Targets in customer service – what are they and how do you choose them?

Objectives in customer service can vary and will always depend on the specifics of the company. This does not change the fact that some of them are universal and can be applied regardless of the industry.

From this article you will learn:

• What is an objective in customer service?
• How do you choose customer service objectives?
• What are some examples of goals in customer service?

Customer service objectives – definition

Objectives in customer service refer to the standards and priorities that a company or organisation sets for its customer service department in order to ensure customer satisfaction. They are important because they affect the long-term success and profitability of the business.

A customer service goal is a set priority or standard that a company’s customer service department strives to achieve in order to provide an excellent customer experience. They can include increasing customer satisfaction, resolving problems effectively, building lasting relationships, and improving products and services based on customer feedback.

Definition of a goal in customer service

Customer service goals can vary depending on the company, industry or target audience. This does not change the fact that the most common ones include increasing customer satisfaction, resolving customer problems and complaints and building relationships. Customer service departments are also often tasked with providing fast and efficient service, and the company as a whole with improving products and services based on feedback. The previously mentioned objectives lead to the most important one, which is to increase sales.

Selecting objectives in customer service

The selection of objectives in customer service should start with understanding the expectations and needs of your customers. This information can be obtained through market research, customer satisfaction surveys or analysing interaction data.

You can then move on to analyse your company’s current customer service situation. Identify its strengths and weaknesses so that, based on these, you can define a mission statement that reflects your aspirations for the customer experience. Remember to ensure that the department’s mission is consistent with your company’s overall mission. Once you have identified the mission, you can move on to identifying a specific, measurable, realistic and time-bound goal (or goals) in customer service – the SMART method will help with this.

Integrating your customer service goals with those of other departments is crucial to ensure that the customer experience is consistent across the company. It is also important to monitor progress against goals and evaluate their effectiveness. Remember that the key to effective goal setting is to understand what your customers want and to align goals with their needs on an ongoing basis.

Examples of goals in customer service

Objectives in customer service can be varied and depend on the specifics of your business and its expectations of customer relationships. Regardless, they should all be achievable and, above all, measurable using popular metrics in customer service. Here are some examples of targets that can be used in many organisations:

Customer Effort Score

Customer Effort Score (CES) is a measure of the effort a customer has to put into interacting with a company in order to solve their problem or achieve their goal. The goal of the Customer Effort Score is to minimise customer effort by providing easy and intuitive service processes. Higher CES scores indicate less customer effort, while lower scores may suggest the need to improve customer service processes.

Customer Satisfaction Score

The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a measure that is used to assess the level of satisfaction customers have towards a company, product or service. CSAT is often expressed as a score on a scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 10, where higher scores indicate higher customer satisfaction. The aim is to monitor and improve customer satisfaction by providing products and services that meet their expectations and needs. Higher CSAT scores are desirable as they indicate a better customer experience, loyalty and a greater chance of recommending your business to others.

First Response Time

First Response Time (FRA) refers to the time from the customer’s request to when they receive their first response from customer service. Minimising customer waiting time translates into increased customer satisfaction, improved service quality and efficiency in the customer service process. Your company should aim for the shortest possible first response time to show the customer that their request is a priority.

First Contact Resolution

First Contact Resolution refers to the proportion of customer requests that are resolved at the first contact with the helpdesk. The aim is to increase the number of customer issues that are effectively resolved immediately, eliminating the need for multiple contacts for the same problem. A company can aim to increase the FCR, for example by introducing staff training, better documentation and technical expertise, or more efficient customer service processes.

Cost of resolving an issue

This metric refers to the total financial outlay, human resources and time required to fully resolve a customer issue. The aim is to minimise costs while ensuring a high quality of customer service. Improving the efficiency of the case resolution process can reduce operating costs, increase profitability and optimise the use of resources.

Number of cases resolved

The number of resolved cases refers to the total number of successfully handled customer requests. An increase in this number signifies the effective and efficient resolution of customer issues and is indicative of a highly efficient customer service department and customer satisfaction. It is an important indicator that helps to assess the effectiveness of customer service and strive to continuously improve the quality of service provided.

Number of cases

Refers to the total number of customer requests that reach the customer service department in a given period. Monitoring and managing this number helps to maintain adequate throughput and service efficiency. A high number of cases may indicate high occupancy in the department, while a low number may indicate a need for increased efficiency or better allocation of resources. It is important to constantly monitor these and adjust resources and customer service processes as needed to ensure that all customer requests are handled efficiently and effectively.

Number of cases by channel

The number of cases by channel refers to the number of customer requests that come into the customer service department through various communication channels, such as telephone, email or social media. Analysing this number can provide information on customers’ preferred communication channels and help allocate resources and optimise customer service processes for each channel.

Top Topics

The most important topics (Top Topics) refer to the main areas that are most frequently raised by customers when interacting with customer service. Identifying and understanding them allows you to focus on improving them and providing better solutions. This can also lead to improved customer service, greater customer satisfaction and a more effective response to customer needs and expectations.

Net Promoter Score

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a method of measuring customer loyalty and customer engagement. The NPS is based on the question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company/product/service to others?”. Responses are grouped into three categories: promoters (score 9-10), neutrals (score 7-8) and detractors (score 0-6). NPS is calculated as the difference between the number of promoters and detractors. A higher NPS score indicates greater loyalty and a tendency for customers to recommend the company to others, which translates into an increase in peer recommendations and the long-term success of the company.

Reducing the number of complaints

Complaint reduction is the goal of reducing negative reports and customer dissatisfaction. For example, your company may aim to reduce the number of customer complaints by 15% over the next six months compared to current levels. The aim is to identify and resolve issues that lead to complaints and make improvements.

Customer retention

Customer retention refers to a company’s ability to retain existing customers and prevent them from leaving, i.e. reducing the churn rate. Increasing consumer loyalty leads to long-term business relationships, repeat business and greater customer value. This can be done through excellent customer service, providing valuable products or services or personalising the customer’s brand experience.

Consistent case solutions

Consistent case solutions (Consistent Resolutions) refers to ensuring uniformity and consistency in the resolution process. All customer service agents should provide consistent and accurate answers and resolve cases according to agreed standards and procedures. This contributes to building customer trust and minimising ambiguity.

Resolving customer problems more quickly

Faster resolution of customer issues is the goal of reducing the time it takes to fully resolve reported issues by customers. For example, a company may aim to reduce the average time to resolve a customer problem, for example from 24 hours to 12 hours. Improving response times, increasing the efficiency of the customer service department and minimising the wait for customers to have their problems resolved all contribute to increasing customer satisfaction, building a positive company image and increasing the chances of maintaining customer loyalty.

Average response time

Average Response Time refers to the averaged time that elapses between a customer request and receiving a response from the helpdesk. Your company can aim to reduce the average response time, for example from 4 hours to 2 hours. Improving the average response time translates into a better customer experience and increased satisfaction.

Average Resolution Time

Average Resolution Time refers to the average time it takes to fully resolve a customer’s issue from the point of reporting. The aim is to resolve cases efficiently and quickly, resulting in greater customer satisfaction, improved service quality and reduced waiting times.

Average time spent on a case – Average Handle Time

Average time spent on a case (Average Handle Time) refers to the average time it takes a customer service employee to handle a single enquiry or problem. The aim is to reduce this time, which can increase customer service efficiency, improve response times and increase the number of cases handled.

Average number of communications per case – Agent Touches per Ticket

The average number of communications per case (Agent Touches per Ticket) refers to the average number of interactions a helpdesk agent needs to take to resolve one customer case. Minimising this number means effectively managing and resolving customer issues in as few interactions as possible. Improving this ratio (e.g. by reducing the necessary interactions from five to three) reduces customer service time and increases the efficiency of problem resolution. It can achieve this through better information management and transfer of technical knowledge to agents and close collaboration between teams in the helpdesk.

Knowledge base visits

Knowledge base visits refer to the number of interactions with a company’s knowledge base to find answers to questions or solve problems. Your company may aim to increase the number of knowledge base visits by, for example, 20% per year. To achieve this, it can invest in developing and updating the knowledge base, create content that is easily accessible and understandable, and promote its use through outreach campaigns.

More visits to the knowledge base contributes to customers’ self-efficacy in solving problems, reducing the time spent waiting for a response from the helpdesk. In turn, it helps agents to find answers quickly and efficiently, resulting in better customer service efficiency.

Case escalation rate

The case escalation indicator shows the percentage of cases that need to be escalated or escalated higher up the organisational hierarchy because they have not been resolved at a lower level of customer service. The aim of this indicator is to minimise the need for escalation, meaning that issues are effectively and efficiently resolved at the initial levels of customer service. A low escalation rate demonstrates the customer service department’s ability to resolve issues and make decisions independently.

Abandonment rate

Abandonment Rate refers to the percentage of customers who abandon an interaction or transaction before it is completed or resolved. In this case, the goal is to minimise the number of abandonments by, for example, a certain percentage over a certain period of time. Various strategies can be used to achieve this, such as optimising the user interface, reducing waiting times or training staff in the area of customer service.

Reducing the number of product returns

This objective is to reduce the number of times customers return purchased products and request a refund. For example, a company could work to reduce the number of product returns by 30% over the next six months, which means improving product quality, increasing precision in product and service information, and better matching customer expectations. The aim is to minimise customer frustration with product returns and the associated costs and financial losses for the company.

Increasing repeat business

Increasing repeat business involves increasing the number of customers making repeat purchases from your company. A specific target may be to increase this number by, for example, 20% in a year. This allows you to build customer loyalty and long-term business relationships, and by providing, among other things, attractive loyalty programmes, effective customer service or creating valuable shopping experiences, you can increase revenue and business stability.