As the quote says, “Customer Satisfaction is the best business strategy of all.” Excellent customer service is the backbone of a brand’s reputation.
Your customer service decides whether your customers return to you for further purchases. Therefore, it’s good you know how to achieve customer satisfaction.
Customers who face inefficient customer service are more likely to spread negative perceptions about the company leading to a decrease in brand reputation, low customer retention, and loss in sales.
Post-pandemic, the need for excellent customer service has increased as people do most of their work online.
The advancement of the internet and technology has made it easier than ever to work remotely and flexibly in most jobs today, and customer service is surely one of them.
Hence, customer service freelancers are also in high demand, as they do not have to work on-site, commit full-time to the company, and are paid mostly per job basis.
But can everyone succeed as a customer service freelancer?
Whether you are choosing this freelancing job cause you love to interact with people and help them with their issues but want to avoid office politics or just love the idea of working from home in your time, it takes a few things to stand out as a successful customer service freelancer.
In this article, I will guide you through 8 customer service freelancer tactics that will help you win in 2023.
8 Customer Service Freelancer Tactics That Will Help You Win in 2023
Maybe you are a freelancer or work remotely because you are not exactly a “people person” or love the freedom you get with working remotely.
However, you are still expected to deliver a quality service to your clients. You are expected to communicate with your clients and satisfy them, even as a freelancer.
So here 8 tactics you need to try to succeed as a customer service freelancer:
Tactic 1: Prioritize Communication Skills
Customer service is the direct interaction between a customer and a company representative dealing with the sale.
As we often hear, “communication is key.” Excellent communication skill is a must in customer service, as it is the first thing that can make or break a brand’s reputation.
A single miscommunication can lead to a negative brand impression. Thus, as a customer service freelancer, you must be able to concisely deliver a message to the customers.
Effective communication is required for customers to walk away with no doubts and prevent any kind of miscommunication.
In return, your great communication skills can help you advance quickly in your career as customers tell each other about their experiences.
The experience you provide them will help to gain customers’ trust, which will surely be beneficial in succeeding as a freelance customer service professional.
With customer trust and satisfaction, you can even set up your personal call centres by getting a virtual phone number for the call centre and succeeding in the customer support career.
Some tips for building good communication skills which will help you succeed as a customer service freelancer are active listening, asking questions, showing empathy, giving and receiving feedback, managing disagreements effectively, etc.
Thus, clearly communicating your products and services to your customers and providing effective solutions builds trust and customer loyalty.
For instance, when a customer asks about the products/services, if you can clearly make them understand the products and recommend what’s best according to their needs, you clearly win.
Tactic 2: Stay Up-to-Date with Industry Trends and Best Practices
With the continuous advancement of the internet and technology, it is not easy to keep up in this fast-paced digital world.
However, those who are up-to-date with the latest industry trends and best practices are more likely to succeed.
In the fast-paced world of customer service, you can stand out by staying current and learning the customer service basics and the latest industry trends.
To stay updated and learn the best practices,
- Take help from your friend or a leader who is already an expert in this industry.
- Attend events surrounding your industry topics where you can network with like-minded people.
- Get further education and training, read journals, books, and more to sharpen your skills as a customer service freelancer.
- Get in touch with more people who are in your industry and expand your network to stay up-to-date with industry trends.
- Follow experts, mentors, and influencers on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., to learn the industry’s best practices and the soft skills required as a customer service representative.
- Read blogs and online forums to expand your knowledge in the field.
- Turn on Google Alerts to notify you of the specific keywords found on the Google search engine, which will minimize your Google search time as your search queries will be directly delivered to you.
Sharpening your knowledge as a customer service freelancer by staying updated on the latest industry trends and best practices will help you gain experience and a competitive edge.
Learning new industry practices, technologies and evolutions can help you make a quicker yet better decision that will provide value to the customers.
Additionally, you may swiftly identify your opportunities and threats, giving you the upper hand in your career.
Tactic 3: Build a Strong Online Presence
Customer service professionals are in high demand. You can find vacancies for the profession on many freelance platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, etc.
Thus, it is vital that you build a strong online portfolio to attract potential recruiters/clients.
Every customer service professional has their own unique skill set and expertise, so build your portfolio in a way that best explains your strong sides and expertise.
A strong online presence is the key to success in your industry. Thus, here are a few tips for building a strong online presence.
- Build a professional website showcasing your skills and expertise in the best way possible.
- Take the help of social media to target potential clients and retain them.
Building a solid online presence can be extremely helpful in your customer service career.
With all the benefits of social media for business, you can land yourself more opportunities and growth as customers can quickly look you up online and find out about you.
Tactic 4: Network and Build Strong Professional Relationships
Networking and building strong professional relationships are crucial for any freelancer as it creates more doorways to opportunities and work.
These networks give you a reputation that helps you get a competitive advantage.
If more people in your field know you, you will get a chance to learn more, get more exposure, and increase your chance of success.
Here are some quick tips for networking and building strong professional relationships:
- Make sure to attend all the events and programs where you will get to network with many like-minded people.
- Once you build a strong presence, also be active online. Being active online on your professional social media platforms exposes you to new people and clients.
Social media is a powerful tool for interacting with new people, expanding your network, learning, and searching for new opportunities.
Tactic 5: Use Technology to Streamline Workflows
In the field of customer service, efficiency and productivity play a key role. Effective yet quick customer service helps you stand out from your competitors and builds a good reputation among your consumers.
So using technology to streamline workflows greatly reduces your time compared to manually planning and creating strategies, marketing, reporting, and more.
It saves you valuable time and helps you see a clear picture of what’s going on and what needs improvement.
You may use technologies like automation and project management tools to streamline your workflows.
These tools help freelancers to minimize time and provide efficient service to their consumers.
Also check out, 15 Ways Technology Helps With Business Growth Plus Examples
Tactic 6: Focus on Customer Needs and Satisfaction
Customer needs and satisfaction come first in customer service. It is a criterion to determine whether your products/services meet customer expectations.
To improve customer satisfaction, businesses need to understand who their customers are and how to satisfy them, as customer satisfaction will increase customer trust, loyalty, sales, and the overall growth of your business.
There can be various indicators to measure customer needs and satisfaction. To understand and meet customer needs, you may monitor customer feedback, like how satisfied they are, conduct customer research, study their repurchase intent, etc.
Tactic 7: Continuously Learn and Improve
People make mistakes, but what matters is that they learn and improve as they go. The same thing applies to customer service as well.
You might not know what to do at first and make mistakes. You might even upset some customers with your service.
However, acknowledging your mistakes and continually improving can go a long way.
To avoid repeating the mistakes again and improve, it is important that freelancers stay up-to-date with current trends and continually improve their skills.
For this, you can watch videos, read books, and educate yourself on the basics and the industry’s best practices in any way possible.
Take courses beneficial for customer service professionals, and seek advice and feedback from friends and mentors.
Continuous learning and improvement will give freelancers a competitive edge.
This can provide value to clients and help you stand out in the customer service career.
Also, read; Is Google Digital Marketing Course Really Useful?
Tactic 8: Offer Value-Added Services
A quote goes like this, “Always give people more than what they expect to get.” Go above and beyond when it comes to satisfying your customers.
This is one of the best business strategies you can put into practice.
Adding value to your customers and offering them value-added services they didn’t expect to leave a positive impact on them.
Offer them value-added services like multilingual support, conflict resolution, free subscriptions to other programs, free training and consultation, 24-hour technical support, etc.
The experience you provide to your customers is crucial as the customers talk about it to each other, and you know how powerful word of mouth is.
Being kind and willing to help your customers leaves a great impression benefiting both you as a customer service freelancer and the company. In return, more doors to opportunities will open.
Conclusion
To sum up, customer service is a skill that you learn over time. As a customer service freelancer, you must remember that customer satisfaction is the key to any brand’s success.
So try to add value to the customers that cannot be bought elsewhere, like your sincerity and willingness to help. Be kind and always ready to help.
It is fine if you do not know something, but you should be willing to learn. Follow the industry’s best leaders and colleagues, learn from online sources, and get a grasp of the industry’s best practices and trends.
“Do not make customers happy. Make happy customers.”
I hope you practice these tactics in real life to succeed as a customer service freelancer in 2023. Thank you for reading till the end!
Check out; 15 Super Ways To Improve Online Shopping Experience For Customers
FAQs
What is a Customer Service Freelancer?
In simple terms, customer service means the service a business provides to help your customers with any queries and make them happy.
Likewise, a customer service freelancer is a freelancer that works as a customer service professional with work flexibility and choice and is often paid on a per-job basis.
Why are Customer Service Freelancers in Demand?
Customer service has always been a crucial part of a business, as customer satisfaction is one of the main deciding factors of the company’s reputation, customer retention, and overall company growth.
Post-pandemic, the need for customer service has grown more than ever, with everything being digitalized and online, from shopping to work and from playing games to reading books.
The trend of freelance work has also hugely increased as it provides flexibility in the workplace and time.
Hence, customer service freelancers are also in high demand, as they do not have to work on-site, commit full-time to the company, and are paid mostly per job basis.
What are Some Key Tactics for Customer Service Freelancers to Succeed?
Some of the key tactics for customer service freelancers to succeed are:
- Prioritize Communication Skills
- Stay Up-to-Date with Industry Trends and Best Practices
- Build a Strong Online Presence
- Network and Build Strong Professional Relationships
- Use Technology to Streamline Workflows
- Focus on Customer Needs and Satisfaction
- Continuously Learn and Improve
- Offer Value-Added Services
How Can Customer Service Freelancers Stay Current and Improve Their Skills?
Customer service freelancers can stay current and improve their skills by following the leaders and mentors in the field on social media platforms, attending workshops or events, networking with like-minded people in the industry, reading journals and books, and more.
Read; 5 Ways To Treat Customers Professionally
What are Some Examples of Value-Added Services that Customer Service Freelancers Can Offer?
Here are some examples of value-added services that customer service freelancers can offer:
- Professional communication skills: To help clients successfully communicate with their customers, freelancers can offer the best verbal and written communication skills.
- Multilingual support: Multilingual freelancers can help customers aiming to grow their customer base into non-English speaking areas by providing translation and interpretation services.
- Technical expertise: Technically skilled freelancers can assist clients in sectors including software development, IT, and e-commerce.
- Conflict resolution: Freelancers with conflict resolution skills can assist clients in amicably and professionally resolving consumer complaints or conflicts.
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Customized support: Freelancers can offer customized support packages tailored to the specific needs of their clients, such as 24-hour technical support, after-hours support, or specialized support for certain product lines.
