Your customer care department, like other aspects of your business, also faces various challenges daily. As with any challenge, you can overcome them as long as you have the right tools at your disposal and you know what to do.
How can you deal with these common customer care challenges? We’ll discuss each one of them in detail.
The importance of providing excellent customer care
Providing your customers with excellent customer service comes with plenty of benefits. Clients who have positive experiences engaging with your brand will spread good things about your company, effectively contributing to your brand presence and reputation.
It can also build and strengthen your customers’ loyalty, and the more clients are coming in, the more your company will grow and expand.
That said, all these do not come on a silver platter, and your customer care team will have to face various challenges. Only by overcoming these can you earn your customers’ dedication to your brand.
Customer care challenges and how to handle them
The challenges your customer care department faces daily can come in various forms.
Hiring the right people
Excellent customer care starts with the people you hire. Not everyone can become a customer service representative, and employing the wrong individuals can jeopardize your brand’s reputation and even integrity.
Ensure that you choose the right people for the job. Conduct sufficient background checks to see if your applicants have any derogatory records.
You should also examine if your applicants have the necessary talents and skills to do the job properly by conducting aptitude tests. A dedicated human resource department can also help screen applicants suited for customer care.
Training new hires
Applicants who pass the hiring process will still need proper training to learn the job. While some pass the initial screening, some new hires fail to deliver high-quality customer service due to a lack of training and skills, leading to a waste of business resources.
Therefore, it is important for your business to invest in reliable trainers and resources to ensure your new employees receive proper training.
Determining the right channels for your processes
Choosing the best channel and tools to support your business can be challenging. However, thorough research and understanding of your target audience can help determine which customer service channel is best for your marketing strategy.
Do most of your target market use social media? If so, determine which platforms they often use. On the other hand, do many of your customers prefer being contacted by email?
For your non-social media users, you can also interact with them via phone calls or live chat support.
In fact, you can establish an online community that can cater to both customer groups, adding to brand awareness.
Understanding what your customer needs
You need a deeper understanding of your customers as your business strategy relies on it. After all, how can you design and develop a product that will meet your customers’ needs if you do not know what they need?
Like choosing a tool to support your business operations, you need to conduct an extensive study on your customers. Find out what most of them need or what kind of issues they usually encounter, and then determine how to solve them in the most cost-effective way possible.
Handling unreasonable customers
One of the most common challenges the customer care industry deals with is unreasonable customers. These clients tend to demand things that you cannot do due to company standards or system limitations, yet they continue to insist. These are the type of customers who do not listen to reason.
The only way to deal with them effectively is to be firm with what you know can be reasonably done. Be polite as you let them know the steps that you can take.
Reassure your customers of a better alternative rather than simply refusing their demands as it can escalate the situation.
Dealing with irate customers
There are two types of irate customers: one that you can reason with and one that you cannot. While both kinds of customers can be challenging, those who listen to reason are far easier to handle.
Regardless, you need to exercise patience, understanding, and empathy in both situations. Listen closely to what they are trying to say and empathize with them whenever possible.
Ask relevant questions and always confirm your understanding with them to ensure both you and the customer are on the same page. Make an effort to find alternative solutions to their problem and be firm when it comes to unreasonable demands.
Serving many customers simultaneously
Engaging with multiple customers at the same time is a tricky customer care challenge, so avoid doing so if you can help it. However, if it is unavoidable, you can always ask them politely to be put on hold.
Doing so should give you ample time to take a breather while looking for a solution. You can also advise your customers of self-support channels to lessen your and your customer care department’s workload.
Being pressured to provide an immediate response or resolution
Sometimes, you will encounter customers who will demand to get an answer from you immediately. In such cases, just be firm and help them understand that you will need sufficient time to provide them with the best solution.
If you cannot fix their problem overnight, reassure them that you and your team will follow up and update them on the status of their issue at the soonest possible time.
Regaining lost customer trust
There are times when you will come up short in assisting your customers, which can lessen their trust in your brand. In such cases, find ways to make it up to them.
Send them freebies, exclusive promotional deals, or account credits, along with a genuine apology for your company’s shortcomings. After all, no company is perfect, but you always have the chance to make it up to your clients.
Handling service outages
All companies experience system service outages once in a while, which can be frustrating, especially if you have countless customers in the queue. There is no way you can handle it aside from being transparent to your customers.
Offer them a sincere apology, then politely and honestly explain that your company is experiencing a system outage.
Remember not to provide any specific timeframe for when things will return to normal but reassure your customers that your IT department is working on it. You should also be careful when setting their expectations as you do not want to disappoint your customers further.
Why overcoming these customer care challenges is crucial
Treat the customer care challenges you encounter as opportunities to prove to your customers why they should choose your business. After all, there is no better way to express customer care than by overcoming these hurdles for a positive customer experience.
