fact, 86 percent of consumers get frustrated when they have to repeat information to agents. Personalizing a customer’s experience necessitates knowing the customer — and that requires data.

The right technology could help retailers bring all the data about a customer into one place. These tools can help to analyze customer data and behavior, helping predict individual preferences and tailor interactions accordingly. For instance, artificial intelligence-powered technology can suggest messages to send to customers based on historical conversations and customer attributes, which can become more accurate and personalized over time.

Rethinking customer service starts with recognizing that the customer journey begins the first moment of brand interaction. For retailers to truly wow today’s consumers, they need to deliver on customer needs instantaneously by prioritizing data, proactivity and personalization. By relying on data-driven technology and insights, brands can create a seamless customer experience from that very first "hello."

In taking these steps outlined above, your company will be well on the way to starting the customer service experience at the moment of "hello," and far before it gets to "help."

Brad Birnbaum is CEO and co-founder of Kustomer, an omnichannel customer service platform.