Excellent customer service supports your company's bottom line. Positive interactions can help boost loyalty and word-of-mouth reviews, while negative interactions could potentially damage your reputation and sales. To improve your customer service efforts and support your company's success, try these several tips.

Respect Customers

Every person who visits your business location or website is a potential customer. To value and appreciate each person, make sure you train staff to smile, speak with kindness and use a polite tone when talking to someone in person or on the phone.

Inform Employees

Provide your employees with comprehensive and updated information about your company's products, services, and policies. Then, ensure they're adequately informed and understand potential challenges customers may face could offer relevant solutions.

Customize Solutions

Every customer is unique and deserves a personalized solution to their problem. For optimum service, train staff to focus on one person at a time, use the customer's name and listen actively and carefully to each person.

Communicate Clearly

Reduce confusion and frustration with clear communication. For example, offer concise step-by-step instructions. And instead of using formal language, slang or jargon, speak to customers in conversational language that's easy to understand. You can also coach staff to enunciate instead of mumbling and to set aside scripts when possible.

Invest Time

Some customer interactions may be resolved quickly, while other interactions require extra time and attention. Encourage your staff to spend as much time as necessary with each customer. The investment can yield big results in customer satisfaction.

Admit Mistakes

Despite your best efforts, you might make a mistake. Admit when you're wrong, offer an apology and commit to making it right. Being honest and upfront can build trust.

Remain Positive

Unhappy, rude or angry customers can be frustrating for your staff. However, encourage customer service agents to practice emotional wellness and remain calm, polite and positive. Self-regulation, conflict resolution and active communication can diffuse challenging emotions and allow your staff to resolve problems effectively.

Resolve Once

Ideally, seek to resolve customer problems through one interaction. Multiple calls or bouncing customers between service reps typically reduces satisfaction and loyalty. To implement first-call resolution, cross-train staff, maintain a database of common challenges and offer ongoing employee training.

Request Feedback

Follow up after customer interactions to verify that each person is completely satisfied. You can send surveys or monitor reviews. Use the feedback to hone training and improve service.