Choosing Your Customer Contact Services: Here’s a Helpful Checklist For 2017

Customer Contact Services Checklist

 

 

So how did 2016 go for your company? Orders and sales were up? Mistakes and returns were down? No ugly delivery failures during the holidays? Or did your customer contact services and order fulfillment leave more than a little to be desired?

 

Yep, that’s what we suspected. We hear this all the time from CEOs and their operations and brand managers. Some variation of, “Surely there’s a better way!” And you know what? You can do better in 2017. Improvement starts with a customer care upgrade, and this checklist will help you make strategically better choices. The kind that will increase sales and boost brand loyalty.

 

So, without further adieu, here’s that customer contact services checklist:

 

1. Invest a few minutes in this needs assessment quiz. Sometimes you’re so close to the situation you can’t see where the problems actually lie. Or you’re so removed from your current fulfillment company that you don’t know what you’re actually getting, let alone what you might be missing. This easy-to-take quiz lets you score your current fulfillment and call center operations. That way you can pinpoint gaps and key areas that need improvement. Keep that in mind as you work through the remainder of this checklist.

 

2. Look for customer contact services that are available 24/7 via phone, email or live chat. They should be backed up by redundant systems, so your customers can ask questions and place orders whenever and however they like.

 

3. Look for a company that uses fully-integrated inventory and order management software. That ensures your customer care reps always have accurate, real-time information at their fingertips when speaking with customers.

 

4. Look for a company that enables call center personnel to have access to the products themselves. So they can double-check details if necessary. Better yet, ask if agents are encouraged to personally use the products. This allows them to relate their experiences to customers and make real-person recommendations.

 

5. Look for a fulfillment company that uses a quality-based approach to hiring and training. Good people who have the knowledge, tools and resources they need are happier in their jobs. They tend to stick around. Low turnover puts your customers in touch with a strong, experienced team of customer care pros. That builds trust and confidence.

 

6. Look for a company with a high touch approach to call center solutions. One that understands your customers are their customers, because they are representing your brand with every contact. High touch translates to passion about your company and products. And pride in providing exceptional, personalized service to every customer.

 

7. Meet these people. You wouldn’t dream of hiring sales associates for a brick-and-mortar store sight-unseen. Ecommerce sales reps are even more important because they may be your only in-person contact with customers. The impression they make can literally make or break your company’s future.

 

Anyone can take an order. It’s the added value of people-oriented customer contact services that will transform your 2017 from OK to extraordinary.

Download our free ebook “Deliver Me” to learn more.