In business, we can only improve what we measure. And in the customer service field, metrics can hold vast importance. Customers expect to receive excellent customer service. If they’re unhappy, they’ll take their business elsewhere. Perhaps worse, they’ll post sharply critical reviews that will convince others to avoid your business entirely.
The smart thing to do, of course, is to measure customer service metrics, but that’s not so simple. There can be dozens of ways to measure the customer service experience, so the first order of business is to determine which measurements are the most important. Here are the customer service metrics you can’t afford to ignore.
Customer Satisfaction
The most basic, and arguably the most useful, customer service metric is the customer satisfaction score, or CSAT. The data is collected in surveys asking the consumer how satisfied they were with aspects of the customer experience, and they answer using a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied).
The simplicity of the CSAT score means it can give a generally reliable indicator of customer experience and loyalty. And it’s good to remember that while it’s measuring your team, customer satisfaction in today’s world also depends on how good a company’s systems and software perform. Equipping a team with customer service software from Eccentex ensures greater success.
A related metric is the customer effort score, or CES. That is measured by asking customers in surveys how much effort they felt they had expended to get their issue resolved. It needs to be kept in mind that CES is measuring the one interaction asked about, not a customer’s entire experience with a company. Yet it’s a valuable metric as it can indicate if team members and customer service systems are working smoothly and delivering good results.
First Contact Resolution Rate
Some might argue that the first contact resolution rate is the most important customer service metric. Customers naturally prefer to call and get their problem resolved quickly, and they especially don’t want to be transferred from agent to agent. Resolving an issue on the first contact would therefore be the ideal situation.
That can’t always happen, but companies need to set themselves up so they will be trending toward that goal. To achieve that, case management systems should be flexible and powerful enough to ensure as many issues as possible can be resolved on first contact. A dynamic solution such as the Omnichannel Help Desk by Eccentex is geared toward achieving that goal.
A related metric is the average ticket handling time. Even if an issue can be resolved with the first contact, it’s good to also measure the length of time agents need to resolve issues. The goal is to shorten the amount of time that agents need to resolve issues, and keeping an eye on the average length of calls can indicate if progress is being made over time.
If the time being spent per call, on average, ticks upward, that can indicate problems with agents or it may show a need to improve the tools they use. Eccentex AppBase, which empowers employees with a 360-degree view of the customer’s experience, can help agents resolve issues in a timely fashion.
Social Media Monitoring
Keeping track of mentions on social media has become an important aspect of customer service. Dissatisfied customers will post about their experience, good and bad, and understanding their feedback can be very useful. At a minimum, companies should monitor mentions on social media and respond when appropriate (especially to answer relevant questions).
Social media comments can often refer to the interface customers are required to use, and special attention should be paid to that feedback. Areas needing improvement can be discovered by paying attention to the tweets expressing disappointment with the customer service tools.
Customer Service Metrics Can Help You Adapt Quickly
The purpose of measuring customer service metrics, of course, isn’t just to note down numbers and file them away. The metrics can be extremely valuable and can lead a company to adapt quickly. A smart focus on customer service metrics, coupled with software that can be easily updated, can be a powerful force. The low-code solutions available with Eccentex enable companies to update systems quickly and make substantial pivots when changes are required.
