Customer Care 101: Top 5 Reasons Your Business Needs Strong Escalation Management
Did you know that 7 out of 10 consumers have admitted they would pay more money for a business with better customer service? Which explains why so many businesses are turning to escalation management to enhance their approach to customer care.
If you’re looking to implement escalation management into your own customer service center, read on to learn the most effective ways to establish one.
1. Self-Service Makes Life Easier
Your first line is allowing the customer to find the answer themselves. You may be surprised to find that many of your customers would rather seek out the answer themselves.
Which is why it helps to have a FAQ section or further documentation on your product or service that can answer any extra questions.
2. First-Line Support Agents Can Handle Simple Tasks
First line support is ideal for customers having questions about their account and basic troubleshooting. Your customer service agents here should have some basic to intermediate level knowledge on the products and services.
Ideally, about 80% of all customers service calls with find resolution on this first tier.
3. Additional Tiers Provide Deeper Knowledge
In the event that the call escalates, the customer should be directed to the second-line where more intermediate and advanced technical support is found. This is where questions on more advanced product features or data problems are often resolved.
If all goes well, 15-20% of calls will be resolved at level 2
4. Your Customers Will Need Complex Management
Your third line is for more intense troubleshooting that focuses more on complex management issues. This is also the tier that usually has the authorization to conduct further research into a problem.
Hopefully, the last 5% of conflict can be resolved at this point.
5. Sometimes Your Customer Care Won’t Be Enough
If it’s not possible to resolve the issue within your own customer care, then it may be in your best interest to connect the customer with support from whichever vendor represents the product at hand.
Mistakes to Avoid for Escalation Management
Even the most well-adapted escalation management process can lose a customer by making some critical errors. To help you improve your team, here are a few commonly made mistakes that you’ll want to avoid.
Never Challenge Your Customer
The old homage “the customer is always right” still stands strong and should be the center of all customer service calls.
This means customer service should never challenge a complaint by stating that the customer is incorrect. Instead, the customer can present any relevant facts such as email dates or payment receipts.
Remember to Actually Apologize
Often businesses believe that apologizing means admitting to being at fault for the issue, something that can also land them in some serious trouble. This isn’t necessarily the case.
Customer service can apologize for the inconvenience, the time spent, or any confusion that may have arisen. This shows compassion without directly admitting guilt.
Don’t Forget to Follow Up
Many customers believe that your main goal when conflict arises is to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Show them that this isn’t the case by offering a courtesy follow up call.
The call doesn’t have to be long but should be intended to ensure that the problem was resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Finding the Right Escalation Management Solution
If you find that customer service is too much to handle in house, it may be in your best interest to outsource your escalation management, particularly if your industry focuses on IT.
Check out our blog on IT outsourcing to learn more about how this powerful tool can enhance your overall customer service.