Ways to Manage Customer Expectations
Introduction ď‚— A company's ability to provide excellent business-to-business
customer support can only go as far as its ability to manage and ultimately exceed the expectations of its clients.
How to Manage Customer Expectation Openly Discuss Solutions Offer Clear Timelines Be Transparent and Honest Follow up Regularly Be Optimistic, but Realistic
Openly Discuss Solutions ď‚— Businesses that have highly knowledgeable customer support
teams should be well-versed in the solutions to every potential problem and be able to speak to those possibilities quickly
Offer Clear Timelines ď‚— Glitches, errors, and bugs in B2B software can be irritating
and costly to customers. However, clients will become more angry if they look forward to their problem being solved in a week, and instead wait a week and a half. Teams should ensure customers are well-informed of not only how long a phone call will take, but how much time and work is required to get them a solution as quickly as possible.
Be Transparent and Honest ď‚— Transparency is absolutely crucial to managing B2B customer
service expectations effectively and will affect clients' ability to trust a company. Businesses can ensure clients remain confident in their providers and have a positive experience by remaining honest in every possible situation.
Follow up Regularly Finally, support
teams can manage customer service expectations by following up after each stage of the resolution process. Most customers are not bothered by companies touching base with them. On the contrary, clients expect businesses to follow up with them to round out their customer experience. After a customer service agent communicates the potential solutions to a problem and offers realistic timelines, he or she should follow up with the client through email to reiterate what was decided.
Be Optimistic, but Realistic ď‚—
Optimism is an important part of a positive customer experience, representatives must also remain realistic about solutions. By understanding company policies, the complexities of certain problems and the workload of their team members, support experts can gauge how a particular ticket will be solved and the time investment that is required.
Regularly Communicate and Address Problems Directly ď‚— A lack of communication is usually at the root of most
problems associated with clients. Any good client relationship will be able to weather setbacks if you are proactive in communicating both good and bad news. When communication is direct and transparent, trust forms and helps to create a foundation for long-lasting relationships.
Who Am I‌.  Claire Suaverdez is a Director of Operation and Client
Service in the One Contact Center who specializes in customer services management and distributed leadership.