Teams | Collaboration | Customer Service | Project Management

We make choices all day, from the clothes we put on to what we’re having for dinner. In the workplace, the decisions we make for our team members trickle down to customers. Outfits and dinner are highly personal — it’s nobody’s business how many times this week you wore the same pants and ate mac and cheese. But when it comes to decisions that affect our teams, how do we know we’re making the right choice?

Customers are king and in order to treat them like royalty, your customer service team needs to deliver the best experience every time. That’s why customer service professionals should strive to master these five customer service techniques:

People are talking about you—and, let’s be honest, you might not like what they’re saying. Customers will always be discussing your products and services out in the wild—conversations between real human beings, from power users sharing their knowledge to folks just ramping up seeking tips and tricks. Even if you don’t always like what you see, you definitely need to be part of the conversation.

Messaging apps are how many of us communicate today. Around the world, people are connecting on their favorite messaging platforms, like WhatsApp, iMessage, WeChat and Facebook Messenger. At work, we collaborate with enterprise messaging apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams. We chat in real-time like we previously did on the phone (“I’m pulling up to your house, you ready?”), or we chat asynchronously through email (“Any ideas for dinner tonight?”).

Online marketplaces offer a wealth of solutions for companies of all shapes and sizes looking to improve the quality, speed, and efficacy of their customer service and support experiences. But while marketplaces are an incredible resource with nearly limitless possibilities, they can be overwhelming, intimidating, and confusing if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

With its unique ability to connect people experiencing the ins and outs of a product every day, an engaged user community is becoming essential when scaling support. This was the case at InVision, a digital product design platform allowing businesses like Adobe, Uber, and Evernote to collaborate more easily on product development.

For millions of Birchbox customers, there’s nothing quite like that moment when they crack open their personalized package of beauty products. And whether members are discovering the perfect color lipstick, lathering up great-smelling shaving cream, or calling customer support to resolve a billing issue, we want every interaction to be as personal and satisfying as opening that box each month.

More and more companies are looking to differentiate themselves with exceptional customer service and support. In fact, a recent Forrester report found that customer service is a top priority for 72% of companies. If your company is looking to improve its customer service, but you’re not sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place.