Customer service stands as a cornerstone of success. And measuring the effectiveness of your customer service efforts is vital. Why? Because not only do happy customers stay loyal, but they’ll also shout about you from the rooftops.
What are customer service KPIs?
Customer Service Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help you measure how well your customer service is doing and how it can be further improved. It can help you work out how happy your customers are and how quickly you’re solving their problems. After all, you’d want to know how much customers like your service and where you can improve it for them.
Right?
How do customer service KPIs work?
KPIs can measure whatever you’d like them to. Perhaps you want to know how quickly your team answers customers’ questions. Or maybe it’s how happy they are with the support they’ve received.
Without them, you’ll never really know how your business is performing. But by having them in please you’re able to see where your customers are happy and what areas need more attention.
Have you ever rung the bank and then received a phone call or text message asking you to rate the service? That’s how they measure their performance. It’s often anonymous, so the bank is receiving a true indicator of that service. By actively monitoring your KPIs, you can give your customers the best experience.
In this article, we’ll review four key Customer Service KPIs you can use to evaluate and enhance customer service performance. By tracking these metrics, you’ll gain valuable insights into customer satisfaction, issue resolution, response times and operational efficiency.
So, let’s delve in…
Delivering timely support
When you have a problem or a question, you want it solved fast right? Well, so do your customers.
The time in which you respond is like a stopwatch when it comes to customer service. If your team is fast with a response, your customers will be impressed that you’re on it. If it takes a while, it adds to their frustration and can often turn a molehill into a mountain.
Why is this so important? Because nobody likes to wait around. When your customer service is super quick, your customer will feel like you’ve saved the day. But when it’s slow, they’ll think they don’t matter.
93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies that offer excellent customer service.
So, keeping an eye on response time is a smart idea. Just letting your customers know your average response time will help manage their expectations. Plus, it helps your team ensure your customers get the response they want in the time frame they expect.
Fulfilling needs with quality service
As a business owner you’d want to know how the experience feels for your customer when they buy from you. Or how they felt after an enquiry was handled. This is measuring customer satisfaction. It’s also a great way to increase your customer lifetime value.
So how do you find out how they feel? You ask them nicely through surveys, reviews and ratings. Just simply, “How did we do?” You’ve no doubt seen the smiley-face counters at toilets or airports. This is how they measure your experience and you can implement a similar process in your business too.
Of course, that’s a really simple example. But there are incentives you can offer. Imagine you have an online shop. You know exactly what that customer bought, when, how much was spent, etc. You could email your customer a survey asking:
- How they found the use of your website
- What they thought of communication between ordering and delivery
- How the package was received and so on.
This will tell you where your shortcomings are and where you’ve excelled.
You find out from your customers exactly what made them happy and what could be better. Perhaps they loved the friendly updates your team gave. But they may be frustrated that the delivery took a week longer than they expected. By listening to their opinions, you can explore options for improvement in the future.
Efficient issue resolution
Have you ever had an issue fixed as soon as you told someone about it? This is known as First Contact Resolution (FCR). It’s about resolving your issue there and then without needing to ask again.
It’s almost like a report card for customer service skills. It monitors whether a problem was handled during the call, or if it was escalated and needed more time. It shows how well your team knows what they’re doing and can make your customers happy.
Of course, you won’t be able to handle every issue immediately, there will be some that need more investigation. But, in this scenario, it’s about managing that customer’s expectation. Explaining what the issue is and why it’s taking so long. But most importantly, you need to communicate that you’re working on it. And if you just don’t have the resource that’s when it might be time to outsource support.
When FCR is on a roll, your customers don’t have to worry about things dragging on. It’s a win-win for everyone. Fast solutions = happy customers!
Operational efficiency
Operational efficiency is a little bit like the gears on a clock. When they work perfectly, they show the right time. It’s basically something that happens behind the scenes. And in customer service it’s about keeping promises.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are like promises made by your customer service team. If you’ve promised to respond to all email queries within 24 hours, you must have the resource and power to do this. If you don’t, this has a knock-on effect and you start building a reputation of being unreliable.
73% of consumers say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do when providing customer service.
Monitoring adherence to your agreed SLA is checking in to make sure the promises you’ve made are being kept. When it’s all running smoothly, you show both your team and your customers that you’re reliable and professional.
Customer service is about building trust. And when your customers know you’re reliable and true to your word, they’ll trust you more and become more loyal towards you. So, it isn’t just about being quick off the mark, it’s about being dependable and amazing at what you do.
Customer service KPIs and how to strive for excellence.
Customer Service KPIs don’t just represent numbers; they reflect the experiences your customers have with your brand. So, what can you do in your journey to deliver exceptional customer service?
Use these metrics as your guiding stars:
- Know what it is you’re going to measure and how you’re going to measure it.
- Regularly track and analyse these KPIs to ensure your customer service efforts remain aligned with your business goals.
- By focusing on response time, customer satisfaction, first contact resolution and SLA adherence, you can elevate your customer service performance.
- Embrace these metrics to create lasting customer relationships, build loyalty and drive your small business toward success.
Implement these KPIs today and you’ll shape a brighter customer-focused future for your business.
