The frustration
due to poor customer service is a common experience for all of us.
We daily use a lot of applications, products, and services. While choosing products and services, apart from the quality
and brand reputation, customer service plays a crucial role in final customer judgment
about the brand.
Failing to
address customer issues is
the most common problem by customer care services.
Relationship between Brand Image and Customer Service:
Brand image isn’t only the brand’s logo, name,
and celebrity endorsement. They may attract customers to reach your brand, but further customer engagement with the brand and creating loyal customer
relationships is dependent on
- The quality of the service or product
- User experience
- The customer service
Recently,
I had to report an issue to a service-based website. I had ended using their
services long time back, still my inbox was getting flooded with annoying
e-mail alerts associated with the closed account.
I thought to confirm the deactivation of my account. I didn’t have any complaint and the
issue was very basic. I tried to file an error report where I had to
attempt it several times due to failed captcha. Simple options to prevent spam are avaialble, still annoying captcha isn't gone yet. I could see a blank error
message by which I 'guessed' that perhaps my concern wasn’t being sent by the contact form. So, I called
the customer care number. It was in the auto response mode, but
didn’t have options to convey any issue further or to directly talk with the customer
care officer.
I checked
the website again and tried online chat option. Finally, this option worked,
received the email address where I could directly send my issue. I had to waste almost a lot of time, still I didn't get the solution.
This issue
wasn’t limited to the functioning of the website. It was the ideal example of
poor customer service in different aspects. You might have faced loads of similar experiences almost every day.
1. Active and simple communication channel(s) for customers:
Customers have queries, suggestions, and complaints, sometimes they need help regarding usage of the service or tool. The first thing customers need is the easy channel to communicate with the brand.
Using
online tools, devices, phone, internet, banks, we face technical issues
frequently. When it becomes difficult to contact the customer cell further possibility
of developing good customer relations gets broken at the beginning. The customer may
end using the service and never return again.
2. Failure in addressing customer issues:
Another
experience of poor customer service is that many employees fail to understand different
customer issues correctly. As they
don’t understand, obviously they can’t address the issue well. They don't know other employees who can better understand and find solution. This experience is much seen digital products. Employees don't know technical details of the their own product by their organization. The Result will
be losing customers again.
3. Disrespectful behavior with customers:
If your
employees vent their workload stress and frustration, on customers and employee
behavior results in disrespectful customer service, the message customer gets
is that employees aren't happy with their work or the treatment they receive
from the organization. Also, they can’t express their concerns, so finally it
turns into disrespectful behavior with the customers. If employees aren't happy with their own
organization - the organization they are working with - then how would customers
get satisfied?
Secondly,
no user would want to repeat the bad experience by contacting the organization
again.
Customers
are the life for any organization; hence, it's not reasonable to expect customers to be considerate about the disrespectful
and frustrating experience they had. Users have thousands of options; it will
take them only some milliseconds to switch to your competitor.
4. Lack of measures to resolve customer issues:
When first
three mistakes take place regularly, the clear message customers receive that
the organization isn’t interested in knowing the customer experiences and aren’t
willing to take corrective measures for better service or product improvement.
Consequences of Poor Customer Service on Brand Image:
- Users may not remember effective marketing campaigns and celebrity endorsements, but they will never forget the experience they received and their experience will create a new – positive or negative – but firm image of the brand (at least for themselves).
- The obvious consequence can be the customer will stop using the product or service.
- It’s more possible that they will vent the negative experience about the brand which will harm the brand reputation. Social media, these days, has become a place where people share their product usage experiences.
- Third possibility will be they will choose your competitor.
- The worst possible outcome for you might be, they will spread the word about your competitor. In other words, your rude behavior or poor customer service may become an indirect reason for better brand image of your competitor.
Effective communication with customers for positive brand image:
Customer
retention is the biggest challenge nowadays. However, if you give great customer
service, loyal customer relationships will be built. Technology may change, but the emotional
attachment does not change.
Be unambiguous, detailed and authentic while communicating with your
customers. Be extremely careful about the message you give to your customers, even your tone matters.
Giant brands
generally don’t bother, losing customers. However, no organization can afford a negative brand
image.
Before the organizational pressures on employees reach to your customers, remember, your customers also work somewhere, they also have pressures, and stresses. They don't to be kind and understanding towards customer care officers.
Bottom-Line:
If you
make them regret for contacting you, why should they use your products?
Failing to
deliver promised services and quality may harm the brand image but effective and friendly communication can control the damage.