The term 'Customer Service' sounds subjective. If you could explain it simply, it's how you help and treat someone who purchases a product or service from you should they need help or support.
But how you help someone and treat someone is subjective. Different people from different walks of life expect different degrees of treatment. This makes customer service itself subjective.
But that's not the case. Customer Service can be objective, with a list of benchmarks or customer service metrics that measure if you're actually crushing it or providing sub-par service.
And as the saying goes, 'What gets measured, gets managed.'
Customer Service plays a crucial role in overall Customer Experience (CX). Today's customers now expect a pleasant experience at every interaction, and customer service is no exception. In fact, the better your customer service, the higher the chances of you providing a fantastic Customer Experience.
We need standardized ways to measure our call center, chat, email, and even in-person interactions.
70% of businesses see a direct relationship between excellent customer service and performance (Zendesk), so they must keep a finger on performance.
And with Inbound or Outbound Outsourcing, clients must also know firsthand if the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) relationship is bearing fruit. These 6 metrics are the best ones to track to improve performance, Customer Experience, and, eventually, your bottom line.
1. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Scores
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) is the most widely used measurement for Customer Service and is a vital metric to determine how your Customer Service is resonating with customers.
CSAT measures the level of contentment customers feel after interacting with your support team. This metric is typically collected through post-interaction surveys, where customers are asked to rate their experience.
These ratings are usually from a 1-5 range or 1-10 range, then converted into a percentage. Others are simple Yes/No surveys using questions like, "Were you satisfied with Person X's performance?
A high CSAT score signifies that your customer service team meets or exceeds customer expectations, fostering a positive perception of your brand.
Low CSAT scores mean there are areas for improvement, either with your customer support, product, or process.
2. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
The Net Promoter System or Score (NPS) was created around 2003 by Fred Reichheld, a partner at Bain & Company, to strengthen or even replace surveys like CSATs.
While effective, CSATs can be skewed or ambiguous in certain situations.
NPS goes beyond measuring mere satisfaction; it delves into the realm of customer loyalty and advocacy. NPS gauges how likely your customers are to recommend your business to others based on their experience with your customer service.
This metric is determined through a simple question: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our service to a friend or colleague?"
NPS classifies customers into three categories:
Promoters (9-10)
Passives (7-8)
and Detractors (0-6)
You get an NPS score by ignoring the passives (people on the fence) and subtracting the percentage of Detractors from Promoters. Therefore, this score can range from -100 to 100.
What makes NPS so powerful is the way that it's phrased. We're willing to put up with poor service, but will we pass it on to someone we care about? Conversely, if the service is so good, they'll likely tell others, and word of mouth is powerful.
NPS surveys pop up after interactions on the phone, email, or after specific website interactions. It's also common to hire an outsourcing company to do NPS surveys.
NPS is a North Star metric that guides strategies for cultivating strong customer relationships and turning customers into enthusiastic brand advocates.
3. Service Levels (SLs)
Some customers want an immediate response from customer support to resolve an issue. Others don't mind waiting long periods for a resolution. So what's the middle ground?
There's an acceptable baseline for how quickly each customer should be answered. This is your Service Level (SL).
Most call centers are governed by Service Levels, agreed upon by a regulatory board, BPO clients, the company's board of directors, or some combination of the these. Other types of customer service teams can have service level metrics.
Small businesses can set their own SLs.
A common example is to ensure 80% of customers are answered within 30 seconds of calling, or 90% of emails are responded to within 15 minutes.
Service Levels are an excellent metric to gauge the overall performance of your customer service team, including management. Consistently low SLs may mean a staffing issue, training issue, or delays in the customer's journey.
Alternatively, Consistently high SLs can speak to overstaffing or can identify areas where quality or Customer Experience can be improved by spending more time engaging customers.
Finding the right balance is key to a successful customer experience.
4. First Contact Resolution (FCR)
The ability to swiftly and effectively resolve customer issues - on first contact - stands as a pivotal determinant of customer satisfaction. The First Contact Resolution (FCR) metric shines a spotlight on this aspect by measuring the percentage of customer inquiries that are successfully resolved within a single interaction.
This is usually measured through the resolution status of a customer's record or ticket, and sometimes combined with customer feedback.
A high resolution rate is a direct reflection of a customer-centric approach. It shows that your customer service team possesses the expertise and resources necessary to comprehensively address customer concerns, leaving customers feeling valued and empowered.
When customers encounter a streamlined resolution process, their trust in your brand deepens, and their overall experience becomes a positive memory.
Alternatively low FCR often leads to poor customer service and CX. It also highlights that your team may be under-trained, not empowered to make decisions, or there are bottlenecks in your processes.
FCR can be resolved through training, autonomy, and streamlining of processes.
5. Quality Assurance (QA) Metrics
Even if all of your other metrics - CSAT, NPS, SL, and FCR - look great, you can't leave it up to chance.
It's essential that you monitor the performance of the individuals providing customer support.
Quality Assurance (QA) scores are an appropriate scorecard you use to measure individual customer support on each interaction. These are specific milestones you'll look for on each call based on previous training.
The end will be a quality score - often a percentage - or a whole number based on specific tasks completed on the interaction. Usually, a manager or quality assurance personnel will score a specified number of interactions per agent each week or month.
A business may be achieving high CSAT or FCR scores. However, the scores could be coming from a specific group of high performers. A customer can still encounter bad service from underperformers. QA Scores help to pinpoint both performances so you can reward or coach respectively.
It's also a great way to ensure everyone gets on the same page, or to find issues impacting the customer experience.
Today, there are some tools that automate QA scores but there is value in having a real person review and coach your customer support team.
6. Average Handle Time (AHT)
Time is of the essence.
Customers expect you to not only resolve their issues over phone, chat, or email but to do so as quickly as possible.
Average Handle Time (AHT) is a crucial metric that quantifies the efficiency of customer interactions. AHT encompasses the average duration for a customer service agent to handle a customer inquiry, from when the call/interaction is answered to when all related tasks are completed.
Some interactions may take longer than others, but for a given period, the
time should average to an acceptable figure based on agreed service levels and staffing.
AHT plays a dual role in shaping customer experiences. On the one hand, it underscores the importance of resolving issues promptly, reflecting the immediate assistance customers expect. On the other hand, it emphasizes the need for agents to ensure comprehensive issue resolution, as merely rushing through interactions can result in inadequate solutions.
Striking the right balance between speed and quality is paramount. While shorter AHT can indicate efficient service, it must not come at the expense of sacrificing thoroughness or leaving customers feeling unheard.
To optimize AHT, businesses can implement strategies like agent training to enhance problem-solving skills, utilizing comprehensive knowledge bases for quick reference, and leveraging automated workflows to streamline processes.
Hiring additional help or outsourcing to skilled workers can sometimes address long-standing AHT issues.
The Power of Customer Service Metrics
There are several other customer service metrics you can use at different levels of the customer journey. However, these play the biggest role in improving your customer experience.
You can use all these metrics to guide decision-making, refine service strategies, and ultimately create a more tailored and satisfactory process for customers.
Improving customer service is often hidden in the data. Keeping a close eye on performance helps managers and business owners take action to produce long-term success. Ultimately, these metrics will have a positive or negative impact on the bottom line.
You're likely to discover that getting skilled help can improve metrics like Service Levels, Customer Satisfaction, and Net Promoter Score. At CallServ, we're dedicated to helping businesses improve their Customer Experience through Inbound and Outbound Customer Support, NPS Surveys, and much more.
If you're ready to enjoy the benefits of outsourcing, connect with CallServ today.
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