Keep customers happy with a customer service virtual assistant

As your business expands and you take on more clients, it’s vital to ensure all customers receive the best experience and standards don’t slip. But if you’re in the growth phase where a dedicated in-house team isn’t plausible, it can feel like you’re juggling all the balls. 

Whether you started your business alone or with others, you likely started out ‘doing the doing’ – fulfilling your products or services. But now your customer base and support team have expanded, you’ve realised that delivering consistently great service is increasingly difficult. 

We get it. That’s exactly where most of our clients are when they start working with us – and we’ve even experienced the growing pains of growing a successful agency and team ourselves. 

Keep reading to discover how to keep customers happy with support from a customer service virtual assistant that offers flexible support as your business grows. 

The importance of having a customer service strategy

When you grow your team without standardised processes, you also allow for communication gaps between departments or remote team members. Without clearly defined guidelines and up-to-date training, maintaining a unified tone and quality of service across all channels can quickly falter, leading to varied quality in responses. 

A customer service virtual assistant will become your new best friend, partnering with you to optimise processes and introduce scalable tools, so you uphold consistency and ensure that every customer interaction aligns with your high standards.

The challenge of having multiple customer service channels 

Increasing technology and online presence means you might use a range of customer service channels, including: 

• Social media platforms
• Instant messaging apps
• Email support 
• Phone calls 
• Live chat support  
• SMS messaging
• Video chat 
• Self-service portals 
• Website enquiry form 

There are pros and cons to having more communication channels available to customers. The main pro is that you’re easier to contact and more accessible, but a huge downside is that having multiple customer service channels can be hard to manage. 

For example, let’s say you have two customers trying to ask you a question: 

• Customer A sends you a social media message and receives a reply 3 days later. They feel frustrated and have gone to your competitors instead. 
• Customer B sends you an email and receives a reply within 12 hours. They feel happy and take the next step to buy. 

The inconsistency here could be costing your business money, as customers expect excellent customer service, regardless of the channel. This could easily happen when only one person on your team has access to the account and checks it sporadically, therefore meaning you’re not giving those customers a fast response or a good first impression. 

But there are ways to plug the gaps using technology and a customer service virtual assistant, so every customer gets the desired attention and excellent customer service. 

5 ways a customer service virtual assistant can ensure a consistent experience

Partnering with a customer service virtual assistant is a great way to elevate your customer experience. Here are some things they can set up for you or manage regularly to keep those customer service standards sky-high. 

1. Choosing and setting up a centralised system

A customer relationship management (CRM) system is one of the most sure-fire ways to ensure consistent excellent customer service, as it’s a centralised place to see all communication. 

CRM systems typically integrate with email communication, allow you to set reminders, and offer pipeline tracking and analytics.

Instead of having messages and correspondence all over the place, you have a dedicated place to see all customer interactions. This means you are not only more informed when customers (new or existing) reach out, but you can also instantly see if another team member has dealt with the request and review your business analytics.

It’s an essential step we’d encourage businesses of all sizes to implement, as it’s much harder to introduce once you’ve expanded your team. Even if it’s just you right now, investing in a CRM system is a smart move, but it can be an overwhelming process… 

Don’t worry – a VA can help in choosing the right CRM system for your business and setting it up for maximum efficiency. They can also provide ongoing management to keep all records up to date, on a flexible basis that suits you. 

2. Setting up customer service automation

Use technology and business task automation to your advantage. You can now set up many parts of your customer service to work automatically, so use these tools to save your team time. 

You can work with a VA to streamline this process and automate repetitive customer service tasks. They can help you identify which tasks are candidates for automation and get everything set up for you. 

For example, if you have a website enquiry form, your VA can work with you to connect this to your chosen CRM system and set up an automated reply to set expectations. Your customers will receive better customer service, all without you lifting a finger. 

3. Installing live chatbots

Chatbots like Manychat or Zendesk are great tools for customer service channels that can fill those previously mentioned inconsistency gaps. They integrate with the most popular social media channels – like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Chatbots allow you to streamline your support and create the same consistent excellent customer experience across multiple channels. You’re no longer leaving customers questioning your professionalism – you’re giving them an instant good service. 

Imagine the scenario before where customer A sends a social media message. Instead of receiving no reply, they get instant access to a chatbot telling them your key business information and answering frequently asked questions. If they still wish to speak to someone, they can wait for your response and you can set up automatic replies explaining when they should expect to hear back. 

You can work with a customer service virtual assistant to get the appropriate chatbots set up for your business needs. They can take care of all the steps, including mapping out the most common replies, explaining the next steps to customers, and testing the systems. 

4. Creating templated email replies

Some areas of your customer service methods might not be suitable for automation, as you will want to check personal information or it will need more involvement from you or your team. In these instances, you can work with a VA to create easily adaptable email templates. 

Instead of typing common responses or requests from scratch each time, you can select the appropriate template and edit it accordingly. You can also work with a VA so they can send the emails on your behalf, using the information you’ve provided them. It’s a real time-saver! 

5. Developing SOPs to standardise the customer service process

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are incredibly useful when it comes to delivering excellent customer service. They should outline the process your team should follow in a range of scenarios and include key information. It also means if key personnel are unavailable, other team members can step in.

For example, if a customer has a complaint about something, having a detailed SOP means no matter who in your team deals with the issue – whether that’s someone in-house or a VA – the customer receives the same level of excellent customer service. 

A customer service virtual assistant can support you in creating and managing these SOPs. With customer service SOPs, it means that as your team grows, everyone is on the same page and your support stays consistent.

Deliver consistently excellent customer service with Virtually Priceless 

A customer service virtual assistant is a brilliant way to ensure high standards and boost customer loyalty. Partner with a VA so you can focus on delivering incredible results for your clients while they handle the time-consuming communication and admin. 

When you work with Virtually Priceless, hire our talented VAs on a flexible, as-needed basis. This means as your business needs and team develops, we can adapt the support to suit. It’s a much more cost-effective and headache-free solution than hiring an in-house customer service team. 

Contact us to discuss how Virtually Priceless can improve your customer service delivery.