Customer service is a business capacity that is notoriously hard to gauge accurately. Although you can garner feedback, count complaints, and strive to eliminate service problems.  It’s still very difficult to ascertain your customer service performance. How can you judge with precision something that is not a tangible?

People have different, yet highly personal requirements for satisfaction, and when you attempt to quantify that type of information with sweeping generalities, the results don’t always accurately reflect your business’s service level.

Whilst some customers will definitely make themselves heard when displeased, many others will quietly grumble to themselves, and eventually choose a new company to supply the service or product they need.

However, you can develop techniques that deliver the metrics your business needs to accurately gauge the strength of your customer service. It simply requires developing a comprehensive view of the KPIs (key performance indicators) that will deliver the best results for your particular business.

How Can your Software help measure your Performance?

Depending on the type of  CRM (customer relationship management) software you use, the key to developing the right KPIs for your business depends on your business. Naturally, some of these suggestions will support certain business strategies better than others. So it’s up to you to determine which metrics will offer the most actionable information for your company.  Deciding what information you want is often the hardest part.

Overall Satisfaction/Improvement

Customer satisfaction surveys offer good insights into your overall performance. By regularly asking for feedback, your customers receive the impression that your service ratings are a crucial part of your business, and that their overall satisfaction is a high priority.

In addition, you should measure the improvements (or declines) you see from your feedback surveys. By tracking these changes, you can identify accountable areas in your business and consequently, either alter the processes responsible for poor results, or recognise the individuals behind exemplary ones.   Survey Monkey is easy to use, although the free version has it’s limitations.

Try Monitoring these to start you off:

• Retention Data

The length of time a customer has used your company, or the amount of repeat business you achieve is a good indicator of good customer service.

• Lead Conversion Rate

This metric is a good individual KPI for tracking staff effectiveness. And it is also invaluable to your overall customer service. Measuring the likelihood of a customer taking action after interacting with one of your team provides insight into your general customer service levels.

• Competitor Analysis and Comparisons

Monitoring how your business compares with others in the industry is also important. You might have a perfect customer service record, but there will still be times when a customer chooses your competitor over you—perhaps due to convenience, or some other factor wholly unrelated to your abilities. Seeing how you measure up through industry comparisons is an effective method for gauging good customer satisfaction.

• Average Time to Resolution—Active/Resolved Issues

Good customer service involves dealing with issues swiftly and effectively. Tracking how long it takes your company to handle a problem, along with comparisons regarding the ratio of active to resolved issues offers actionable information about your current customer service performance.

Businesses can accurately measure good customer service, but it requires a comprehensive outlook and functional software that is able to garner the right information.

Here in Pimbrook we pride ourselves in our Award Winning Customer Service, We constantly monitor and try to find ways to improve our customer service. Every Day. Test drive us today for YOUR Sage Support.