Do you have great customer service?

Tech companies who focus solely on customer review scores should take another look at their business and ask what they can do to offer a well-rounded customer experience, says Stuart Carlisle, MD of Ebuyer.com.

Let’s be honest – in the past the electronics and retail sectors have taken a bit of a battering when it comes to customer service.

However, in recent years brands have recognised that consumers will simply not put up with being fobbed off by companies – they have taken back the power with customer review sites, seller ratings and social media. There are just too many other retail options available now.

Great customer service is key, however, a well-rounded customer experience through all touch points (web, in-store and phone) can set it apart from the competition.

Any company professing to excel in customer experience, no matter the size of business, will not only have invested time, money and effort in its staff, systems and processes, but more importantly have the customer at the heart of its culture.

This culture can only exist with full support from the top down. All the senior executives and department heads must buy into the ethos of providing an excellent customer experience.

A recent Nunwood Customer Experience Excellence survey highlighted the importance of not standing still and embracing changing customer expectations through all touch points, with some major brands dropping down the rankings because they struggle to offer a consistent customer experience.

Some companies have become obsessed with 100 per cent scores, throwing money and resources at chasing utopia, without dealing with the real issues causing negative feedback, like poor quality product, couriers or returns. Before making any investment into customer experience improvements, any company must have a clear and robust method of success (or failure) measurement.

Good examples of this are independent review companies, where good and bad verbatim is collected and cannot be edited. Poor examples are store ratings that can be manipulated by staff and the ever-present internet trolls and keyboard warriors. Rate your supply partners in the same way your customers rate you.

Do they take ownership of problems, do they resolve issues promptly, and do they match your brand promise?

If the answer is no, find a partner who does.