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May 31, 2022

How to Make Customer Service a Profitable Part of Your Business



In many companies, there is a sort of antagonism against the customer service department because they are not viewed as a growth contributor to the company. In some companies, that might actually be true. But it is not because there is something inherently problematic with customer service. When customer service is done right, it will be a boost to growth rather than a drag on growth. Customer service done right should never be viewed with suspicion, but celebrated for the invaluable asset that it truly is. If that is not the story of your customer service department, something has gone drastically wrong.



That said, there are a lot of customer service departments that are not proving to be a profitable asset to the company. A lot of this is down to budget. Good customer service is expensive. In a perfect world, it will always pay for itself. But there is an initial cost to doing it right.

You have to acquire enough staff and they have to be quality hires. Many companies view the position as entry-level, and treat it that way. The customer service staff tends to live down to their expectations. You can make your customer service department more productive and profitable by doing better hires. Here are a few more suggestions that have proven useful to many businesses like yours:

Better Technical Documentation

One of the best things you can do for your customer service staff is provide them with better technical documentation. Even if you hire quality workers, they will not be able to do their jobs well with poor information. That information should be a part of their training and available reference material.

Part of the reason CS reps are so under-provisioned is that aforementioned low expectation. The first level of support is so basic as to be practically useless for anyone who has a real problem with the product or service. That first level of staff is not trusted with anything important. That is where the better provisioned but fewer in number second level comes into play.

Some companies have done away with the tiered system and train all reps to be the only agent a customer needs to speak with. There is no need to shift the customer to another agent or to wait on the supervisor that is never available. When your CS staff is enabled and empowered, the department becomes an asset to the company.

Invest in Their Wellbeing

Call centers of every kind represent some of the most grueling and unappreciated office work there is. The people working the phones are often not well trained and under a great deal of pressure to perform. Rather than giving them more reasons and ways to fail, try giving them more reasons and ways to succeed by investing in their wellbeing.

There are a number of ways to do it including pay raises and other financial incentives. Incentivizing customer service can be tricky because it is often not based on how happy the customer is, but on various metrics that save the company money.

There are many examples of customer service incentives such as monthly recognition, daily games, and special breaks. The key is to be sure there are incentives that are attainable for everyone. If it is always a contest that only rewards a small percent of representatives, it could become a disincentive. Provide at least some incentives that everyone can enjoy. It shouldn’t take winning a contest to get a little recognition for a job well done.

Make It Easy on the Customer

When customers are happy, customer representatives are happy. The greatest fear of some companies is that a customer will choose to leave and try something else. That represents an existential terror. Get over it. Customers are fickle and loyal only to themselves. They will want to do what is in their best interests. Just remember that their interests change constantly. So if they want to quit the service or return the product, don’t make them beg. They will punish you for that. Make it easy for them to quit and desirable to return. That’s how you win. When they feel like their concerns are being met, they will find excuses to stick around.

Make your customer service department a positive asset by empowering them with better documentation, looking after their wellbeing, and freeing them to make the customer’s happiness their highest priority.



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