Thanks to the rise of social media and review sites, customers now have a louder voice than ever before, and they can share their buying experiences – good or bad – easily with the rest of the world. That’s why delivering a great customer experience (CX) is so important in today’s world.
For customers, connection to a brand happens in two distinct ways – the products being sold and the people they interact with. Products are one component of an offer, however, more often than not, it’s the service and the experience when interacting with the different touchpoints that create differentiation. In fact, 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. (Source: Salesforce Report: State of the Connected Customer).
Put simply, you could have the most amazing product, but if your customer service is unhelpful, unreliable or just really hard to get hold of, you’ll lose customers and leave them with a negative experience. Between 2017 and 2023, UK companies with customer satisfaction at least one point
higher than their sector average achieved stronger revenue growth, Ebitda and revenue per employee than others (Source: Institute of Customer Service Report:UK Customer Satisfaction Index, 2024).
This is where your frontline staff come in. The people that represent your brand are the ones who can create empathy and connection, and they’ll be the protagonists of the stories we tell others when we make recommendations. Your people are your brand’s most valuable asset. Delivering great service through frontline staff requires them to work and behave in ways that are specific to your brand, to successfully meet customer needs and maintain a high level of service that differentiates your service and brand. 88% of customers say good customer service makes them more likely to purchase again. (Source: Salesforce Report: State of the Connected Customer, 6th Edition).
Therefore, equipping your people with the necessary skills and values to be able to deliver a great CX is vital – because engaged, empowered, and well-trained staff can transform ordinary customer interactions into memorable experiences.
So how do you ensure you deliver exceptional CX through your people? It starts with
having a set of service standards.
What are service standards?
Customer service standards define the quality of the customer service an organisation provides and give customers a clear idea of what to expect from an organisation. They also give staff a set of guidelines to follow when interacting with customers.
Setting standards around key principles of customer service like responsiveness and accountability, shows customers that their satisfaction is your main priority. When we receive great customer service – whether that’s at a restaurant, a shop, over the phone, at an airport or in the hotels we stay in – we remember those experiences, talk about them, become loyal customers and recommend the service (assuming we’re also happy with the offer).
Service standards are about how your people behave, what they say, what they do, and how they act. And this should all be orchestrated and embedded before the customer experiences it.
What makes up service standards?
A number of components make up the standards:
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Customer service vision: a customer service vision should set the ambition for frontline customer service, and how it aligns with the overarching experience vision and business strategy.
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Service roles and actions: it’s important to understand what needs your frontline staff should fulfil vs other touchpoints. And how your people are going to fulfil those needs.
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Service behaviours: it’s also key to understand how staff are behaving when servicing customer needs and how these behaviours align to your brand.
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Service zones: if you have a physical space, it’s good to know which customer needs staff are fulfilling in each area of the space.
- Service quality: this is about defining what’s acceptable, what’s not acceptable and potentially where and how staff can go above and beyond. This service quality can then be turned into a set of KPIs to measure if the desired quality is being delivered.
How to equip your people with the right tools
Using technology can enhance your team’s ability to provide great customer service. CRM systems, for example, can provide staff with vital customer information, enabling them to offer a personalised service.
Similarly, chatbots can handle routine inquiries, freeing up your people to focus on more complex issues. However, it’s important to remember that technology should optimise and help strengthen human interactions, not replace them.
Having the right training programme, approach and structure to enable your people to deliver the standards is also key to delivering great CX.
Comprehensive training should cover product knowledge, company values, and customer service skills. And engaging and interactive training programmes, such as role-playing scenarios, can help employees practise handling various customer situations in a safe environment.
Personalisation is a powerful tool in creating a memorable customer experience. Encourage your staff to use customer names, remember previous interactions, and tailor their service to individual preferences. Small gestures like these can make customers feel valued and appreciated, fostering loyalty and repeat business.
Empowering employees to deliver great CX
Empowerment is key to enabling your people to provide exceptional customer service. So, give them the autonomy to make decisions that benefit the customer and encourage them to take ownership of the customer experience.
This could mean allowing staff to offer small discounts, handle returns without managerial approval, or find creative solutions to unique problems. Make sure every employee understands that they play a role in delivering great CX, regardless of their position. Because when employees feel trusted and empowered, they’re more likely to go above and beyond for customers.
It's also important to create a positive, supportive work environment where staff feel valued and respected. This can be achieved by recognising and rewarding excellent performance, as well as celebrating milestones. A positive workplace culture not only boosts staff morale but also translates into better customer interactions.
Take a look at some of the best TED Talks to help improve customer service.
And if you need help in designing a customer service standard that will help you create differentiation and loyalty to your brand, get in touch.
