Previously featured on Forbes Business Council 

It’s not uncommon to hear a company brag about its stellar sales force, but what about its service force? These hidden heroes have a significant impact on a company’s reputation and bottom line.

As I’ve learned over two decades of helping run a business, cultivating customers takes a unique blend of talents, and therefore, I consider customer-facing employees as some of the true heroes—solving problems and forming deep bonds with clients, partners, suppliers and prospects.

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A few decades ago, customer service departments were commonly called help desks or support desks—terms that seem out of place in today’s decentralized retail and business environments where customers and businesses engage in person and remotely via mobile apps, online chat, text messaging and calls. Technology drives speed and convenience, but there’s no substitute for people when it comes to building successful, long-term customer relationships.

Answering calls by the third ring, creating and tracking service tickets, sending out customer surveys and requesting online reviews are hallmarks of today’s real-time, always-on environment where a business’s reputation is directly tied to its bottom line. These behaviors are table stakes in today’s fast-moving economy but hardly address the more fundamental issue of building sustainable human connections.

Five Keys To Success

SAP researchers describe modern servicing as the way companies deliver a brand promise and secure customer loyalty and revenue—a worthwhile effort that unites all departments and divisions.

Like many other business owners, I’ve found that the real challenges begin after a sale; fulfillment, support, returns and reordering are where customer relationships are won and lost.

Through trial and error, I’ve managed to help build a robust customer service department using the following five keys to success:

1. Customer Service

Companies can use technology to connect with customers, but the real work begins after these connections have been made. In addition to actively listening to customers, reframing questions and proposing different solutions, service representatives must strive to build rapport without appearing manipulative or scripted. In many cases, this takes training and practice. Instead of memorizing a script, representatives can become more relaxed, authentic and professional.

2. Expectation Versus Reality

Managing customer expectations is also an art. This is particularly true when dealing with financial transactions where time is of the essence, yet risk management and approval processes can be complex. Real estate transactions typically involve appraisals and underwriting, which take time to execute. Customers need to understand what’s involved in an application or onboarding process, especially in the current climate of instant credit decisions and customer onboarding.

3. Human Versus AI

With all the excitement about artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential to reshape the customer experience, it’s worth noting that AI, like all technologies, can help satisfy the human desire for speed and convenience, but it can’t replace human connections. ChatGPT, DALL-E and other generative AI models can generate content, answer basic questions and handle perfunctory tasks but often need to escalate complex matters to human supervisors. The best service models balance human and AI to optimize workflow without sacrificing quality of experience.

4. Customer Retention

Today’s businesses must innovate to stay competitive—not just when it comes to products and services but in enhancing supply chain efficiencies, brand promises and hyper-personalization. Customer service bridges gaps between customer expectations and value delivery. B2B customers increasingly expect VIP service from vendors and partners based on data-driven models that anticipate their requirements. They will sever relationships with those that fail to offer a proactive, consultative and frictionless customer service experience.

5. Referrals

Customer service professionals clearly have a more expansive role to play in the digital-first era where consultative, forward-thinking guidance is key to long-term customer satisfaction. Titles such as director of customer success and client relations manager reflect the nuanced, sophisticated roles of these brand ambassadors. Let’s face it, these frontline warriors are well positioned to ask for referrals from happy customers they win back every hour of every day.

Service Keeps It Real

We’ve clearly come a long way from help desks and complaint departments that address defective products and solve a host of service-related issues. Today’s service models are profit centers that engage with customers and make sales stick. In addition to continuing the all-important efforts of sales development specialists, these savvy support professionals hold the key to building lasting customer relationships.

Last month my company lost a valuable member of our team, an office manager who cared deeply about every person who came in contact with the company, from delivery people and telemarketers to sales agents and clients. She brought her own magic to every interaction, including homemade treats for Rocky, our dog and company mascot. It is dedicated team players like this who help build a company.

As I reflect on service professionals who have contributed to my company’s success, I’m reminded of how important it is to have the right people on your team, people who care about others and treat them with respect. With these talented customer success officers on board, there’s no limit to how far you can take your business.

Previously featured on Forbes Business Council 

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