It’s painful. A recent customer service fiasco has gone viral and a wonderful company’s image has been trashed in front of thousands of people. Although anyone who listens to the recording of the call would probably agree that the agent is a complete tool, many businesses are taking a step back to re-examine their own support processes. Are the measurements and motivations they use for agents incenting better service? Or bad behavior?

As SVP and GM of Desk.com, I get to meet a lot of cool startups and innovative thinkers. Many of these small business leaders are overlooking traditional measures of agent productivity and efficiency to focus on what really matters in the long run: happy customers. Here are some of the ways successful startups are using non-traditional measurements to ensure that customer service agents are helping—not hurting—their business:

Make satisfaction your primary measurement. 

Instead of looking at how quickly you can get customers off of the phone, or how many calls you can process in a day, what about looking at how happy they are? Many companies are moving from case closure to customer satisfaction as their primary metric. Take a long-term perspective by measuring satisfaction after agent interactions, cases are closed, or on an annual basis so you can get a better picture of how your service organization is helping your business over the long haul.

For One Kings Lane, an online marketplace with a spectacular collection of top-brand, designer, and vintage items, a luxury customer service experience is an important part of the package. Customers expect a white glove experience and Alexis Chapman, Director Customer Operations, wants to make sure that they get it. With one-of-a-kind and vintage items, it isn’t realistic that the company can effectively resolve an issue on the first call. “We don’t measure our team on whether they can close a case at first contact,” Chapman says. “We encourage our agents to talk to customers as long and as often as it takes to make them happy.”

Listen to customers throughout the lifecycle. 

In today’s uber-connected world every customer interaction is important, even—as we’ve all seen in past weeks—if the customer is cancelling your service. It’s critical that you listen to customers and understand what they are saying, instead of pushing your agenda. Having a conversation and offering a positive experience every step of the way increases loyalty among customers. And for those that leave anyway, it may lessen the chance that they become detractors.

Some companies never close tickets, so they always have a reminder to follow up with a customer and make sure they are happy. GiveForward, an online fundraising platform that has enabled thousands of people to raise millions of dollars for their loved ones in need, knows about the importance of sticking with customers better than anyone. “For us, talking to customers isn’t just about answering their questions. It’s also an opportunity to offer advice to make their fundraising more effective, which is more valuable to them than a 5 minute response time, and creates a lasting impression that will stick with them,” explains Erica Ahorn, Director of User Relations and Fundraising Coach. By working with customers throughout their entire experience, GiveForward maintains a high Net Promoter score and has an impact that’s really beyond measure.

Take time to educate customers. 

A service call doesn’t just have to be about answering questions. Some companies view every interaction as an opportunity to educate customers about their products. It’s not just about trying to deflect future calls—although that’s certainly a positive outcome—but it’s about helping customers have a deeper understanding and appreciation for your product, and a closer relationship that will translate to increased loyalty down the road

Education is a key goal at Asana, which makes tools to help businesses manage tasks and projects more productively. Like many companies, Asana wants to go above and beyond to make customers happy. But it also wants to educate customers and build a long-term relationship. According to Brian Boroff, Head of User Operations, “At Asana, our goal is to deliver customer service that more than just support—it’s a long term relationship that starts very early and goes on forever.”

Use self-service for more than deflection. 

These days practically every company has an online help center, and many eagerly push customers to this cost-effective way of giving service. While some customers prefer to help themselves first before contacting an agent, others use self-service only as a last resort when they can’t get a real person on the phone. Whatever their preference, in today’s social, mobile world they expect a high level of service however they reach you. Make sure you invest in giving customers a high level of service, not just a cheap way to get them off of the phone.

Companies like Pandora and ZenPayroll have created beautiful online help centers that provide in-depth answers while extending and building their brands. If you include ratings on your content, you can see where you are failing customers, continually improve content to meet customer needs, and strengthen your relationship. “Our online help center is a key part of our effort to make payroll delightful for customers,” says Steve Johnsen, Compliance and Support Lead.

Don’t let bad customer service tarnish your brand. Make sure you measure and motivate your support team to drive customer happiness. How are you measuring your support efforts to ensure success?

This post was originally published on the award-winning Desk.com blog.

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