The Importance of Customer Service Numbers

 

Customer service has evolved into a strategic function for companies of all sizes. It’s no longer simply responding to customer questions or issues and closing tickets – it’s proactively delivering immediate support through any channel a customer prefers, including phone, email, chat, text and social media. As a result, the importance of quality customer service has never been greater.

Customers have come to expect that the best brands will offer top-notch customer service — and they share their experiences both good and bad online, in person and in conversations with friends and family. In fact, many consumers will back out of a purchase if they feel they won’t receive the level of service they need from a company — and the negative impact can be felt well beyond that one lost sale.

Because of the significance of a strong customer service team, it’s important that they are properly trained and supported. Employees are more likely to leave their jobs if they’re frustrated with the working environment or don’t believe that management is supportive of their efforts to do their job well, and this turnover can cost businesses between $30k and $45k per employee.

That’s why empowering your customer service representatives to make decisions in the moment, as they would in real life, and providing them with the tools and training they need to resolve problems quickly is so important. It’s also why focusing on the needs of your employees is crucial, as happier and more fulfilled employees are more likely to deliver outstanding customer service.

Getting your business set up with a toll-free number is another great way to give your customers and prospects a positive first impression, and it can help you attract new clients by giving them an easy-to-remember telephone number they can call without incurring any long-distance charges (although mobile phone users might still be charged for airtime depending on their calling plan). Toll-free numbers are often referred to as vanity numbers because they include a word that spells or sounds like something else and/or contain a numeric pattern that’s easy for people to remember; these types of numbers are valued in branding and marketing as well as in direct response advertising.

However, if you don’t have the resources to answer every question that comes your way, it might be best to use a shared-use toll-free number such as 0800 or 1800 in Australia or 1-855 and 1-800- in North America, which are available for businesses of all sizes and can be directed to multiple locations. This can be more cost-effective than having a single company field calls for all of the different companies that operate under it, and it allows you to expand your market reach while keeping your costs down.Customer Service Numbers