Following up with the customer until their problem is resolved is one of the key things in amazing customer support that most companies skip over. It does take some time, but having a staff member call and ask if the installation went well or if a customer’s problem was fixed makes all the difference between good and great customer support teams.
I had a team of young college graduates doing some work that boiled down to crunching numbers and sending them back out to clients. It was the job of the newest person on the team for the first six months to call every single person we sent out those emails to the day before and make sure they had received them. You’d be surprised how many legitimate emails get caught in spam filters or never reach their destination.
Inevitably some of the people doing the follow-ups would start skipping days. One time one young man left hundreds of voicemails on his own cell phone because that was somehow better than calling the clients. We never really figured out the logic on that one. Every time, within a few days of someone not following up, we would receive an angry call from someone who didn’t receive the numbers they needed. That 1-minute phone conversation or 15-second voicemail was the difference between clients who were thrilled with turnaround time and clients who figured that we didn’t want their business.
The best salesmen always follow up with their clients. They know that’s how they get referrals and return business. What is true on the individual level is true on the corporate level. It’s the difference between receiving a handwritten thank you note and never receiving any sort of thank you when you get your friend’s kid a graduation present. You may never notice that you didn’t receive one, but you’ll certainly appreciate the handwritten card.
Following up with your clients to gently guide them through the entire process (and to make sure they’re taken care of after the sale) is something rarely seen today. There is no immediate reward for following up, but the benefits are in the return business and immeasurable word of mouth.
Helpware has specialist expertise in back-office support and customer support. We believe that our customer support team is the face of our company. Therefore, we serve our clients best and our customer support team is ready to help!
