How your audience affects the customer service definition

What would you say is the most important department in your organization? Engineering? Sales? Human Resources?

Consider customer service. After all, these are the folks who consistently engage with your customers, troubleshoot issues and provide the consultation they need to be successful. The data validates the value of their work. For example, it’s at least five times more expensive to attract a new client then retain an existing one and consumers would pay up to 16% more for better customer experience.

So what happens when certain customers pay more for your services or show greater potential for additional sales? How would your team allocate both time and effort in supporting these clients versus others?

Given the variety of customers your organization will inevitably have, we’ll review the steps toward defining and implementing a customer support model that’s capable of supporting each customer at the appropriate level.

But first, what do we mean when we talk about customer service?

The definition of customer service: Customer service is a company’s support and guidance for individuals and/or organizations who use their products and services.

Basic customer service sounds….well, basic. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

To be clear, your organization should still answer the client’s questions and concerns quickly and communicate via multiple channels, fulfilling our customer service definition. Yet, there are a few key questions that need to get answered in order to refine the basic level:

As our customer service definition gets applied to customers who begin to spend more for your services and/or show greater potential in buying more from your team, the following questions should also be added to the fray:

To better guide your discussion around these questions, survey your clients. After all, any decisions and actions that follow carry significant consequences for the customers experience.

Pro tip: As responses to your survey come back, make sure to share them with the appropriate colleagues. Transparency in the data enables colleagues to get on the same page and make better decisions.

This level of support is dedicated to your most treasured accounts, both in what pay they today and what they can pay in the near future. Keeping these customers engaged and satisfied is all the more critical when revisiting how expensive it’d be to replace them with new clients. But how does our customer service definition evolve to the most advanced levels?

Pro tip: To fuel your conversations and keep them personalized, the support reps can send the client’s key stakeholders a survey a few days prior to the call. Assuming the right questions are asked, the rep should have a thorough understanding of the client’s health and come to the call prepared.

Pro tip: To get clients comfortable in providing honest and thoughtful feedback, try sending a simple product feedback survey on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. The product team can then incorporate this feedback into the product roadmap.

Our customer service definition takes on several forms depending on the clients that your organization is tasked to support. By carefully building out a system of tiered support that incorporates the client’s feedback, the majority of your customers will receive the support they need to be successful.

Interested in understanding how prospective customers want to be supported? Build out your desired panel of respondents and survey them today using SurveyMonkey Audience.