7 Proven Ways to Improve Customer Responsiveness Immediately

Customers are becoming more and more unpredictable in their relationship with companies- they expect to get an immediate answer to a question, an immediate response to a message. This is understandable, considering clients put a lot of their money and trust into the companies they work with, expecting nothing but top quality customer service. So, how can you, as a company, improve your responsiveness to customers and thereby gain their trust?

Due to the extraordinary progress of technology and access to instant information in the time we live in, customers expect companies to respond immediately to their questions, wishes, and criticism. This puts a lot of pressure on small businesses, which are already fighting tough battles with competitors and increasing market saturation. More than half of small business representatives are convinced that customers will contact their competitors if their message is not answered within an hour – and this is not too far from the truth. One survey found out that as many as 51% of customers will contact a competitor within 6 hours at the latest if they do not receive an answer to a question they addressed to a particular company within that time.

It’s also important to consider different communication channels through which small businesses communicate with their customers, and compare those with ones that customers actually prefer to communicate on. While small businesses mostly decide to establish communication via phone, customers are more keen to email communication, which is only then followed by phone calls and text messages. It should be noted that the younger generations to a greater extent prefer to communicate via email and social networks, while less often they will decide to make a phone call.

How to Improve Customer Responsiveness and Gain Their Trust?

1. Ask customers what they want

Check how your customers prefer to communicate with you. Use your existing customer base and ask them through which channels they most often access you and what additional options they would like to have available. Would you like to be able to submit an inquiry directly through your website? Would you like us to prepare the most common questions and answers to quickly resolve potential dilemmas? The answers may surprise you. In any case, it makes sense to take them into account when planning further communication options.

2. Meet their expectations

There are usually numerous options on how customers can contact you. However, it is impossible to be present at all ends at all times. Despite this, it makes sense to choose one of the channels through which you will be really responsive at least most of the time. In this way, you can direct the customer to contact you through this channel, in case it is something urgent or they want an immediate answer.

3. Measure the response speed

Find out what the average response time is for individual communication channels, and make it your goal to minimize the time it takes your employees to respond to your customers. In doing so, you will also get information about which channel customers receive an answer to in the shortest possible time. In this way, you will be able to direct the most unexpected customers to that channel, and the probability that they will receive an answer in time will be greater.

4. Educate your employees

It is important to agree within the company on what kind of answers you will give to customers to certain questions. It would be unprofessional for the customer to get two different answers to the same question if addressed to two different employees. Prepare a list of the most frequently asked questions and discuss with employees what kind of answers you expect.

5. Prepare answers to the most common questions

No matter what business you’re in, there are probably some questions that customers ask you most often. To enable customers to get quick answers without contacting you directly, collect the most frequently asked questions and their answers on the website. This way, customers will only call or write to you if they have more complex questions. The number of calls and messages will decrease and your response time may increase on this account.

6. Take advantage of technology

The purpose of technology is to simplify our lives. You can also use its advantages for the purposes of ensuring a higher response rate to inquiries. Thus, you can use the option of using automatic replies for messages you receive via your Facebook profile. You can also download an application that will inform you of all the notifications that you have received through various social networks.

7. Maintain a human relationship

In the end, it makes sense to emphasize that the speed of your response is not the only thing that matters when trying to satisfy your customers. It is important to establish a respectful relationship with the client and let them know that you are paying attention to them. Especially when it comes to resolving complaints and various problems, approach communication with the customer thoughtfully and do not react too quickly. Take the time to kindly explain the situation to them, or make amends – this way, the customer will be happy to contact you again in the future.