Effective customer service should be a must for all trainers and course providers, and getting it right could be easier than you think. We’ve all done it; you call up to register on a course and can’t get through.... You try few times, then decide to try later. The question is do you, or do you find an alternative?
When you’re operating in a competitive market space, the last thing any business wants to do is become the author of its own misfortune. But, by providing sub-standard customer service, often unknowingly, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing.
We can’t speak for every industry, but when it comes to the training administration and course booking, we have a fair idea of what you can do to tighten up customer service to increase sales. Mace Business school were aware of the limitations of manual processes and are a great example of what can be achieved by automating day to day administration and utilising technology. One of the major advantages to their business is the time then now have to time to continually improve their service. Read more about Mace Business School in the full case study.
Technology plays an integral role in improving customer service, because simply by adopting a tailored online system, businesses can mitigate the risk of letting customers down or not providing them with the information they require.
With this in mind, below are SIX ways that your training business can develop the level of customer service on offer:
1 . Online booking
Embedding software for training companies with online booking capability as one of its functions is a must for training companies looking to improve their levels of customer service. Booking through the internet is commonplace today, and customers expect to be able to be in control of when they book, rather than getting frustrated by calling the booking line, where they could be put on hold or find the line engaged. Remove barriers to booking and make the journey to being a customer as smooth as possible.
Find out more about our online booking systems.
2. Access and visibility
There is nothing worse, from a customer point of view, when a service provider is hard to reach, so make sure it never happens. Use technology to ensure that you are constantly visible to both clients and potential clients, and more importantly, ensure that they are able to reach you. Social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn offer a great platform for instant two way interaction, but if you want to impart information, a monthly email campaign that updates all of your customers on the latest developments within the business, and details on how customers can get in touch to give feedback and ask questions would be a useful start.
3. Intelligence on customers
Any business that values its customers and wants to remain on top of customer detail and prospects should be using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system as part of an integrated training management system. This is invaluable to track and record any interactions with customers. A CRM can prompt you to get back in touch with a client, and also record all conversations. So, if you have agreed to speak with a potential client at 2pm today, you can programme the CRM to prompt you and detail the previous conversation that you had. Never run the risk of being unprepared for a meeting, or worse, missing the meeting entirely. Organisation is key, and technology can help businesses ensure they are as organised as possible.
4. Pre-empting customer issues
Another useful function of a training management system is the online survey, and these are not only handy for generating an interesting snapshot of your industry’s mood, they can help you to pre-empt any underlying customer issues which can be actioned quickly before they can escalate into problems.
5 . Clear communication
One of the most frustrating things for a delegate is complication, so it’s important that every part of the communication process is kept succinct whether it’s the booking confirmation, joining instructions or an invoice). Training software can automate and simplify the entire communication process and not just make it easy for delegates to understand, but also make it insightful and consistent in appearance.
If you want to find out more about communication you might be interested in this article "How Training Companies Can Communicate Effectively".
6. Accurate reporting
A training management system means that companies no longer have to spend valuable time taking days to generate meaningful data for client meetings. Reports can be produced on every part of the process so you can report on what really matters to your customers.
If you want to find out more about the benefits of training management systems you can download our 10 ways to automate eBook which explores how automating processes could benefit your business.
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