9 Ways to Improve Your Customer Service

1. Meet consumers at the channel they choose, Muchow said. If you have a customer who prefers to interact over the Web, suggest e-mail as the way to handle customer service issues with that customer.

2. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each interaction channel (phone, Web, e-mail, interactive voice response (IVR), chat, short message service text messages, speech-based IVR, etc.) to determine the best use for each, Gliedman advised. For example, don’t use IVR for product selection, where you may need to provide more than yes/no answers. But this channel is useful for its timeliness and quick response, so consider it for functions that can be handled quickly — such as order status.