Customer service is an integral part of your business’s success. A remarkable customer experience enhances loyalty while helping retain customers and fostering brand advocacy. A recent HubSpot study reveals 93% of people surveyed are more likely to make a repeat purchase with businesses that offer excellent customer experience. Another 50% of surveyed people say they would switch to another brand after a bad customer experience.
One of the most effective and efficient ways to provide a stellar customer experience is to integrate virtual assistant support into your customer service offering. Virtual assistants leverage their skills and experience to keep your customers happy and put your business firmly on the path or real growth. This blog discusses how virtual assistants can help in an improved customer service experience.
Six ways to enhance your customer service with the help of a virtual assistant
The following are y ways to enhance your customer service with the help of a virtual assistant:
Responding to customer inquiries
One of the core roles of virtual assistants is to respond to customer inquiries and complaints via email and social media. When your goal is to have outstanding customer support, the general rule is to respond to customer emails and calls as fast as possible. In the current digital era, expectations regarding customer service responsiveness have increased substantially. A recent study reveals 41% of customers reveal they expect a response within 6 hours after making a complaint via email, while 72% of those who complain via Twitter expect a response within one hour. Virtual assistant support is your customer’s first point of contact with your company, helping you meet these expectations. They can quickly address customer complaints, provide personalized services and scale complex issues to the relevant teams or departments for a quick resolution.
Managing customer accounts and orders
Prudent customer accounts and order management are critical parts of a successful business. Unfortunately, as your company starts to grow, you could find it challenging to independently meet all consumer account requirements. A virtual assistant can be the primary point of contact person between your clients and your business. They act as effective liaison that listens closely to clients’ needs and ensures their requests are handled efficiently and promptly. They also provide customers with excellent service, support and improvement opportunities designed to enhance their consumption of products and services and maximize cross-sell and upsell opportunities. Virtual assistants can also manage all the business processes and services involved in ordering services and goods. These may include purchasing, fulfilling, processing, shipping, delivering and following up with customers. They can also update customers on the status of their orders or requests.
Provide product or service information
In the ever-evolving business world, customer service and sales are two critical departments that complement each other. Customer service is not all about addressing customer complaints; it is also about providing vital product or service information that guides the customer through their purchase journey. In this regard, virtual assistants can help provide product or service information that customers need to make informed purchase decisions. Ideally, many entrepreneurs today opt to use virtual assistants to conduct market research, identify target customers and develop marketing materials around a product or service. They may also assist with the actual process of making a sale.
Resolving customer issues or complaints
How you deal with common customer complaints can make or break your brand’s reputation. Statistics show customers will tell an average of 16 people about a negative experience. A knowledgeable virtual assistant is a great asset in managing customer issues or complaints. They help resolve certain problems before they escalate and adversely impact your reputation. These professionals leverage top-notch communication tools such as Live Chats to connect immediately with customers and offer instant solutions to common problems. They can also listen carefully to the customers over the phone and let them vent for a few minutes if necessary. The VA can also empathize with customers’ concerns and thank them for complaining. After offering a sincere apology, they get critical facts about the problem and offer a solution. Virtual assistants can also make a quick follow-up phone call a few days later to ensure everything is okay.
Troubleshoot customer issues
Robust after-sales troubleshooting is an indispensable part of onboarding new customers. A virtual assistant can follow up with the customer and assist them with product or service troubleshooting. The assistants boast the right troubleshooting skills to quickly assess and resolve customer problems. They leverage cutting-edge tools and technologies to diagnose the root cause of an issue and implement an effective solution. Troubleshooting customer issues in real-time is a great way to show your company genuinely values them. It also helps increase a product or service’s attractiveness and sales value.
Create customer service and support material
As a forward-looking business, you want to ensure your customers are always supported. Customers should have easy access to all the information they need, whether from your sales team or knowledge-based. An effective way to ensure your customers have the necessary support is to develop and improve your customer service and support material. Virtual assistants can help create and maintain customer service and support materials that provide technical assistance with products or answer customers’ questions about their purchases or experiences. These materials include:
- Knowledge bases
- FAQs
- Guidelines for team members
- Customer surveys
- Training resources
- Onboarding emails
Contact Virtual Assistant Canada for all your customer service and support needs
Meeting the growing demands of customers can be a challenge, especially for growing companies whose employees juggle myriad roles. Today’s customer expects quality products or service, speedy after-sales service and an outstanding positive experience after each purchase. They demand quick answers to their questions and prompt solutions to their complaints. This requires businesses to be on 24/7 standby to handle customer inquiries and issues promptly.
Outsourcing these tasks to a virtual assistant is a great way to ensure that your customers receive timely and professional support, which translates to improved customer service and satisfaction. A virtual assistant can also help you manage customer interactions more efficiently, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business.
If you have further questions or need help hiring an ideal virtual assistant for your business needs, contact Virtual Assistant Canada. We are the right platform to find and hire virtual assistants and freelancers. Our talented group of assistants and freelancers live and work in Canada. They have an in-depth knowledge of the local marketplace and understand how Canadians do business. Find out more about our Virtual Assistant Services here by clicking here!