Measuring customer satisfaction is difficult by nature. There’s no qualitative measurement of the subjective elements that can make or break the client relationship. Still, by measuring the key performance indicators for customer service, firms can determine how well they’re doing.
What are the KPIs to which we are referring? In this article, we’ll look at the top five key performance indicators for customer service. We worked with a team that has top-notch service down to a fine art. Our friends at SupportYourApp identified the following KPIs as crucial to their success.
Key Performance Indicators for Customer Service
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
CSAT is popular because it asks clients to rate their satisfaction directly. This could be on a scale of one to ten by assigning a star rating or using emojis.
It’s a good insight into how your client feels at that point in time.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
The CSAT gives you an idea of how clients see your firm. The NPS tells you how they speak about your firm to others. It’s a more subjective measurement because it’s related to a future event.
The NPS measures how likely your customers are to refer you to someone else. Its advantage over the CSAT is that it aims at an intention, not an emotion. As a result, the reply is less influenced by the mood of the moment.
Customer Retention Rate
Your client retention rate is an essential metric to consider here. It’s not only one of the key performance indicators for customer service but also a crucial way to improve profitability. Increasing your retention rate by just 5% can boost profitability by between 25% and 95%.
SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL measures service and quality together. It dates back to the nineties but provides a 360-degree picture of how your organization performs. The premise is simple – clients rate your firm’s performance and how it measures up to their expectations.
It’s a less subjective type of measurement because the customer’s expectations act as the benchmark.
The KPI covers five areas:
- Reliability: Does the firm deliver on its promises?
- Assurance: Do the employees inspire confidence in the client?
- Tangibles: Here, we look at things like the look of the business, website, and other tangibles.
- Empathy: Do employees come across as caring?
- Responsiveness: Are employees eager to assist?
The questionnaire focuses on how your client sees your business and how they feel it should be. It’s a great tool when you’re considering a service overhaul.
Employee Engagement
Employee engagement doesn’t usually come up when measuring customer service. It’s an oversight that might cost companies dearly. If your employees are unhappy, they become demotivated and disengaged.
They reach a stage where they no longer care to deliver of their best and start looking elsewhere. The result is a very sharp decline in customer service.
While we focus on the KPIs mentioned above, it’s easy to forget a factor which is not that obvious but equally important: your team. If your employees aren’t satisfied with their jobs, they won’t deliver the service that your clients deserve.
Keeping your staff happy saves the firm money in the long run. A high employee turnover rate means increased recruitment and training costs.
Having a parade of new employees on a regular basis is also unsettling for clients. It makes it difficult for them to form lasting relationships with the business.
Final Notes
Understanding the top key performance indicators makes it possible for companies to differentiate themselves through outstanding service. The KPIs listed above cover historical performance, future client behavior, and customer expectations. Combining these indicators with service delivery to your internal customers, your employees is a winning formula.