Customer Service Philosophy: How to Establish it in 6 Steps

It won’t be an overstatement to say that customer service success is rooted in customer service philosophy. A sound philosophy is like a guiding light that keeps customer service teams grounded in a shared goal that represents the brand’s core values and vision. 

To quote a few successful customer service philosophy examples, let’s look at Apple. In 2021, a year after Apple launched its iPhone 12 and iPhone Pro, a small percentage of customers complained of sound issues with their new mobiles. Instead of dismissing it as an anomaly, the company instantly launched a free repair program.   

Deeply rooted in prioritizing customer satisfaction and ensuring premium experiences, Apple’s customer service philosophy hinges on personalization and customer-centricity. The brand leaves no stone unturned in keeping its customers happy. In fact, in a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that he begins his day reading customer reviews and feedback.  

Apple’s customer service philosophy trickles down the ranks, impacting every customer interaction and establishing its identity as a customer-first brand. With every Apple employee embodying the philosophy, it’s little wonder the brand has a mammoth userbase that’s unswayed by competition, willing to return to, recommend or even pay more for their Apple products.  

Customer-obsessed brands like Apple, Adobe and Zappos are a living testament that cohesive and well-crafted customer service philosophies lay the foundation on which successful customer experience rests.  

In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of creating the best customer service philosophy for your company, with examples and insights to guide you along the way.  

What is customer service philosophy?

Customer service philosophy is a set of guiding principles and practices to be followed during customer interactions and services. It may sound aspirational, but in reality, it finds its way into the operational rhythm by underpinning the brand’s ethos in every interaction and touchpoint. It governs how a company thinks great customer service should be done and the way to make it happen.  

Also called client service philosophy, it forms the foundation for everything: from customer communication to policy formulation policies and agent training. For instance, when everyone in the company understands the value of creating, they can foster the right customer service mindset and deliver cohesive experiences to clients consistently. 

The top benefits of customer service philosophy

Customer service philosophy's fundamental goal is to provide clients with consistently favorable experiences. Not only does it highlight a brand's dedication to meeting consumer needs, but it also provides a common vision for the whole organization. While the onus of upholding the philosophy lies solely on the customer service department, it brings all stakeholders, partners and agencies on the same page, so they all speak the same language and reinforce the brand’s identity. Likewise, the customer service philosophy percolates through all aspects of business, from customer acquisition to retention.   

If you’re still skeptical about the myriad benefits of customer service philosophy, take a look below:  

1. It fosters customer loyalty 

Consistent customer service improves the overall customer experience, making interactions more positive and reducing customer churn. 74% of customers think brand loyalty increases when customers feel understood.  

2. It helps establish a strong brand identity 

62% of brands struggle with presenting an authentic brand personality that sets them apart from the crowd. Your customer service philosophy is built around your brand voice which gets reinforced over and over, in every experience. Multitouch, cohesive experiences help audiences associate your voice with your brand and become memorable. 

3. It yields clear performance metrics 

Customer care philosophy also helps identify customer service metrics that matter in the short and long term. For instance, a company that prioritizes high-touch customer service in its philosophy may not track time-bound metrics (like average handle time, etc.) since it emphasizes hands-on, personalized support that lasts a while. Contrarily, a company that prioritizes quick response may focus on customer satisfaction score or first response time over the number of upsells or cross-sells.  

4. It improves employee engagement 

Customer service philosophy sets employee expectations in clear, unambiguous terms which helps them deliver results efficiently. What’s more, trained, empowered and motivated agents are much more likely to provide better customer service and in turn improve customer experience by 20%!  

5. It drives higher revenue 

Loyal customers do not just stick around for the long term, they also spend more. 42% of customers say they would gladly pay a premium for a friendly and welcoming customer experience.   

Step-by-step guide to creating a customer service philosophy  

Ideal customer service philosophies are smart intersections of organizational goals and customer needs. What’s the point of having a customer philosophy that doesn’t align with your vision and values? Here is how you can get started on developing a strong client service philosophy:  

1. Identify your 3 Vs - Vision, values & voice 

Every business has an overarching vision, values and voice that govern customer handling. Understanding these 3 Vs can help you arrive at a customer service philosophy that truly reflects your business identity and its mission.   

For instance, Sprinklr’s brand vision is “To be the world’s most-loved enterprise software company ever” which translates into the following core brand value:    

Sprinklr's brand vision and values are deeply interconnected, and each element reinforces and amplifies the other to create a strong, recognizable business identity. These are not just theoretical; they are the driving force behind product strategy, customer communication and expansionary plans. 

Vision provides the direction, and values offer the guiding principles. The voice brings it all to life in a way that resonates with customers and reinforces the brand's identity.  

Best practices: 

• Speak with top leadership to identify your core values. If there are too many, narrow down to the top five that are most important from a customer perspective. 
• Brand values can be conceptual, like LEGO’s — creativity, learning, caring, fun, imagination and quality. Or, aspirational, like Sprinklr’s — Human, Hopeful, Helpful, Happier.  
• Regardless of your approach, ensure your 3 Vs are unique and authentic. 

2. Understand your customers 

An effective customer experience philosophy is not self-serving. Rather, it’s customer-centric, which means it should be founded on the tenets of audience insights.   To understand your audience deeply, leverage tactics like: 

• Customer surveys 
• Market research 
• Audience profiling 

A comprehensive understanding of your customers’ needs, pain points and preferences is critical to the long-term success of your philosophy or else it remains a tick in the box.  

Best practices: 

• Create cross-functional teams with members from customer service, marketing and product development to get a full picture of your audience profiles. 
• Go beyond demographics into the realm of psychographic aspects of your audience, which includes their interests, aspirations, social media habits and channel preferences. Incorporating these wholesome insights will give an edge to your customer service philosophy. 

3. Document your customer service philosophy 

Using the insights gained from customer analytics, put this in the context of your company’s vision to document a unique customer service philosophy. Make this statement specific and actionable.  

Best practices: 

• Craft a simple statement that’s easy to recall. 
• Make your customer service philosophy actionable by getting specific about the standards and practices you want your team to follow. 
• Communicate this to all stakeholders, not just customer agents via a customer service knowledge base and brand guidelines. 

4. Empower your customer service team 

Take the time to train every team member on your customer support philosophy and its applications. Communicate not just the "what" but also the "why" behind your planning so they feel truly invested in the philosophy. Also, equip your team with the right tools to achieve the best results.  Best practices: 

• Hire and train agents who embody your customer service philosophy, so their learning curve is shorter.  
• Provide agents with brand-compliant resources built atop your philosophy, including call scripts, useful customer service phrases and automated workflows as a starting point.  
• Incorporate a reward system to identify and recognize employees who exemplify your customer service philosophy.  

Generative AI-powered Agent Assessment: Objective & Constructive 

Supervisors and managers should be empowered with generative AI-powered quality management tools that can gauge brand compliance with unmatched accuracy and objectivity. 

No bias, no guesswork. Just plain, astute insights on how the team is performing and where it needs help. 

Sprinklr is one such superlative quality management solution. It gives users unmatched control over their scoring parameters, adaptive learning pathways and leaderboards of one unified dashboard: 

TAKE A TOUR OF SPRINKLR

5. Implement across all channels 

Democratize your customer experience philosophy across all l customer touchpoints — in-person, on the phone and online. Omnichannel customer service on the back of a sound philosophy will build strong customer relationships. 

Best practices: 

• Create a unified communication strategy that embodies your service philosophy for all communication channels.  
• Audit customer interactions and feedback across different channels to plug any gaps.  
• Use AI to connect the dots and help your agents respond better.  

6. Review, reflect and redefine 

Once you implement your customer experience philosophy and unify it across your business, pat yourself on the back. But your job isn’t done yet. You must continuously measure its impact on your customers and business and refine it over time. This way, you anticipate customer needs and innovate proactively.  

Best practices: 

• Monitor customer sentiment on internal websites and external review sites to understand how well your philosophy resonates with your target audience.  
• Use relevant customer service metrics such as customer satisfaction (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and First Contact Resolution (FCR) to track success. 
• Conduct regular reviews, either quarterly, half-yearly or annually to see whether your philosophy needs changes.  

Ingredients for the best customer service philosophy  

As stated, your customer service philosophy culminates from the intersection of your brand values, vision and customer needs. That being said, the best customer service philosophies have certain common ingredients that include:   

1. Customer-centric focus: Put the customer at the heart of your business.  

 How? Take care of your clients' needs, learn about their preferences, and respond to their grievances in time with customer empathy.  

2. Personalized services: Treat each customer as they are: tailor services to their unique needs and grievances to provide personalized customer service. 

 How? Harness customer data to understand customer touchpoints, history and interaction analytics to dig into customer behaviors and preferences, using these insights to get specific insights and provide customized solutions.   

3. Consistency across all aspects: Not just a consistent product, but also focus on a consistent level of service across all touchpoints, whether it's in-store, online, or over the phone. 

 How? Nail down the kind of experience you want to provide your customers with. Use this to develop your agent training and coaching programs across all channels.   

4. Proactive customer service: Don’t just react to problems; predict them beforehand. Get skilled at anticipating customer needs and addressing potential issues before they arise. 

 How? Use customer service tools that offer predictive CSAT technologies, social listening, gather feedback through customer surveys and provide self-service options to tap customer issues early and resolve them before they become tickets to understand customer requirements better.  

5. Effective communication: Develop a communication strategy that focuses on transparency and honesty, and rewards staff who handle difficult conversations keeping in line with this philosophy. 

 How? Develop a brand voice and focus all communication (such as customer service messaging) with your brand voice. Have a unified contact center to make it simpler for your agents to respond to cross-channel customers contextually and quickly.    

Successful customer service philosophies examples   

Delivering exceptional customer service directed by a strong brand philosophy is not uncommon: many brands start with unique philosophies that reflect their vision, mission and goals. However, as brands grow and scale, sticking to this philosophy becomes challenging. The demands of expansion, customer volume and operations often lead to these philosophies being sidelined.   

A customer service philosophy is not simply in words but must translate into action in the long term. There are brands that have succeeded in putting their philosophies up, front and center despite their growth. It is for this commitment to their vision that brands like Apple, Amazon and boAT stand out.    

Apple — A philosophy built on insanely great experiences 

In any list of good customer service examples, Apple is among the frontrunners if not the winner. And the reason is plain. Apple's secret sauce, as Steve Jobs puts it, relies on delivering “insanely great” experiences. Rigorous attention to detail in both customer service and product creation is clearly defined, embodied and implemented. Apple’s customer service philosophy is beautifully coined in the acronym of its name and is deeply ingrained in the minds of Apple Store employees. 

For instance, the Genius Bar is Apple's in-store support program that offers professional guidance and repairs. Clients can schedule appointments and receive in-person assistance from competent staff members. This dedication to great customer service has made Apple an undisputed leader in quality and innovation, earning high levels of satisfaction and customer loyalty. 

Amazon — A customer-first philosophy 

Jeff Bezos understands that in today’s crazy competitive world, customer satisfaction is not enough. Amazon’s approach to customer service is to be “customer-obsessed”. While it does admittedly keep an eye on competition, its core principles are rooted in customer-centricity. They focus on truly understanding what customers need and constantly work to enhance their experience. 

For instance, Amazon Prime, the company’s free shipping service, rakes in over $25 billion a year. The idea came from the modern customers’ needs for instant gratification in today’s age of social media. When an employee suggested an unlimited “all-you-can-eat” type shipping model, Bezos jumped on it and also included faster shipping. His idea of offering customers what they wanted gave them a reason to stay and in turn, grew the company multifold. This is the power of a strong customer service philosophy.  

boAT — Affordable luxury philosophy 

boAT is one of India’s most sought-after audio gadget brands that aims to help people “Plug into Nirvana”. The company’s mission is to elevate people’s lifestyles in an affordable way by providing luxury audio and entertainment technology as well as delivering superior experiences with truly hassle-free consumer service.  

To achieve this, boAT embarked on a digital transformation journey in 2021 by engaging in brand-relevant conversations. It focused on crafting a holistic, end-to-end experience for customers and speeding up the process of claims and warranty with AI. Using Sprinklr Service and Sprinklr Insights, boAT began handing over 10,000 customer requests and 6,000+ warranty claims per day without compromising on speed or accuracy. A simple shift in gear transformed boAT into a customer-centric business.  

You can do it too!  

In the end, having the best customer service philosophy is not a want but a need. Superior customer service has the power to differentiate your company, boost trust and convert customers into fans and brand advocates.  

Just like boAT, you can implement Sprinklr Service to deliver the best customer service that will satisfy your customer service philosophy to the T. With Sprinklr, you can unify your customer service in one place, go beyond omnichannel support and leverage the best AI in the market to improve your customer experience.