By Richard Rutigliano, PriMedia
Customer service has always been the foundation of a strong business. Good customer service means positive online reviews, long term customers and more referrals. Customers who have regularly received good customer service are also more likely to understand when there are inevitable delays or issues on their account.
While the best customer service requires a personal touch, you can enhance your service and empower your account representatives with an online self-service portal, expanded administrative capabilities, and remote services. The admin dashboard of your portal can open up communications and services, giving your sales and customer service team more tools to help your customers.
Data at Hand
By giving your team access to view the customer’s account as the customer sees it, your rep can walk an account holder through the steps to make a payment; update their information; look at service, purchase or other transaction histories; or enroll in programs and sign contracts. This is especially helpful for older customers who may be homebound due to weather or health precautions and are unfamiliar with digital services.
With your customer data at their fingertips, your staff can also answer customer questions more easily, so when Mr. Smith needs to know when he last had an appointment or Ms. Jones likes an item but needs to know how it works with something she bought last year, your sales and service team member can provide answers immediately. The extra level of service on these calls leaves your customers so happy that they tell their friends and family about all the great representatives who answer your phones.
Remote Service = Great Service
In a world where on-site appointments can be a health risk, many companies have implemented Remote Services. There has been a groundswell of support for tele-medicine, and this success points the way for many other service sectors. Attorneys and accountants can consult with clients; retailers are able to not only show new merchandise, but see the customer’s closet and find items to match; plumbers, heating companies and electricians can assess the situation at hand before entering the home, walk the customer through standard troubleshooting situations, and arrive with the tools and replacement parts needed. When a Remote Service Call System is integrated with customer data, representatives get a report of the account history along with the call request. And where the customers in the first examples are telling a small circle of friends, customers who have experienced a successful remote service call will be posting reviews on social media and other referral sites.
Build Loyalty
Your data is also your ace in the hole when it comes to building loyalty and increasing sales. Yes, these two ideas can go hand in hand. If you are selling the customer something they need to reduce energy use, coordinate with or replace previous purchases, or save money, they will be grateful and even more loyal. The best way to do that is by targeting the messages you send based on their specific account information. Are you offering a new service or product that makes their lives easier? Is there low-cost financing available for a home improvement you believe they need? Are they overdue for a check-up, tune-up, or other annual business service?
A fully integrated portal does more than allow your customers to pay bills online. It can empower your staff to offer more services and make your marketing more responsive to your customers’ needs.
PriMedia has been developing custom online platforms for more than a decade, for businesses of all sizes, designed to help streamline their operations and improve the customer experience they offer.That’s a winning combination that fosters growth and resiliency.
For more information on integrated customer portals, please contact PriMedia at 800-796-3342 or www.primediany.com.
