Much of the data collected by Zendesk and the Harvard Business Review reports that 50-70% are frustrated with your customer service skills. Consulting giant Accenture reports a 66% chance of your customers switching to a competitor due to poor customer service.

The breakdown of poor customer service is defined as Rude or unhelpful staff (42%), tired of being put on hold (25%), and simply feeling unappreciated as a customer looking for help (53%).

On the other side of the coin, conjugate data shows that providing admirable customer service engenders customer loyalty. In one study by RightNow, a reported 73% of consumers fell in love with a brand due to solely their customer service experience. This turns into positive word of mouth recommendations as well.

So what exactly are some of your top competitors doing? Here are the 3 things that every successful company does to improve their customer service.

1. Display your Customer Service Skills by Providing Cross Platform Support for Boomers and Millennials

Traditional channels such as phone and email are essential to keep open and adequately manned for less tech savvy users. For the younger millennial generation, more technological options are actually more convenient and preferred.

Responding to questions posted on social media sites such as twitter/Facebook need to be prompt and accurate. Having a regularly updated mobile app is paramount.

2. Constant Evaluation of Customer Service

Traditional Call monitoring is effective in evaluating your customer service agent performance, and CSAT customer satisfaction scores provide valuable feedback as well to companies. For instance, service calls to customers that give poor feedback may resolve the issue and reduce large-scale churn.

If your company is not already skilled in analytics, it may be worth it to invest in a knowledgeable data manager. Deloitte reports 87% of its clients plan to scale up their analytics collection.

3. Providing Self –Service Options

In addition to hiring the right personnel, having a solid base of self-help information caters to the auto-didactics of the population. Keep your site organized with the appropriate help sections and FAQS. Furthermore, using the integrated tutorial and walkthrough programs is the new wave of current self-help technology. Customers can be guided through your site or your product at their leisure.

With the varying preferences and options now available to serving customers, companies must stay agile and adaptive to their customer’s needs. To keep a leg up on the competition, modern strategies and systems should be employed as well.