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Whether large or small, most businesses know the value of great customer service, but many don't take the time and effort to measure it -- let alone analyze how it’s going. But as the economy weakens and markets shrinks, companies need to boost customer service and customer satisfaction in order to keep their current customers. And as many experts contend, it costs more to obtain new customers than it does to hold onto existing ones. What's more, as prices for goods and services become more competitive among companies, customer service may be the main factor that separates one business from another.
Measuring customer service through an online survey is a relatively new concept to many companies, who have been focused primarily on their income statement and balance sheets. But with a global economy and increased competition, organizations are realizing that a customer service survey built with customer survey software is the tool they need to improve customer satisfaction through better customer service.
A customer survey is a way for companies to reach out to their existing customers in an attempt to find out "how can we service you better". They help businesses find out if they are meeting customer expectations, and how to improve it if not. Understanding customer service expectations can help businesses develop strategies to improve their service to their customers -- and ultimately retain more customers. Through positive word-of-mouth from existing customers, they can then hope to attract new customers as well.
That said, it can be an overwhelming chore to try to obtain responses, quantify and measure them, and track them. Using a customer survey software tool makes the task of gaining insight into the transactions between your staff and customers easier. Whether you want feedback on face-to-face customer service interactions, online chat, email customer service feedback, or telephone-based customer service, a customer service survey can unlock those insights.
Using an online survey to administer your survey tool enables you to customize your questions and delivery based upon your customers. If desired, you can have standardized questions that ensure that you request the same information from everyone. All-in-all, you'll likely want feedback on your customer service representative's knowledge, professionalism, competence, customer service response time, quality of response, shipping and delivery feedback, internet and phone support, and friendliness of staff.
While the survey tool questions designed in customer survey software are limitless, some common closed-end customer service questions include: "Staff was knowledgeable about the products and services", "Staff was friendly throughout", and “How would you rate our customer service on a scale from 1 to 10". On the flip side, some open-ended questions may include: "How can we improve our customer service?" and "What was the best part of your customer service interaction?”
In a nutshell, customer service surveys are like customer satisfaction surveys, except they focus on a piece, albeit a significant piece, in the customer satisfaction umbrella. They also provide you with an opportunity to show your customers that you value their opinion enough to want to improve your service to them.
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