5 Most Professional and Effective Customer Care Methods of 2022

Vũ Khôi

Author at Wotech Electronics Blog

Research from Bain & Company shows that acquiring a new customer costs 6–7 times more than caring for an existing one. Moreover, according to Gartner Group, up to 80% of a company's revenue comes from its existing customer base. Clearly, learning how to care for customers plays a vital role in retention and in generating the profits you want.

What makes customer care effective?

Customer care is one of the most important and top-priority activities of a business, covering all work aimed at ensuring customer satisfaction throughout the pre-sale, sale, and after-sale process.

An effective customer care plan not only helps the business gain new potential customers and earn customer loyalty, but also enhances brand image, reduces operating costs, increases profits, and serves as a powerful tool to sharpen the company's competitiveness.

The development of the digital technology era has given businesses a wide range of advanced tools that make customer care more professional than ever. Customer care is considered effective when it meets the customer care objectives that have been set and consistently aims to:

• Meet customers' actual needs.

• Create customer satisfaction with the products/services the business provides.

• Turn customers into loyal ones who stay attached to the business.

• Attract more new customers through referrals from existing ones.

Customer care by phone

Customer care by phone means contacting customers indirectly via phone calls to answer questions and propose practical solutions to the problems they are facing.

To handle phone-based customer care professionally, every employee needs ready-made care scripts for different scenarios, along with professional skills to handle the two common situations below.

How to care for customers when receiving a call

When a customer calls you, it means they have questions about a product/service and want answers — this group of customers very likely has the potential to become potential customers. Below is the step-by-step process to follow when receiving a customer call:

• Deliver an impressive greeting: draw the customer into the conversation with a sincere, impressive greeting and a warm, welcoming attitude.

• Understand the customer: listen attentively to the problem the customer is facing with a calm attitude, taking careful notes as you go.

• Investigate the cause: proactively ask questions to dig deeper into their concerns while researching or using the product/service, so you can pinpoint the cause.

• Diagnose the scope of the problem: based on the cause, define the scope of the problem to find a solution. If the issue is beyond what you can resolve, contact and transfer it to the specialized department.

• Propose solutions: offer suitable solutions to the customer and listen to their feedback to clarify the solution further.

• Resolve the issue: proceed once the solution has been agreed with the customer, or inform them if the issue has been transferred to another department.

• Say goodbye: if the problem has been resolved, ask the customer whether they have any further questions, then close with a sincere farewell and end the call.

How to care for former customers by phone

Former customers are those who have used the products and services you provide but have since stopped, because the product/service no longer attracts or retains them.

So what is an effective way to reach former customers by phone? Here are a few suggestions:

• Choose the right customer group: classify former customers by different criteria, then select the potential group that needs care

• Avoid the reasons that made customers stop using the product/service, such as a poor product fit, switching to a competitor, or substandard service

• Choose appropriate time slots to call and care for customers

• Plan to ask customers about their satisfaction with the product/service and propose suitable, prompt solutions

>> See also: Customer Care Service: Concept and Its Importance to Businesses

Customer care by text message

In today's rapidly developing 4.0 era, the mobile phone is always at hand for many people. For that reason, SMS Marketing is an important customer care channel that many businesses focus on, with an open rate of about 98% (according to Timely) within 5 seconds of receipt.

SMS Marketing is deployed using different scripts matched to each classified customer group. Below are the steps you need to take to care for customers effectively.

Depending on the purpose, businesses can choose the appropriate SMS Marketing format:

• SMS Brandname: sending messages under the company's name; one-way only (receiving is not allowed), and the only format used for advertising.

• SMS Long Code: messages displaying a long number in the sender field; supports both sending and receiving replies.

• SMS Gateway: messages from a short-code sender; supports the sender executing defined syntax commands to meet their needs.

• SMS TopUp: supports customers topping up prepaid and postpaid subscriptions across all domestic carriers — phone credit, game cards, online shopping, etc.

Once you have chosen the format, classify the customer group that matches your objective and compose the corresponding message. Here are some sample messages you can reference:

• Announcing internal store/business information such as working hours, opening announcements, etc.

• Announcing financial information such as balance changes, account balances, etc.

• Notifications from providers in participating sectors (electricity companies, schools, bus companies, etc.) such as important notices, bills, etc.

• Sending thanks and appreciation to customers on special occasions.

• Invitations to events.

• Reminder messages so customers don't miss their membership card points.

• Survey messages collecting customer opinions.

In addition, when composing outgoing messages, keep the following points in mind:

• Messages must be polite and respectful, addressing customers by name and using courteous forms like sir/madam

• Message content must be short and focused, reflecting the purpose of the message

• Messages must include appropriate sales closing words

• Messages should carry a suitable, shareable message

• Do not use inflammatory or misleading language

Online customer care via email

According to Statista statistics, there are currently about 3.9 billion email users per day, and this figure is projected to rise to 4.3 billion by 2023. Clearly, email is one of the best customer care channels a business should not overlook.

To use email marketing effectively, here are 5 strategies to implement:

• Resolve customers' problems: read the customer's concerns carefully, then send a professional, prompt reply — and plan follow-up emails to make sure the customer is satisfied with your solution.

• Create surveys and collect feedback: design a survey template aligned with your objectives and schedule it to reach customers at a reasonable time to get their feedback on the product/service. You can also attach a gift such as a promotional or discount voucher to increase response rates.

• Build relationships with potential customers: send emails that show care and appreciation, and remind them of the products/services you offer.

• Offer promotions: coupons and discounts are an effective way to increase loyalty and encourage customers to refer products to their friends.

In addition, to increase click-through rates and achieve the desired results with your customer care emails, keep the following design considerations in mind:

Customer care via social media

One of the best after-sale customer care approaches is to keep in touch with customers through the channels your business uses — with social networks standing out in particular.

According to a report by We Are Social and Hootsuite, as of January 2021 there were 72 million Vietnamese social media users (equivalent to 73.7% of the population) on popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Zalo, and more. So what is the smart way to leverage these channels for effective customer care?

Customer care on Zalo

A common consumer habit is that when buying, people tend to leave their phone number rather than an email or Facebook account, since the phone number is required for delivery contact. With that number, you can easily look up their Zalo account to care for customers faster and more effectively than via SMS or phone calls.

In addition, Zalo is a great place to connect and interact with customers through the posts they publish, the introductions and product offers you post, or simply by messaging customers directly to advise them.

To care for customers on Zalo, follow these steps:

Step 1: Connect with customers

The first thing to do is build your Zalo friends list with existing customers. There are 3 ways to do this:

• Print your Zalo account's QR code and place it at the point of sale or other potential channels, with attractive promotional information to encourage customers to connect.

• Leave the phone number used as your Zalo account in highly visible places — stickers at your store, information on your website, fanpage, etc. — so customers can easily reach you when needed.

• Proactively send friend requests using the list of customer phone numbers collected after each sale.

Step 2: Carry out customer care

After successfully connecting with customers, take these steps to care for them professionally:

• Message customers directly to hear their feedback on the product/service.

• Plan to post useful content on your sales accounts following the 80/20 rule (for every 8 messages unrelated to sales, include 2 sales messages).

• Plan to monitor customers and promptly address their difficulties.

Step 3: Leverage former customers

To improve the experience of former customers and encourage them to refer your products/services to relatives and friends, run promotional programs to thank loyal customers.

By posting about the promotion and emphasizing that it targets existing customers who have experienced your products, you will successfully attract attention and enthusiastic participation. However, note that the offer must be transparent, public, and specific, and the content should carry a strong, shareable message to maximize engagement.

Caring for potential customers through CRM integration on Facebook

Facebook CRM is the term for the integration of the Facebook application with CRM software — customer management software. If you wonder what kind of software this is, CRM is the integration of three elements: sales, marketing, and customer care.

Facebook is the world's leading social network and the number one platform in Vietnam, with more than 1.84 billion daily active users. Selling activity there is thriving accordingly and will continue to grow.

The traditional way of caring for potential customers — compiling a customer list and messaging them to collect feedback — no longer suits businesses with large numbers of customers interacting daily, making management increasingly difficult.

That is why integrating CRM software is an optimal solution for businesses, with the following benefits:

• Automating the list of new potential customers.

• Confirming customer interest in the product/service through confirmation emails sent via the CRM.

• Planning care for new potential customers easily and quickly by classifying customers according to objectives, running customer care campaigns tailored to each group, and assigning the right staff to each — all within the CRM.

• Saving time, money, and effort.

SimERP's comprehensive CRM customer management solution

SimCRM is software built on Odoo — the most widely used ERP software in the world — providing comprehensive customer management features for businesses, such as:

• Professional lead management: track and update lead information and assign care staff appropriately for each specific target.

• Accurate opportunity management: the software allows tracking and deciding which leads become opportunities, then adding/removing/editing opportunity groups according to specific permissions, with social integrations such as Facebook, CallCenter, and SMS.

• Easy customer information management: track activity, update, and classify customer information quickly, with alerts for duplicate records to avoid duplication.

• Detailed reporting support: the software automatically consolidates, compiles, and reports on customer care activities, allowing detailed sales tracking, KPIs for each employee/team/country, and lead source analysis to evaluate the ROI of marketing campaigns.

>> See also: Free Customer Care Software: Benefits and Standout Features

If you are curious about how SimCRM software works, sign up now for a free 2-week trial with the following terms:

• Support for one user.

• Duration of 2 weeks, completely free.

• Full feature access.

• Cloud storage.

• No data backup.

• No deployment, training, or customization support.

• 1 GB of storage space.

Conclusion: Customer care is a multi-stage process that must be carried out throughout the business operation to achieve the objectives the company is aiming for. Therefore, the best after-sale customer care cannot do without customer management software to help managers review and classify lists of potential customers, former customers, and more, in order to devise the right care strategy.

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