HOW TO GIVE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH A DISTRIBUTED TEAM
Overseeing a distributed team is never easy. There are a number of factors that need to be managed. However, with the right balance of time, effort and hard work, eventually, your dream service team will be established and functional. What’s more, it’s fundamental to remember committed, professional and emotionally intelligent individuals should be the driving force of your customer service which is why we’re exploring exactly how you can achieve with a distributed team.
So, let’s dive in!
It cannot be overemphasized just how vital customer satisfaction is in the business. A customer review can make or break a business. It’s hard enough to make sure your customers are being satisfied in a small-scale business with a small team. Now, imagine just how difficult it must be to ensure your customer’s satisfaction in a distributed team.
Making your business thrive isn’t just about what services you have to offer; it’s also about how these services are offered to customers. Customers are the heart and soul of a business, and the goal of every business is to make a profit, which you simply can’t do without customers.
Understanding the difficulty in managing a distributed team and making sure they’re doing their absolute best is no easy task. That’s why we’ve compiled this list to help you master the art of great customer service within a distributed team:
1. SET AN EXAMPLE
This might seem cliché but leading by example is effective in the long run. How you treat your business is exactly how people working under you will also treat it. So, you need to set a good example to your team members and prove yourself to be a worthy employer. In doing so, your employees will follow suit, better handle your business and provide your customers with excellent services, enhancing overall customer satisfaction.
2. GET TEAM LEADERS
In most businesses, a distributed team is spread apart in various locations, only corresponding with other employees from separate locations online. Recognising one person is limited to their specific geographic location and the limitation this poses is why you need assistance. Assigning someone you can trust and who has a strong work ethic is just what you need. This way, you’ll have someone who reports back to you on other team members’ behaviour, setting an overall tone for the employees which make up the collective.
3. TRY THE BIG BROTHER METHOD
This might seem drastic, but it’s very effective. Positioning cameras in strategic locations can help you see for yourself just how well your employees are doing. Of course, this must be done in accordance with privacy regulations. However, this can prove rewarding as employees are likely to do their best whilst attending to customers because they know anything that defames the face of the business would be caught on tape. It’s important your employees are notified from the outset that the cameras exist and their purpose is for work-related reasons.
4. HOLD WEEKLY OR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Holding regular meetings gives you the opportunity to check on your teams’ performance and find out from them just how well they’re faring. These regular meetings or reviews can either be with the team leader or every team member. Not only is it good for business, but it also boosts team morale.
These meetings don’t even have to be completely formal. They can be in the form of seminars or even office picnics whatever way you deem is best. Getting to know your workers can also ease tension in the workplace.
5. ORGANISE REGULAR TRAINING PROGRAMS
With regular training programs, your team members will be better equipped with the right tools to handle customers properly, thus boosting customer satisfaction. With this new knowledge, they’ll know just how well to treat your customers, boosting your overall business appeal.
Training programs can be organized by yourself or a third party. A training program is also a great way to observe the performance of every member of your team and see who’s taking it seriously and actually trying to improve.
6. EMPLOY THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Of course, this is something easier said than done. However, with the right kind of people on your team, you won’t need to worry about how your business is faring because your business is being led by the absolute best. One principle which rings true here is, ‘your team is only as strong as your weakest player.’
By employing the right kind of people, you can rest easy knowing that the team members you handpicked are going to offer the best customer service for maximum customer satisfaction.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help if the task of picking members of your team seems daunting. This is where onboarding can be useful. Choosing team members from a reputable onboarding company means you can save the cost of having to train your new team members as this has most likely been done for you.
7. GET CUSTOMER REVIEWS
It will be in your best interest if you can provide a medium for customers to give a review about just how well they were treated by your staff. This way, you’ll know whether or not your business is lacking in the customer service department and how to go about rectifying the issue.
This platform should also make your customers feel safe so that way they’re more capable of expressing themselves.
8. MAKE SURE YOUR TEAM IS HAPPY
Employee happiness is just as important as customer happiness. So, if your staff members are satisfied with their jobs at your business, they should also be doing their best to improve your business.
9. TRUST YOUR TEAM
Your business cannot run smoothly if there’s no layer of trust there. So, trying your best to give your team some breathing space and trusting them to do their job efficiently is just what you need to maximize their output. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t organize regular check-ins on them, though.
IN CONCLUSION
The customer is always right, and the future of your business relies heavily on how well your customers are being treated. Equipping your team with the right tools in the best way possible to treat customers and making it possible for you to know exactly how your team is managing is just about everything you need to know to optimize customer satisfaction and eventual business growth development.
