Tag Archives: crm

6 Customer Service Trends to Watch in 2013

Posted on by
  • Share

    Reply

    “I like stepping into the future. Therefore, I look for doorknobs.”

    As we look ahead to what will affect and change our customer service priorities in the year ahead, it’s interesting to note the strange tug-of-war going on between digital mastery and the human element. As consumers increasingly spend more of their lives online, businesses and organizations are competing to become a part of it.

    Like the customers they serve, brands will begin to be on Facebook and Twitter and available via smartphone at all hours rather than just business hours, and they’ll look to connect as a friend rather than a company, using the information you provide as their ticket in, and technology as their means to continue and evolve the relationship. Here are six customer service trends to watch that merge technology with the timeless need for human interaction:

    1. Impact of Connectivity – Even as the population exponentially grows, we continue to see through the eyes of social media, that it really is a small world after all. As we become more and more connected by family, friends, professions, common interests, and even the products and services we use and love, we will continue to see the growing impact of connectivity.

    The quality and care of customer service representatives will become increasingly important as people look to make a human connection in the digital world, even with those things un-human. Read More

    Mashable’s “4 Top Customer Service Tips for Small Business”

    Posted on by
    • Share

      2

      In running a small business, you have to ensure you make the right moves if you want to be successful. Author, Anna Lindow, provides her 4 tips on providing great customer service and building a personalized business when you’re a small organization.

      This article ties in nicely with yesterday’s post on handling difficult customers, because Lindow’s tips allow you to be proactive in building good relationships with your clients. She describes how getting ahead of complaints, adding a personal touch, pointing people in the right direction, and going to the source for feedback are all actions that can all help you to improve the lines of communication with your customers and ensure your business hits the ground running. Check out the article here!

      How to Handle Difficult Customers

      Posted on by
      • Share

        1
        Difficult Customers

        Dealing with Difficult Customers

        Handling a difficult customer is never easy, but in the customer service industry, often times you must grin and bear it, and make the best of the situation. There are a few pointers that you can employ to improve your interactions with customers and overall satisfaction with your organization.

        Understand their Use Case and Business Objectives
        Often times, when interacting with a client, it can become frustrating to fully understand why they might be upset over an issue that is considered minor to your organization. Begin and work on learning more about what their use case might be, or what their business needs are. Understanding what they are trying to achieve will allow you to better serve them. It also helps your organization understand what your customers’ needs are and improve your product in the long term. Though you can’t please every client, you can certainly learn about what would make their lives easier.

        Build Healthy Client Relationships
        Getting to know your customers is a great way to build their trust, and building their trust means they will be more patient with you when you’re working on a solution for them. Read More

        Responding and Engaging in Social Media

        Posted on by
        • Share

          1

          Integration of Social Media in Existing Support Infrastructure

          In one of our most recent white papers, the discussion includes the idea of five different trends in response management and customer engagement in social media. Each of these trends encompasses what it means to engage and interact with your customers through the social media realm. Below you will find a couple of the trends that I thought really stood out in creating your social strategy. Get my take on them below; you can also check out the rest of these at our white paper, Five Trends in Social Media for Response Management and Customer Engagement.

          Get Responsiveness Right
          As Leon mentioned in a previous post, you’re not really engaging until you start responding to your customers. But how do you get this responsiveness right? A point that the white paper makes is that “businesses must be capable of hyper-responsiveness.” This means that regardless of the message posted, your organization needs to be on top of a post/email/chat, etc., as soon as possible. Make sure you are aware of all your channels and are active in all of them at the same time. As soon as a customer writes to you, posts on your Facebook, Tweets something about your company, you want to be ready to respond and interact with them. This is especially important if you get a lot of traffic to your pages. Customers could be giving positive feedback, complaining about a product, writing an objective post, or simply asking a question-whichever it is, be prepared to answer their inquiry quickly and efficiently. Read More

          Parature Announces Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

          Posted on by
          • Share

            Reply
            Parature Announces Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

            Parature Announces Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

            We announced today integration between its well-known customer service software suite and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Parature’s integration, named ParaConnect for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, offers a customer service suite for Microsoft customers. This integration provides their customers with a one-stop shop for all their service and support needs, leading to greater all-around customer satisfaction.

            “This new solution highlights how the flexibility of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform enables rapid innovation from Microsoft partners like Parature,” said Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM at Microsoft Corp. “The combined solution provides a great customer experience for new and experienced users alike.”

            “As a leader in on-demand customer service software, we are delighted to enter into a partnership with such a distinguished company as Microsoft, a proven leader in online CRM solutions” said Parature Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Duke Chung. “Parature continues to develop partnerships and integrations that improve the efficiency of customer support and the customer experience. ParaConnect for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online opens a new world of visibility and intelligence for organizations and reflects the commitment we have to our partners and customers’ success by providing the smartest, most efficient way for businesses to deliver great customer experiences.”

            To learn more about this integration, please email microsoftintegration@parature.com.