When it comes to developing your customer service processes, having defined progress markers is incredibly useful. Not only is it an objective way to measure your current customer service provisions, but it’s an excellent method of developing clear goals for your team to aim for.
However, you may be wondering how to master customer engagement and turn your customer interactions into measurable data that can be used to improve. If you’re feeling unsure, here are 7 ways to assess your current customer assistance provisions, and how the process can boost company development.
How to measure your customer service performance
Ask for feedback
Instead of waiting for customers to post reviews, it’s a good idea to continually ask clients for their feedback on different processes. Whether you ask customers to rate their experience after receiving a product, prompt them to score the assistance they receive, or even create a client focus group for more detailed feedback, it’s important to ask your customers for their perspective, as this will allow you to implement truly effective improvements.
Measuring customer feedback also allows you to gauge the success of new processes you create, as an increase in positive reviews after implementation is a clear indicator that you’re on the right path.
Consider repeat clients
It can be very useful to analyse how and why people decide to purchase from you, but you should also consider what motivates them to become repeat or long-term clients. While this may depend on the type of service you offer, measuring how many clients repurchase from you, and how often they do so, will help ensure you’re delivering a consistently good customer experience. Checking how levels of repeat customers fluctuate after updating your processes is also a great way to ensure your company remains customer-focused as it grows.
Check your conversion rate
Measuring conversion rate shouldn’t be something reserved for when you’re updating your website — it can actually tell you a lot about how effective your brand communication is.
Try to check how many visitors to your online platforms go on to use your brand, but also measure how many people who speak with your customer service team purchase from you as well. Consider whether certain parts of your website are attracting or deterring customers, and if your assistance team needs extra training to handle certain customer issues more effectively.
The conversion rate to aim for will differ across businesses, but measuring changes over time will certainly make it easier to set targets for the future.
Check customer effort rate
Double-checking how much effort customers feel is involved with your customer service system can reveal a surprising amount about your internal processes. If customers struggle to locate your contact information, and then have to dedicate a lot of time to asking for help, they’re likely to give your company a higher effort score, and to choose an alternative retailer.
Instead, try to streamline your processes and offer clients a low-effort service. Provide a variety of contact options, so users can choose what works for them, and ensure your team is well-trained and able to appropriately address a variety of concerns. This way, customers will be able to easily access the help they need, which will reduce effort scores and boost client retention.
Measure first response time
Another effective metric is first response rate. This is how long it takes your customer team to respond after a customer initially reaches out.
It may seem a simple point, but responding promptly to customers with concerns can greatly increase your overall conversion rate, as those who have to wait for assistance are much more likely to shop elsewhere.
If you find that your first response time is over 24 hours then it might be time to invest in more team training, and create a clear company strategy for cutting response time down.
Understand query resolution time
In addition to your first response rate, you should also test how long it takes on average to resolve a customer issue. Are customers having to wait weeks for follow up emails, or is your team able to solve problems in just a few days? Being able to provide clients with rapid, effective customer service will not only increase the likelihood of a positive outcome, but can actually improve brand perception.
Set team goals to incrementally reduce resolution time over a few months, and ensure you have well-defined customer service guidelines to assist your staff, too.
Measure abandonment rate
In some cases, customer issues might not be resolved, and you may find that you lose contact with clients after a few interactions. These occurrences can be measured as your abandonment rate, or when customers decide to seek answers elsewhere. Measuring this rate is a great way to check which of your customer service lines are the most efficient.
If your online chat interface has a higher rate of abandonment than other lines, consider adapting it to better reflect the rest of your customer service provisions. Reducing abandonment rate over time is also an excellent target for your team.
Are you ready to measure and improve your customer service?
Overall, it’s worth measuring your customer service capabilities regularly. It’s the only way to gain objective information on your team’s performance, and is excellent for both promoting team motivation and ensuring customer service improves as your company grows.