No matter what industry you're in, few things are more important for your business's continued success than quality customer service. Improved customer service has been directly linked to better customer retention, customer lifetime value, and revenue, with 78% of shoppers using customer service to decide whether they'll do business with a company.

Needless to say, ensuring that your organization provides the highest-level customer service possible should be a top priority, no matter who you serve or the size of your customer service team.

As Han Butler, president and co-founder of ROI CX Solutions, an international call center solutions provider, explains, following key best practices is essential for any organization seeking to improve its customer service.

1. Always Maintain Total Compliance with Applicable Regulations

"One area that is often overlooked in customer service is the need to maintain compliance with a variety of regulations," Butler notes. "For example, in the United States, federal law requires that callers be notified if their call is going to be recorded or monitored so they can opt out if they choose. Then, of course, there are industry-specific regulations such as HIPAA, as well as PCI compliance for processing payment cards. Failure to follow these regulations is not only a significant breach of trust that harms your reputation, but it also incurs massive fines."

Legal penalties for noncompliance are likely to drive away both existing and prospective customers. While compliance may seem like an inconvenience at times, ensuring your customer service practices are fully compliant with applicable regulations ultimately protects you and your customers.

2. Practice Empathy

On a conversational level, few things can improve customer service more than practicing empathy. According to Forbes, empathy requires that service professionals demonstrate that a customer's feelings and situation are truly understood and are viewed as important. This also ensures that customer service professionals truly understand the customer's needs.

Your customer service team should practice empathy in every conversation by engaging in active listening and acknowledging the feelings and opinions of customers so they can focus on finding a helpful solution. Clearly expressing empathy and maintaining a positive, helpful tone (even when dealing with a stressed customer) can go a long way in improving the experience.

3. Communicate Clearly and Concisely

Butler also recommends that leaders train their team on how to communicate in a clear, concise manner. "Whether you're communicating with a customer over the phone or via email, it's best to keep things simple," he says.

"People don't need to know every possible detail when they're trying to resolve a problem. They just want to get a solution that works for them as quickly as possible. Clear, concise language helps avoid miscommunications while delivering the speed that so many want from a customer service experience."

Striking the balance between being clear and concise while still displaying empathy is essential but often challenging. Because of this, customer service teams often benefit from training to help them improve their emotional intelligence and general communication skills. Using a natural tone of voice, even when delivering an explanation, is one way to help maintain this balance.

4. Maximize Your Team's Knowledge

"To be the best at customer service, your team can't just empathize with a customer's situation. They need extensive knowledge that will allow them to effectively resolve the problem, no matter how complex it might be," Butler says.

"That being said, your team's knowledge largely depends on the resources you provide them. You need to ensure they have all the necessary tools at their disposal so that even if they don't know an answer or solution themselves, they can find one in a timely manner."

To achieve this, Butler advises that all customer-facing team members undergo extensive training on your company's products and services. Another worthwhile solution is developing an internal knowledge base that team members can refer to that provides quick answers, technical details, service guidelines, and other essential information that could come up during a customer service conversation.

With the right resources, your customer service team can avoid common issues like giving vague answers or needing to put a customer on an extended hold so they can get the answer from a supervisor.

5. Collect Feedback to Improve Performance

As in every other aspect of your business, there's always room for improvement. Collecting and applying feedback is a valuable part of your team's growth so they can better fulfill customer needs.

"Collecting feedback through follow-up surveys or by monitoring calls for training purposes allows us to close the feedback loop and bring what we've learned full circle. The goal is to use that information to improve our training and ensure that future generations of workers won't make the same mistakes, improving customer service over time," Butler says.

"This allows you to develop best practices for your organization as a whole, as well as offer individualized feedback to each member of your customer service team. Implementing feedback at individual and organization-wide levels is important to ensure customers always enjoy a consistently positive experience."

Serve Your Customers Better

As you make these practices part of your customer service experience, you and your team will be better positioned to deliver the level of support today's customers expect and deserve. By making customer service a top priority, you will better fulfill your customers' needs and make a positive impression that leads to lasting loyalty and repeat business.