In a successful business, all employees should have as their main goal to keep the customer satisfied with the services that you’re providing. However, at some point, you will need to set up a team dedicated to customer care. To do that, you have to perfectly understand the needs of your customers and also those of your team. First, let’s see what customer care really means.
Because there’s a difference between customer experience, customer service, and customer care, it’s important that we learn how to differentiate them. Therefore, customer care is a philosophy that focuses on ensuring that customers have their satisfaction ensured and their interaction with the business and the brand is absolutely delightful. It also requires building a personal relationship with the client and showing a human approach towards them.
Now that we better understand what customer care implies, the next step is to learn how to keep the customer happy. The basic needs of a client aren’t many. Regardless, you need to take into consideration that there are numerous similar businesses on the market. Therefore, the way you approach a customer truly matters. It’s not only about being different from the rest, but also sharing the same values with your ideal clientele.
If you are able to convince people to try your products, you should also be able to convince them to stick around. At the end of the day, that’s what all businesses need, a great community of loyal customers that enjoy your services and share them with the rest of the world. For that reason, let’s find out together how you can best ensure the needs of a satisfied customer.
The Most Basic Needs of a Customer
Be Friendly, Empathetic and Understanding
One of the most basic needs of a client is friendliness, which is usually associated with being greeted with warmth. A customer should never feel like an intrusion, if you’re not glad to see them, you’ll never see them again. Nonetheless, you should be preoccupied with their circumstances and feelings without any type of judgment or criticism.
They usually have simple expectations, and you being able to step into their shoes is one of them. If you treat them fairly, you won’t need to deal with defensive or annoying behaviors. Just because we’re providing them a service, it doesn’t mean that we’re superior to them, never be that kind of person.
Give Them Control, Options and Alternatives
Remember, customers, like to think that they have some sort of control over how things turn out. Their impact on your business will make them come back for sure. They also need to know that other avenues are available to getting what they want to accomplish. If they feel like they know nothing about the territory they might enter, and you don’t make suggestions that will help them struggle less, they might get flustered.
Every Detail Is Important to Them
They want to know everything, but they don’t want to do their homework, so they will require you to offer as much information as possible. The more details you give them, the more they will appreciate your service. Plus, if you explain the entire process, they won’t feel helpless and powerless
Now that we’ve gone through the basic needs of a client, let’s see how we can build the best customer care team. In order to do that, we will need to understand their needs, so they can always approach a client with the right attitude.
Since customer care fosters an emotional connection with the brand’s community, this will include all experiences with the company and its employees. It’s crucial to keep the customer satisfied in each interaction, that’s why a team made only for that will know how to make the customer feel special and taken care of. Once you understand customers’ needs, things get clearer.
What Are the Needs of a Customer Care Team to Properly Function?
- Engaged Employees Can Perform Better
Did you know that 71% of executives say that engagement is critical for a company’s success? Keep in mind that none of us wants to hear feedback only when mistakes are made. Reassuring your employees that their work is important will motivate them to continue to perform it.
If you’re not sure how to create more engagement within your team, here are a few ideas:
- Provide them with positive, regular and helpful feedback – this represents one of the easiest and cheapest ways to keep them engaged.
- Foster continuous learning – the skills of your customer care team will not only be improved, but they will also stay engaged.
- Take their opinions seriously – don’t we all want to feel like we have a voice? Make sure they feel heard.
These are only a few examples of how you can make your employees feel that their contribution matters. Get creative and be empathetic, because dealing with clients on a daily basis is not something everyone can do. And that’s not all, if your employees are engaged, they can create:
➜ 22% increase in cross-sell
➜ 38% increase in self-revenue
➜ 85% increase in the size of your orders
Isn’t it amazing how engaging your employees can help your business?
- Show Appreciation
Appreciation is key, if your employees don’t feel like their work is important, at some point, they will simply start looking for another job. Recognition will make them provide their best work because we all respond to praise, it’s just human nature. There are so many ways to do this, don’t hesitate to get creative.
Just make sure you praise individual talents as much as you celebrate team achievements. Each employee needs to know that their skills are a contribution to the company. Brainstorm with the team to find ways on how to appreciate the gift of each individual.
Nonetheless, celebrating the entire team is also a key factor. From parties, to handwritten thank you notes, choose what’s more appropriate for your organization.
- Nurture Career Growth
One of the saddest things that could happen to an employee is feeling stuck in a dead-end job. Their motivation will simply vanish if they see no possibilities to grow within the company. As a conscious leader, you should commit to development planning. This way, you can help your staff build skills and achieve professional goals.
A great example to help your customer care team grow is by loaning them to other departments. They will develop new skills while also adding value to different areas of your organization. Always be realistic, though, you can’t set nonsensical job expectations only to disappoint and disillusion them in the long run.
Why Is a Customer Care Team Important?
If by now you’re not convinced that your business needs a customer care team, we want to make sure you understand its importance. Customer care plays an immense role in the success of your business. Instead of just making a sale, your team will look after your customers, because all they need is to know they are cared for, they are listened to, and that the best solutions will be offered to them.
Customer care is beyond customer service – a customer care team will build strong emotional relationships with your community of clients. But that’s not all, because they will also maintain the reputation of your brand, will solve issues with efficacy, and keep the values of your company to high standards.
Leave the Experts to Make Decisions for You
Every interaction between customers and employees has the possibility of turning your business around. Why not get in touch and let us show you how to grow your very own customer care team and how to build strong customer relationships? When everyone is happy, success is guaranteed.