Importance of responding to customers in a timely manner

One of the most overlooked marketing tactics needed to attract customers is the speed of service. No matter whether you are replying to an inquiry or responding to a complaint, all customers appreciate the value of a quick reply from a business. Customer service expectations are constantly changing, but the one thing that will remain the same is the responsiveness of a business to meet the response needs of the everyday consumer. 

Types of customer responses

Responding to an inquiry: To maximize customer satisfaction, respond to queries as soon as possible, or schedule a call with the customer if the query is complex in nature.    

• Responding to a purchase: A purchase is one of the best times to show a customer how much you appreciate their business. For these types of responses, a special discount offer or even a simple thank you can go along way with your customers. Every positive interaction can lead to several more interactions in the future.
• Responding to returns: Customers who are returning purchases can be one of the hardest times to respond to them in a timely manner. For a lot of customers, the service that they receive when making a return dictates if and when they will do business with your company again. It’s also important to make this process as seamless as possible.
• Responding to complaints: Treat customer complaints with a positive attitude and respond to them in a way that shows you still value their service.  Keep in mind that that any particular complaint could pertain to something that you may want to be aware of such as an outdated promotion or a broken link on your website.  

How to improve your response time

• Implement customer service software: If you haven’t already, it’s recommended to invest in some form of customer software to improve your customer service workflow. Standard software usually stores, tracks, and sorts all of your customer data. This allows you to monitor the response time of staff and adjust accordingly to any issues.
• Auto-response emails: One of the biggest benefits of utilizing an auto-responder is that it helps you build solid relationships. Sometimes customers just want to know that their email has been received. Auto-response emails work 24 hours a day and can give your customers valuable information about an inquiry right after they send your business an email.
• Time-based email alerts: Sometimes you may have a large number of emails in your customer service queue and time-based emails can be an effective solution. If you have customer service software, you can setup this feature automatically. Then you can send time-based email alerts to avoid delayed replies for an extended period of time.
• Utilize FAQs: If you have a well-thought out FAQ page, customers might not even need to contact you in the first place. This is a proactive way of responding to customers and that is something that customers will always appreciate.

Conclusion

Minimizing customer response time should be a priority for any business that wants to increase customer loyalty and attract new leads. If you have resisted the idea of an auto-responder or customer service software, now is the time to update your customer service support. When done properly, it can improve the overall workflow and efficiencies throughout your entire business.