In an industry that often prioritizes profit over people, you can carve out a new normal, too.
Great acts of customer service do not happen in a vacuum. The entire organization depends on internal processes and leadership that enables them to do the right thing proactively.
It’s important that you have a nourishing working environment that gives employees significant ownership, and empowers them to serve. Take it from these famous brands who are known for their exceptional customer service!
What does it take to offer exceptional customer service?
Exceptional customer service is the unconditional support a certain organization offers to every client, regardless of the circumstances. When we talk about exceptional customer service, it simply means to do anything and everything within your power.
It is the commitment of going the extra mile for your customers in giving them the highest quality of service. Upon ensuring that your clients are getting the best service there is, exceptional customer service will majorly drive your revenue.
Exceptional customer service deals with being proactive in action to solve issues before they even arise. It also comes with the ability to mend customer relationships that would fracture.
Businesses that offer exceptional customer service
Having explained what exceptional customer service is, let’s hear it from the most famous brands we’ve listed down below. How do they do it?
Ikea
First on our list: Ikea. In a world where business leaders strive hard to eliminate all points of conflict from the customers’ experience, Ikea chooses to build around them instead.
As a large furniture store, customers have to go through all the labyrinthine stores to find what they’re searching for. They also have to assemble the furniture pieces by themselves that can both be ‘too laborious’ for the customers.
The thing is, Ikea has its own way on how to use this point to deliver exceptional customer service.
Requiring customers to walk around Ikea is exactly designed to showcase how the furniture would look in your home is particularly appealing to customers. Customers seek that cozy feeling of being at the comforts of their own home the moment they enter the store.
Apart from furniture, Ikea sells the Swedish lifestyle. They put a high emphasis on functionality and natural materials that curate peaceful home living.
Ikea also has a mobile app that allows users to browse through their online catalog. Buyers can check for product information, prices, and availability to help them better orient through the stores.
Trader Joe’s
This big grocery chain with several outlets across the United States is known for prioritizing employees and customers. No wonder Trader Joe’s has a huge following.
The company gives excellent benefits and promotional opportunities to its staff while giving them discounts on all of their products. Trader Joe’s is also famous for its customer service stories, too.
The company is responsive to customers’ complaints and requests. When customers complained that they were using too much plastic, Trader Joe’s immediately announced it would start packaging items in more eco-friendly packaging.
They are also attentive to customers’ feedback both given online or in-store. Something that every brand should take a look at.
Hubspot
The famous inbound marketing software company HubSpot is known in the digital marketing world for its exceptional customer service too. Their team is easy to reach, and the support team possesses extensive knowledge in customer assistance.
HubSpot provides informative content for their marketing, sales, web developers, and their educational platform, HubSpot Academy. They provide a section where customers can also submit suggestions on how to improve their software systems.
Zappos
Zappos is an online retail company that is known for extra-mile customer service. As a retail brand, Zappos is famous for its free shipping treats for all types of back-and-forth transactions.
Zappos admits that these approaches cost them some money. However, they also believe that it’s better to spend on customer service itself instead of investing in advertising.
This way, customers will have a long-term relationship with you and that will surely compensate for the revenue losses you might have had.
Amazon
This multinational e-commerce website is known for its free shipping, automatic refunds, discounted items, and exceptional customer service. They believe that when you empower your customers with a great product they truly need, they’ll be loyal customers.
They make sure to assess if their product fulfills the market and customer demands. This, of course, is a fundamental marketing aspect. However, most companies tend to forget that they should build something new and innovative to lead a successful business.
Amazon is an online e-commerce platform that effectively does this and makes every customer experience a breeze.
From what brands do you draw your customer service inspo?
There’s literally no exact formula to ensure exceptional customer service every day. This depends on many factors such as the size of your business, your industry, and your product or service.
Just like how these brands personalize their way to deliver an excellent customer experience.
Identifying your strengths and your weaknesses and having to work on them will definitely separate you from the rest. In an industry that often prioritizes profit over people, you can carve out a new normal, too.
It’s important to hire dedicated and talented team members that can empathize, personalize, and invest in a support stack that makes everything easier to help people every day.
