In an article for Small Business Trends, Barry Moltz, a nationally-recognized expert on entrepreneurship, has identified ten Customer Service trends to watch for in 2010. All are hinged on outstanding customer service, which he calls the only truly sustainable competitive advantage for your small business. Here’s what he expects to see in 2010:
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All customer-facing employees will try harder this year to attract, satisfy, and keep their customers. When job prospects are slim, every employee wants to keep the job they have, so the effort must be greater.
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Companies don’t just sell a product, but provide a customer service channel to sell any product. All companies will see that exceptional service is the only way to keep customers buying from them.
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Personalization, such as name recognition and tracking of what was purchased in the past, either online or in person, will be expected by customers.
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With tools like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, no bad deed will go unpublished by a dissatisfied customer, and that can hurt your business. Published information from a satisfied customer will be a booster for your company.
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Brand companies are also starting to listen to published complaints, and will be responding directly to you. No negative comment will be ignored.
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More web sites will allow you to speak directly to customer service people through chat, video, Skype, or phone. The lag time of email or phone response will be a thing of the past.
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American companies who have in the past outsourced their customer service will be bringing it back home by either hiring a domestic company or bringing it in-house. Insourcing is IN!
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Companies will continue to track all information about you to make your relationship as personal as possible. This makes it easier to predict consumer preferences.
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Since not every customer is a profitable one, more companies will be “firing” customers who clog up their customer service lines and cost the company lots of money. They will be asked to take their business elsewhere.
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In the past, start-up companies wanted to appear big. Now, however, they want to appear “human.” Every company wants to appear like the corner store, but have global pricing power and extensive distribution.
Do you have the right software to help you keep up with current customer service trends? CounterPoint Software has features that will keep you competitive and increase your sales. For further information, call us at 800-672-4806 or email us.