Ask any consumer, and they’ll tell you great customer service is hard to find. Research conducted by Accenture in 2016 revealed that 83 percent of American consumers prefer dealing with people over digital channels to resolve customer service issues — and a whopping 52 percent of them switched providers that year because of poor service. For many people, the quality of customer service is just as important as price and quality when making a buying decision, if not more important. Organizations that excel in customer service are more likely to earn new customers, earn new business from existing customers, retain customers, command better prices, and generate more and better referrals.

The accompanying infographic, 10 Essential Customer Service Tips, is a useful, visual reference for customer service teams doing a great job, a not-so-great job and everything in between. You’ll see a few suggestions most people know (even if they don’t always execute them), along with ideas that even talented, well-trained teams may not have considered.

The infographic is not meant to replace in-depth customer service training, but it is a powerful supplement, one that is concise enough to be reviewed once a day or once a week. The goal is to give customer service providers that extra edge — and turn proven customer service techniques into deeply ingrained habits that ensure every customer gets top treatment day in and day out. 

Author Bio: David Friedman is Managing Director of ServiceSkills.com and Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training, proven training brands that improve the way your staff communicates with customers and co-workers. He has 35 years of experience producing and marketing in the corporate learning and development spaces.