customer problem solving process

The Guide to Effective Customer Service Problem Solving

Cases that start as “I don’t know” quickly become “I figured it out!”

“I don’t know” isn’t a good enough answer in customer support. When customers come to you with unique problems and unusual questions, we can’t refuse to answer them. In this guide, we’ll give you the steps to turn that “I don’t know” into something better:

“I don’t know, but I’m going to figure it out.”

With this guide to effective customer service problem solving, we give you a three-step process to follow:

• take stock of the information you’ve been given,
• gather any additional information you need,
• and then work to solve the problem and respond to the customer.

Let’s get started.

Assess the information you have

Information is the most important tool in your tool belt. The first step in solving any problem is to identify all the information you already know. Whether this case was escalated to you for help, or if you’ve just realized that there may be more than meets the eye to this problem, take the time to lay out everything you know.

Customer’s tone

How does your customer feel about the situation? Are they technically minded, or are they struggling to describe technical issues ? Are they calm and cooperative? Or combative and frustrated? Is this a deal-breaker for them? Or is it just a weird bug? The demeanor of your customer will inform how you approach the situation going forward.

Customer’s history

Do a quick review of the customer’s previous support interactions, any purchases they’ve made, what plan type they are on, etc. This context will help you replicate the issue, as well as respond appropriately to the customer.

What’s happening?

Do you know enough about what’s happening? Have they sent through screenshots? Error messages? Console data? What were they trying to accomplish? It doesn’t need to be a technical problem for this step to still be important. Understanding what the customer’s motivation is will help solve a variety of issues.

Has this happened before?

It’s very unlikely that this is a brand new problem. Has the customer reported it happening before? Has any other customer reported it happening before? Help desk search functions are incredibly powerful tools. Search error messages and problem statements to see if other customers have reported similar issues. You can also search the internet to see if it’s a third-party issue. For example, if you’re using a third-party payment system, you might be seeing one of their errors when customers are purchasing on your website.

Gather more information

Okay, we’re partway there! If you didn’t have an epiphany while you were sorting through the information already at your disposal (sometimes that happens!), it’s time to gather more data.

Can you replicate it?

There’s no way to get more information than to get hands-on with the problem. Do you see the same thing happening?

If not, what information do you need to replicate it?

If you can’t replicate the issue, it’s probably because you’re doing something different or in a different environment. What information do you already have about the customer’s environment? What do you need to know in order to do exactly the same thing?

• Environment: browser version, extensions (try it incognito?), other settings.
• Steps: can they record a screengrab? What are they trying to do? What error message do they get?
• Specific settings: what account are they using? What version of your product are they using? If you can try it in their account (using “admin mode” or “god mode” so you can see it without asking for their username or password), does it happen for you as well?

Ask other people

Now’s the time to check in with other people on your team to see if they have any ideas. Have they ever seen something similar?

Depending on your relationship with your product and engineering team, you may also be able to check in with them at this point. However, many teams have a more formal bug reporting process in place to prevent “side of the desk” questions from interfering with their workflow. If that’s the case, you may want to do more research first.

Solve the problem

Now you’ll need to actually solve the problem for the customer. It might require finding a workaround, or reporting a bug to the development team.

Bug or works-as-designed?

Once you’ve replicated the issue, you’ll need to decide whether that is the way it’s supposed to work, or if you’ve found a bug. If it’s a bug, congrats! You can file a bug ticket and ask your engineering team to fix it. If it’s a feature or a design flaw, you may need to make a case for an update. In this case, the complex problem may turn into a feature request.

Is there a workaround?

Can you get to the customer’s desired end result in another way? Whether the issue turns out to be a bug or a feature, if you can find another way to achieve their goal, your customer will be happy!

Write a great response

Once you’ve replicated the issue, solved the problem, found a workable solution, or at least documented the bug for a future fix, you need to get back to the customer. Writing an empathetic, thorough response can make all the difference in a complex situation.

In many cases, your response will follow the same steps as a great customer service apology :

• Offer explanation
• Fix the problem
• Wrap it up and let them know what’s next

Resources for Customer Service Problem Solving

We all need a little help sometimes. If you’re learning how to fix more difficult problems, these resources can help.

Help Scout’s Art of Troubleshooting

On a mission to troubleshoot a bug? This guide is super helpful .

Support Details website

Learn how to use Developer Tools, especially Web Consoles

Be like Sherlock, and look for clues!

Customer support requires communication skills and problem-solving skills. Looking for the clues to solve the puzzle becomes a big part of your job as soon as you start to take on more difficult customers. With this guide to customer service problem solving, you’ll have a systematic way to approach those tough questions. Cases that start as “I don’t know” quickly become “I figured it out!”

How did you like this blog?

Sarah Chambers is a Customer Support Consultant and Content Creator from Vancouver, Canada. When she’s not arguing about customer service, she’s usually outdoors rock climbing or snowboarding. Follow her on Twitter @sarahleeyoga to keep up with her adventures.

Related articles

7 Support Phrases Customers Hate to Hear (and What to Say Instead)

How to respond to negative reviews about your business, how to write a helpful bug report that gets your issue fixed, the best customer service tips every week. no spam, we promise..

Get guides, support templates, and discounts first. Join us.

Are you a freelance writer? Do you want your articles published on Nicereply blog?

Get in touch with us

• 888-636-1222
• Make a Payment | Contact Us

How to Improve Problem Solving Skills in Customer Service

Keeping customers happy pays off.

Happy customers buy more, generate positive word-of-mouth advertising, and create great referrals.

Unhappy customers complain, and they do it loudly. What’s worse, for every customer that complains, 26 stay quiet .  

Delivering great customer service can be challenging, but why?

According to Jeff Toister of Toister Performance Solutions and author of three customer service books , there are five reasons why customer service is so hard:

• It’s not instinctive
• Our customers see what we don’t
• It’s sometimes hard to be friendly
• We aren’t good at multitasking
• Directed attention fatigue

So how do we overcome these challenges ?

Problem-solving.

“Every problem has a solution. You just have to be creative enough to find it.” Travis Kalanick

One of the main reasons our customers do business with us is because we solve a problem for them.

Depending on your product or service, your business can help customers:

• experience something new
• feel comfort
• become healthier

What problem does your business solve for your customers?

Problem -solving skills is vital to Customer Service

Solving a customers’ issue should be the goal of every one of your people.

But typically in the past, when an issue escalated to a certain point, help desk service or customer service reps (CSRs) were told to escalate these calls to a supervisor or manager.

More and more companies are asking customer service reps (CSRs) to handle these types of issues, not managers.

That’s a big change for many CSRs.

It’s also a task CSRs can get right with the proper problem -solving skills training . Failing is not an option for CSRs. It’s just too costly.

What is the impact of poor customer service?

Companies lost $75 billion in 2017 from customers switching to competitors because of bad service. That’s up $13 billion from 2016. With customers demands increasing each year, it doesn’t take much to disappoint customers with poor customer service. Obviously, CSRs need to be at the top of their games to keep customers happy.

This guide offers tips on how to help your people solve customer service problems quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively.

The guide covers the following topics:

• Critical thinking in customer service
• Rules to help customer service people think critically
• Basic customer service problem-solving scenario
• Concrete steps to solve a customer problem

Keeping customers happy can boost customer loyalty, corporate productivity , and business profitability—goals for every company out there.

“Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.” Uri Levine

Critical Thinking in Customer Service

Delivering epic customer service is essential these days. But that’s easier said than done, given today’s more demanding customers.

Identify critical thinkers

To manage demanding customers requires someone highly skilled in troubleshooting—someone with the creativity to solve difficult problems.

All while under the pressure of the customer.

So, look for customer service people that are creative problem solvers when hiring new workers. These people have a penchant for thinking outside the box to solve problems.

That includes not just the ability to think rationally , but also the need to question the information given. Put simply, critical thinking is never taking anything for granted.

Build critical thinking skills

Customer service people can develop critical thinking skills with practice. In a post by Ransom Patterson on CollegeInfoGeek.com reveals seven ways people can improve critical thinking skills:

• ask basic questions
• question basic assumptions
• be aware of your mental processes
• try reversing thing
• evaluate existing evidence
• think for yourself
• remember you are not perfect

Apply these tips encourages critical thinking.

Another critical thinking technique CSRs can use is constructive controversy. A proven problem-solving method, constructive controversy helps you decide if a decision we’re making is the right one for you. Here’s more on this technique .

Basic Customer Service Problem-Solving Scenario

Savvy businesses aren’t afraid to provide employees with customer service problem-solving training.

One aspect of this training is learning the four phases of a problem-solving situation and what to do during each phase. See below:

Listen to customers

Listening is the first step in solving customer’s problems. It’s also the most critical. But customer service people often need training to do it well.

If customer service reps don’t listen, they won’t know the nature of a customer’s problem and its impact on him or her.

Sometimes, all customers want is for CSRs to lend a sympathetic ear. Other times, they need more.

Also, CSRs need to let customers vent without interrupting them.

Acknowledge customer’s pain

During this phase, CSRs need to acknowledge they heard customers and “feel” their pain.

Paraphrasing the problem back to a customer says you’ve done that. It also makes sure everyone is on the same page. If CSRs don’t fully understand the issue, they may end up providing the wrong solutions. Saying something like “I’m sorry you had to call us to deal with this issue” also helps.

Offer alternative solutions

If the issue is merely an oversight on the customer’s part, no remedy is needed.

But if the situation is the company’s fault or a product or service fails, you may need to offer alternative solutions.

Resolution is critical.

In this case, the customer not only didn’t get what he or she wanted but also were inconvenienced. That’s a bad combination no matter how you look at it. Going above and beyond by resolving the issue and offering a free product or service, a special coupon, or a gift voucher goes a long way with customers.

Execute/Follow-up

After agreeing on a solution, CSRs need to execute. Then, you need to follow up. That ensures that customers end up happy with the resolution and are satisfied with the outcome. If they’re not, then customer service people need to find a way to satisfy them.

Understanding these phases of a successful issue resolution is crucial when dealing with unhappy customers. It’s the “secret sauce” to keep buyers happy.

Extra: Be prepared

In addition to this approach, you may want to have some prepared responses to seven stock questions customers ask. They’re questions that almost every company gets:

• Why don’t you have it in stock?
• Why didn’t you or your company tell its customers?
• Why did I pay less the last time I was here?
• Can I have a refund because of this problem?
• You did it last time I was here?
• You said the problem/product was fixed?
• You said you’d call me when the problem was fixed.

Providing stock responses to these questions not only helps customer care people follow company guidelines but also keeps customers happy.

How to Handle Customer Service Issues: 9 Steps

Problem-solving often seems straightforward, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, it’s complicated. Having workers well-versed in problem-solving skills and techniques for customer care representatives helps. Approaching issues in a systematic way simplifies the problem-solving process.

Below is a 9-step process that can help CSRs resolve even the most complex customer service issues:

Identify the problem

The key to doing this is to ask the right questions. Below are some customer service problem-solving interview questions:

• What is this call really about?
• Is there an underlying issue causing the problem the customer isn’t aware of?
• What does the customer want us to do?
• Is the issue being made worse by a known problem or bug?
• Is this issue identifying a repeated customer service problem or is it a new issue?

These questions can help CSRs pinpoint the real problem. It’s not always what customers think. Acknowledging the customer’s pain, as we said above, also helps.

Find out what customers need

Try to understand how customers see the issues involved and try to get a solid understanding of his or her needs. If appropriate, ask customers what they’ve done to resolve the issue.

Find out how the issue impacts the customer

Understanding how an issue affects a customer is crucial. It helps CSRs not only connect with the customer but also prioritize tasks.

Clearly define the root of the problem

Having identified the problem in steps 1 to 3, you now need to understand what caused the problem. By identifying the cause of the problem, you will have a better idea of how to solve it. Also, you will know how to avoid a simialr problem in the future.

Produce possible solutions

Knowing the problem, your customer care person needs to start brainstorming solutions. They also need to find out what solutions other co-workers may have used to solve the problem. CSRs can then generate a list of potential solutions.

Evaluate each solution and pick the best

Evaluate all the solutions. Decide if you have the resources to implement it, how much the solution costs, how long it will take to execute it, will it resolve the issue, and if it follows company policy.

Plan the solution’s implementation

Some solutions are easy to execute. Others are harder. For harder solutions, think about who will execute the solution, what will it costs, when and where you will execute it, and how will it be implemented. Also, double check out the benefits of the solution.

Discuss the solution with customers

Having nailed down the solution’s details, discuss it with the customer. Walk through it with him or her step by step and ask for feedback. Be ready to adjust the plan. Execute the solution — After the customer approves the solution, it’s time to execute it. Follow up to certify the progress of the solution, that you’re meeting any deadlines and where you stand with the budget. Re-work your plan, if necessary.

Analyze the results

Having finished the implementation, analyze the results. Use quantitative and qualitative data, if available. Can you improve the solution? Also, ask the customer if the resolution met their expectations. That’s critical.

This ten-step process may seem a bit much for call center agents, technical support people, and customer care representatives to tackle. But using it works.

Having customer care people go through it step by step helps your CSRs quickly resolve customer issues the first time that customers call. Track resolution time to see how your CSRs are doing.

Resolving issues when customers contact your business keeps them happy.

Happy customers buy more, generate positive word-of-mouth advertising, and create outstanding online referrals. On average, a happy customer tells nine people about their experience with you.

Keeping customers happy is the secret to boosting customer loyalty, increasing profitability, and differentiating you from competitors. Doing those things can take your company to the next level.

Unicom Teleservices

Related posts.

Active Listening Customer Service: Key to Business Success

What Is A Warm Transfer?

What Is a Good Definition of Customer Service?

Customer Service Problem-Solving Techniques to Improve Your Sales

Customers have numerous issues, with varying degrees of sophistication or viewpoint. They are running out of time. They have an almost unlimited number of product options to choose from. They are wooed by product reviews. 

In such situations, a customer may not be aware of the best solution to an issue. You as a service provider, however, can step into their shoes, come to grips with the problem, work out the solution and gain the customer’s trust. 

The ability to solve a customer’s problem is what makes all the difference between churn and loyalty.

What is Problem-Solving in Customer Service?

Problem-solving in customer service is a skill that entails

• Knowing how to handle a conflict
• Being able to calm an agitated customer using tone of voice and true empathy
• Listening and speaking while maintaining a strong grip on problem-solving techniques.

How does bad customer service affect your business?

Customer service issues must be resolved because they affect other parts of the business. Businesses must become more customer-centric and coordinate their services in order to delight clients by effectively solving their problems.

You may have the ideal product and competitive pricing, but if your customer service is poor, your business can falter.

Let’s look at some of the ways in which bad customer service can impact a business.

Harms Brand Reputation

Customers like to share their stories. As a result, when people have a poor experience, they turn to their favorite media to express their feelings. A single poor review on Twitter or Facebook can defame your brand image.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” -Warren Buffett

Lesser Conversions and Loss of Customers

Inefficient solving of customers’ problems , slow response times, and frequent negative experiences make prospects less likely to become customers and make current customers less likely to stay loyal.

“53% of customers are likely to stop buying from a brand after a poor customer service experience.” – source

Dip in Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Companies that consistently provide bad customer service eventually fail. Customers today have so many options that when they have a negative service experience, they will go to a competitor. 

It’s widely known that one-time customers are expensive, whereas recurring customers bring a steady source of income. 

Customer lifetime value is a measure that is computed by adding up all of a customer’s revenue over the course of their engagement with a company. 

You can increase the lifetime value of your customers by delivering outstanding service. This means you can make more revenue by spending less money on customer acquisition.

Steps of Customer Service Problem-Solving

Here is a 5-step process for customer service problem-solving and troubleshooting when you come across a customer issue.

1. Ask, Ask and Ask

Ask the proper questions to learn what is upsetting your customer. You won’t be able to remedy your customer’s problem if you can’t place it. 

For example, ask questions such as, 

“Have you been dealing with this issue for a long time?”

Asking relevant questions will help you identify customer needs while also assisting you in determining an appropriate solution.

2. Identify the Problem

After having a question session with your customer to discuss their pain areas, you can restate or explain the situation as you have come to terms with it. 

You must describe the problem precisely and do so from the customer’s perspective. Get the customer’s approval that you’ve grasped the problem.

Before you move on to the next phase, ask whether there is anything else that is bothering them.

3. Formulate Solutions 

After a thorough examination of the problem, develop various solutions and present the best solution to the customer or prospect. 

Your solution must be focused on the specific problem , and not ambiguous.

4. Deliver the Solution

Deliver the solution as promised. Take advantage of these opportunities to strengthen your customer relationships and demonstrate that you are worthy of their trust.

5. Follow up with Customers

It’s critical to check in with your customers to see how they feel about the solution and confirm that the issue has been fixed. This step demonstrates to customers that your organization values customer service and is committed to providing a better customer experience .

It’s important to ask some of these challenging questions when checking in with present customers in the hopes of upselling, cross-selling, or renewing their contracts. 

“How satisfied are you with our product on a scale of one to ten?”

“How did you come up with that score?”

“What is it about our product/service that you enjoy?”

“Do you think you’ve experienced excellent customer service?”

This will keep you from overlooking warning signs that they’re dissatisfied and might begin to consider switching to a competitor.

In an era where ‘Customer is King” , happy customers are the secret to growth. As a result, customer satisfaction is a direct reflection of the effectiveness of your service team.

“The probability of selling to an existing, happy customer is up to 14 times higher than the probability of selling to a new customer, according to Marketing Metrics” – source

To improve customer experience and increase cross-selling and upselling opportunities, forward-thinking companies link their sales and customer service teams .

9 customer service problem-solving techniques

Customer service exists to assist customers with their demands or any issues that may arise while they are using your product or service. It is, therefore, necessary to train your staff on how to properly resolve customer complaints or problems.  Learn about the methods a service representative can take toward customer service problem solving to deliver superior customer service!

Ask for the Customer’s Needs

Ask probing questions to get to the heart of the matter and uncover unmet customer needs. The answers to these questions can be used to create a workable solution, and this is a consultative approach that will strengthen customer relationships.

Listen to the Customer

Listen to the customer to prod deeper into the issue to determine the underlying cause. Only then will you be able to solve the problem at its core. You could even be assisting your company in developing stronger SOPs or regulations or eliminating a rigid process that is preventing you from running smoothly during the course.

The more you know about your customer and their company, the more you’ll be able to influence their bottom line.

Don’t argue

When we are offended or proven wrong, we have an inbuilt propensity to react in a defensive manner. In customer service, this is a no-no.

To go through the situation unscathed, here are two tips that you can use.

Tip 1: Allow customers to talk

You should let your customers talk until they are able to release their frustrations and calm down. 

Tip 2: Show that you care

The least you can do is support them and be empathetic toward the situation while customers go on explaining their tales. Use consoling phrases to comfort them.

Send Lightning-Fast Response

Every customer is strapped for time and expects a timely response from your support agent, 

Kapture’s omnichannel help desk software can help you streamline how you manage customer inquiries across multiple channels.

Image: Kapture’s omnichannel dashboard

You can route inquiries from a certain channel to a dedicated team. This helps ensure a smooth customer experience and swift resolution of customer inquiries.

Another way around is to add a live chat feature to your website. It is a tool that helps customers instantly connect with your agent and work out solutions. Kapture’s live-chat tools embedded in your website can deliver faster responses.

Follow Solutions to the Conclusion

Once you’ve committed to providing the resolution, it’s in your best interests to see it through to completion.

The standard customer problem-solving process includes following up with clients and providing them with updates to keep them informed.

Sending follow-up emails is the most effective technique to keep in touch with them about the solution’s progress.

Kapture’s help desk software allows you to send emails from the same system that you use to respond to customer queries. You really don’t need to use traditional mail services for this. Likewise, the merits of a single sign-on help desk are many.

Use Visual Content

Your customer service representative can solve customers’ problems in a more comprehensible and exciting manner by offering them visual troubleshooting guides. 

The best options are videos, graphical flow diagrams (depicting step-by-step instructions), or screenshots to resolve some of the very minor yet frequent issues. 

Kapture’s knowledge base feature allows you to store and manage information in just about any format, which includes videos, images, and documents, that can be accessed via self-help tools.

This not only saves your time but also gives customers a quick and intelligible solution to their problems.

Offer an Incentive to Customers

Just to make sure that the recent product or service issue your customer faced did not bring any scar to your relationship, it is a supersmart way to butter up the bond with incentives. 

Offering incentives to clients can help you gain their loyalty, and they may decide to wait until you fix their problem rather than looking for solutions elsewhere.

Incentivizing clients to compensate for the inconvenience encourages them to stay loyal.

Consider presenting a coupon or voucher, for instance, on the next transaction if you want to motivate a customer to use your service again.

Self-Help Option For Your Customers

Provide self-help capabilities such as AI chatbots, knowledge base, or interactive discussion forums so that customers can search, find and resolve problems on their own. AI-powered chatbots offer responses to customer queries contextually.

Do not undermine the convenience of a self-service. This is the most preferred channel of help by customers as revealed by many surveys.

Kapture’s AI and Machine Learning-powered self-serve tools are a fantastic approach to support your tech-savvy customers.

Image: Chatbot powered by Kapture

Customers that are happy with your service will stay longer, become repeat customers, and recommend your service to their friends and colleagues.

That’s why it’s critical to cultivate a customer-centric culture within your organization.

Remember to go the customer problem-solving way to create exceptional customer experiences.

Kapture’s AI-based solutions can assist you in effectively managing the entire customer service process and wowing your clients with customer delight factors such as

• Work-flow automation capabilities
• Omnichannel communication
• Self-help features
• Run automatic surveys
• Generate survey reports

Our solution is easy to use and integrates with other services like cloud telephony, social media, eCommerce, ERP, and others making it easy to collate the information at a centralized location.

Kapture, a customer service automation platform helps your team on how to serve and delight customers right from any touchpoint- and translate those efforts into building a loyal customer base.

Finally, follow the sound and systematic c ustomer service problem-solving techniques outlined in the blog t o win your customer’s hearts.

• customer problem solving
• customer service problem solving techniques
• customer service problems and solutions
• customer-based approach
• handling customer complaints
• problems in sales
• productivity
• troubleshooting customer service

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Recent posts.

• Top 11 Reasons Your Business is Losing Customers
• Identifying and Addressing Customer Pain Points
• Why Customer Feedback is Important To Your Business
• CX: How to Measure it the Right Way
• Customer Support Automation without Losing Personalization

Stay updated with tips and best practices

Book a demo.

Too much to take in?

Subscribe to our newsletter and read it at your own time.

How to master the seven-step problem-solving process

In this episode of the McKinsey Podcast , Simon London speaks with Charles Conn, CEO of venture-capital firm Oxford Sciences Innovation, and McKinsey senior partner Hugo Sarrazin about the complexities of different problem-solving strategies.

Podcast transcript

Simon London: Hello, and welcome to this episode of the McKinsey Podcast , with me, Simon London. What’s the number-one skill you need to succeed professionally? Salesmanship, perhaps? Or a facility with statistics? Or maybe the ability to communicate crisply and clearly? Many would argue that at the very top of the list comes problem solving: that is, the ability to think through and come up with an optimal course of action to address any complex challenge—in business, in public policy, or indeed in life.

Looked at this way, it’s no surprise that McKinsey takes problem solving very seriously, testing for it during the recruiting process and then honing it, in McKinsey consultants, through immersion in a structured seven-step method. To discuss the art of problem solving, I sat down in California with McKinsey senior partner Hugo Sarrazin and also with Charles Conn. Charles is a former McKinsey partner, entrepreneur, executive, and coauthor of the book Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything [John Wiley & Sons, 2018].

Charles and Hugo, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for being here.

Hugo Sarrazin: Our pleasure.

Charles Conn: It’s terrific to be here.

Simon London: Problem solving is a really interesting piece of terminology. It could mean so many different things. I have a son who’s a teenage climber. They talk about solving problems. Climbing is problem solving. Charles, when you talk about problem solving, what are you talking about?

Charles Conn: For me, problem solving is the answer to the question “What should I do?” It’s interesting when there’s uncertainty and complexity, and when it’s meaningful because there are consequences. Your son’s climbing is a perfect example. There are consequences, and it’s complicated, and there’s uncertainty—can he make that grab? I think we can apply that same frame almost at any level. You can think about questions like “What town would I like to live in?” or “Should I put solar panels on my roof?”

You might think that’s a funny thing to apply problem solving to, but in my mind it’s not fundamentally different from business problem solving, which answers the question “What should my strategy be?” Or problem solving at the policy level: “How do we combat climate change?” “Should I support the local school bond?” I think these are all part and parcel of the same type of question, “What should I do?”

I’m a big fan of structured problem solving. By following steps, we can more clearly understand what problem it is we’re solving, what are the components of the problem that we’re solving, which components are the most important ones for us to pay attention to, which analytic techniques we should apply to those, and how we can synthesize what we’ve learned back into a compelling story. That’s all it is, at its heart.

I think sometimes when people think about seven steps, they assume that there’s a rigidity to this. That’s not it at all. It’s actually to give you the scope for creativity, which often doesn’t exist when your problem solving is muddled.

Simon London: You were just talking about the seven-step process. That’s what’s written down in the book, but it’s a very McKinsey process as well. Without getting too deep into the weeds, let’s go through the steps, one by one. You were just talking about problem definition as being a particularly important thing to get right first. That’s the first step. Hugo, tell us about that.

Hugo Sarrazin: It is surprising how often people jump past this step and make a bunch of assumptions. The most powerful thing is to step back and ask the basic questions—“What are we trying to solve? What are the constraints that exist? What are the dependencies?” Let’s make those explicit and really push the thinking and defining. At McKinsey, we spend an enormous amount of time in writing that little statement, and the statement, if you’re a logic purist, is great. You debate. “Is it an ‘or’? Is it an ‘and’? What’s the action verb?” Because all these specific words help you get to the heart of what matters.

Want to subscribe to The McKinsey Podcast ?

Simon London: So this is a concise problem statement.

Hugo Sarrazin: Yeah. It’s not like “Can we grow in Japan?” That’s interesting, but it is “What, specifically, are we trying to uncover in the growth of a product in Japan? Or a segment in Japan? Or a channel in Japan?” When you spend an enormous amount of time, in the first meeting of the different stakeholders, debating this and having different people put forward what they think the problem definition is, you realize that people have completely different views of why they’re here. That, to me, is the most important step.

Charles Conn: I would agree with that. For me, the problem context is critical. When we understand “What are the forces acting upon your decision maker? How quickly is the answer needed? With what precision is the answer needed? Are there areas that are off limits or areas where we would particularly like to find our solution? Is the decision maker open to exploring other areas?” then you not only become more efficient, and move toward what we call the critical path in problem solving, but you also make it so much more likely that you’re not going to waste your time or your decision maker’s time.

How often do especially bright young people run off with half of the idea about what the problem is and start collecting data and start building models—only to discover that they’ve really gone off half-cocked.

Hugo Sarrazin: Yeah.

Charles Conn: And in the wrong direction.

Simon London: OK. So step one—and there is a real art and a structure to it—is define the problem. Step two, Charles?

Charles Conn: My favorite step is step two, which is to use logic trees to disaggregate the problem. Every problem we’re solving has some complexity and some uncertainty in it. The only way that we can really get our team working on the problem is to take the problem apart into logical pieces.

What we find, of course, is that the way to disaggregate the problem often gives you an insight into the answer to the problem quite quickly. I love to do two or three different cuts at it, each one giving a bit of a different insight into what might be going wrong. By doing sensible disaggregations, using logic trees, we can figure out which parts of the problem we should be looking at, and we can assign those different parts to team members.

Simon London: What’s a good example of a logic tree on a sort of ratable problem?

Charles Conn: Maybe the easiest one is the classic profit tree. Almost in every business that I would take a look at, I would start with a profit or return-on-assets tree. In its simplest form, you have the components of revenue, which are price and quantity, and the components of cost, which are cost and quantity. Each of those can be broken out. Cost can be broken into variable cost and fixed cost. The components of price can be broken into what your pricing scheme is. That simple tree often provides insight into what’s going on in a business or what the difference is between that business and the competitors.

If we add the leg, which is “What’s the asset base or investment element?”—so profit divided by assets—then we can ask the question “Is the business using its investments sensibly?” whether that’s in stores or in manufacturing or in transportation assets. I hope we can see just how simple this is, even though we’re describing it in words.

When I went to work with Gordon Moore at the Moore Foundation, the problem that he asked us to look at was “How can we save Pacific salmon?” Now, that sounds like an impossible question, but it was amenable to precisely the same type of disaggregation and allowed us to organize what became a 15-year effort to improve the likelihood of good outcomes for Pacific salmon.

Simon London: Now, is there a danger that your logic tree can be impossibly large? This, I think, brings us onto the third step in the process, which is that you have to prioritize.

Charles Conn: Absolutely. The third step, which we also emphasize, along with good problem definition, is rigorous prioritization—we ask the questions “How important is this lever or this branch of the tree in the overall outcome that we seek to achieve? How much can I move that lever?” Obviously, we try and focus our efforts on ones that have a big impact on the problem and the ones that we have the ability to change. With salmon, ocean conditions turned out to be a big lever, but not one that we could adjust. We focused our attention on fish habitats and fish-harvesting practices, which were big levers that we could affect.

People spend a lot of time arguing about branches that are either not important or that none of us can change. We see it in the public square. When we deal with questions at the policy level—“Should you support the death penalty?” “How do we affect climate change?” “How can we uncover the causes and address homelessness?”—it’s even more important that we’re focusing on levers that are big and movable.

Would you like to learn more about our Strategy & Corporate Finance Practice ?

Simon London: Let’s move swiftly on to step four. You’ve defined your problem, you disaggregate it, you prioritize where you want to analyze—what you want to really look at hard. Then you got to the work plan. Now, what does that mean in practice?

Hugo Sarrazin: Depending on what you’ve prioritized, there are many things you could do. It could be breaking the work among the team members so that people have a clear piece of the work to do. It could be defining the specific analyses that need to get done and executed, and being clear on time lines. There’s always a level-one answer, there’s a level-two answer, there’s a level-three answer. Without being too flippant, I can solve any problem during a good dinner with wine. It won’t have a whole lot of backing.

Simon London: Not going to have a lot of depth to it.

Hugo Sarrazin: No, but it may be useful as a starting point. If the stakes are not that high, that could be OK. If it’s really high stakes, you may need level three and have the whole model validated in three different ways. You need to find a work plan that reflects the level of precision, the time frame you have, and the stakeholders you need to bring along in the exercise.

Charles Conn: I love the way you’ve described that, because, again, some people think of problem solving as a linear thing, but of course what’s critical is that it’s iterative. As you say, you can solve the problem in one day or even one hour.

Charles Conn: We encourage our teams everywhere to do that. We call it the one-day answer or the one-hour answer. In work planning, we’re always iterating. Every time you see a 50-page work plan that stretches out to three months, you know it’s wrong. It will be outmoded very quickly by that learning process that you described. Iterative problem solving is a critical part of this. Sometimes, people think work planning sounds dull, but it isn’t. It’s how we know what’s expected of us and when we need to deliver it and how we’re progressing toward the answer. It’s also the place where we can deal with biases. Bias is a feature of every human decision-making process. If we design our team interactions intelligently, we can avoid the worst sort of biases.

Simon London: Here we’re talking about cognitive biases primarily, right? It’s not that I’m biased against you because of your accent or something. These are the cognitive biases that behavioral sciences have shown we all carry around, things like anchoring, overoptimism—these kinds of things.

Both: Yeah.

Charles Conn: Availability bias is the one that I’m always alert to. You think you’ve seen the problem before, and therefore what’s available is your previous conception of it—and we have to be most careful about that. In any human setting, we also have to be careful about biases that are based on hierarchies, sometimes called sunflower bias. I’m sure, Hugo, with your teams, you make sure that the youngest team members speak first. Not the oldest team members, because it’s easy for people to look at who’s senior and alter their own creative approaches.

Hugo Sarrazin: It’s helpful, at that moment—if someone is asserting a point of view—to ask the question “This was true in what context?” You’re trying to apply something that worked in one context to a different one. That can be deadly if the context has changed, and that’s why organizations struggle to change. You promote all these people because they did something that worked well in the past, and then there’s a disruption in the industry, and they keep doing what got them promoted even though the context has changed.

Simon London: Right. Right.

Hugo Sarrazin: So it’s the same thing in problem solving.

Charles Conn: And it’s why diversity in our teams is so important. It’s one of the best things about the world that we’re in now. We’re likely to have people from different socioeconomic, ethnic, and national backgrounds, each of whom sees problems from a slightly different perspective. It is therefore much more likely that the team will uncover a truly creative and clever approach to problem solving.

Simon London: Let’s move on to step five. You’ve done your work plan. Now you’ve actually got to do the analysis. The thing that strikes me here is that the range of tools that we have at our disposal now, of course, is just huge, particularly with advances in computation, advanced analytics. There’s so many things that you can apply here. Just talk about the analysis stage. How do you pick the right tools?

Charles Conn: For me, the most important thing is that we start with simple heuristics and explanatory statistics before we go off and use the big-gun tools. We need to understand the shape and scope of our problem before we start applying these massive and complex analytical approaches.

Simon London: Would you agree with that?

Hugo Sarrazin: I agree. I think there are so many wonderful heuristics. You need to start there before you go deep into the modeling exercise. There’s an interesting dynamic that’s happening, though. In some cases, for some types of problems, it is even better to set yourself up to maximize your learning. Your problem-solving methodology is test and learn, test and learn, test and learn, and iterate. That is a heuristic in itself, the A/B testing that is used in many parts of the world. So that’s a problem-solving methodology. It’s nothing different. It just uses technology and feedback loops in a fast way. The other one is exploratory data analysis. When you’re dealing with a large-scale problem, and there’s so much data, I can get to the heuristics that Charles was talking about through very clever visualization of data.

You test with your data. You need to set up an environment to do so, but don’t get caught up in neural-network modeling immediately. You’re testing, you’re checking—“Is the data right? Is it sound? Does it make sense?”—before you launch too far.

Simon London: You do hear these ideas—that if you have a big enough data set and enough algorithms, they’re going to find things that you just wouldn’t have spotted, find solutions that maybe you wouldn’t have thought of. Does machine learning sort of revolutionize the problem-solving process? Or are these actually just other tools in the toolbox for structured problem solving?

Charles Conn: It can be revolutionary. There are some areas in which the pattern recognition of large data sets and good algorithms can help us see things that we otherwise couldn’t see. But I do think it’s terribly important we don’t think that this particular technique is a substitute for superb problem solving, starting with good problem definition. Many people use machine learning without understanding algorithms that themselves can have biases built into them. Just as 20 years ago, when we were doing statistical analysis, we knew that we needed good model definition, we still need a good understanding of our algorithms and really good problem definition before we launch off into big data sets and unknown algorithms.

Simon London: Step six. You’ve done your analysis.

Charles Conn: I take six and seven together, and this is the place where young problem solvers often make a mistake. They’ve got their analysis, and they assume that’s the answer, and of course it isn’t the answer. The ability to synthesize the pieces that came out of the analysis and begin to weave those into a story that helps people answer the question “What should I do?” This is back to where we started. If we can’t synthesize, and we can’t tell a story, then our decision maker can’t find the answer to “What should I do?”

Simon London: But, again, these final steps are about motivating people to action, right?

Charles Conn: Yeah.

Simon London: I am slightly torn about the nomenclature of problem solving because it’s on paper, right? Until you motivate people to action, you actually haven’t solved anything.

Charles Conn: I love this question because I think decision-making theory, without a bias to action, is a waste of time. Everything in how I approach this is to help people take action that makes the world better.

Simon London: Hence, these are absolutely critical steps. If you don’t do this well, you’ve just got a bunch of analysis.

Charles Conn: We end up in exactly the same place where we started, which is people speaking across each other, past each other in the public square, rather than actually working together, shoulder to shoulder, to crack these important problems.

Simon London: In the real world, we have a lot of uncertainty—arguably, increasing uncertainty. How do good problem solvers deal with that?

Hugo Sarrazin: At every step of the process. In the problem definition, when you’re defining the context, you need to understand those sources of uncertainty and whether they’re important or not important. It becomes important in the definition of the tree.

You need to think carefully about the branches of the tree that are more certain and less certain as you define them. They don’t have equal weight just because they’ve got equal space on the page. Then, when you’re prioritizing, your prioritization approach may put more emphasis on things that have low probability but huge impact—or, vice versa, may put a lot of priority on things that are very likely and, hopefully, have a reasonable impact. You can introduce that along the way. When you come back to the synthesis, you just need to be nuanced about what you’re understanding, the likelihood.

Often, people lack humility in the way they make their recommendations: “This is the answer.” They’re very precise, and I think we would all be well-served to say, “This is a likely answer under the following sets of conditions” and then make the level of uncertainty clearer, if that is appropriate. It doesn’t mean you’re always in the gray zone; it doesn’t mean you don’t have a point of view. It just means that you can be explicit about the certainty of your answer when you make that recommendation.

Simon London: So it sounds like there is an underlying principle: “Acknowledge and embrace the uncertainty. Don’t pretend that it isn’t there. Be very clear about what the uncertainties are up front, and then build that into every step of the process.”

Hugo Sarrazin: Every step of the process.

Simon London: Yeah. We have just walked through a particular structured methodology for problem solving. But, of course, this is not the only structured methodology for problem solving. One that is also very well-known is design thinking, which comes at things very differently. So, Hugo, I know you have worked with a lot of designers. Just give us a very quick summary. Design thinking—what is it, and how does it relate?

Hugo Sarrazin: It starts with an incredible amount of empathy for the user and uses that to define the problem. It does pause and go out in the wild and spend an enormous amount of time seeing how people interact with objects, seeing the experience they’re getting, seeing the pain points or joy—and uses that to infer and define the problem.

Simon London: Problem definition, but out in the world.

Hugo Sarrazin: With an enormous amount of empathy. There’s a huge emphasis on empathy. Traditional, more classic problem solving is you define the problem based on an understanding of the situation. This one almost presupposes that we don’t know the problem until we go see it. The second thing is you need to come up with multiple scenarios or answers or ideas or concepts, and there’s a lot of divergent thinking initially. That’s slightly different, versus the prioritization, but not for long. Eventually, you need to kind of say, “OK, I’m going to converge again.” Then you go and you bring things back to the customer and get feedback and iterate. Then you rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. There’s a lot of tactile building, along the way, of prototypes and things like that. It’s very iterative.

Simon London: So, Charles, are these complements or are these alternatives?

Charles Conn: I think they’re entirely complementary, and I think Hugo’s description is perfect. When we do problem definition well in classic problem solving, we are demonstrating the kind of empathy, at the very beginning of our problem, that design thinking asks us to approach. When we ideate—and that’s very similar to the disaggregation, prioritization, and work-planning steps—we do precisely the same thing, and often we use contrasting teams, so that we do have divergent thinking. The best teams allow divergent thinking to bump them off whatever their initial biases in problem solving are. For me, design thinking gives us a constant reminder of creativity, empathy, and the tactile nature of problem solving, but it’s absolutely complementary, not alternative.

Simon London: I think, in a world of cross-functional teams, an interesting question is do people with design-thinking backgrounds really work well together with classical problem solvers? How do you make that chemistry happen?

Hugo Sarrazin: Yeah, it is not easy when people have spent an enormous amount of time seeped in design thinking or user-centric design, whichever word you want to use. If the person who’s applying classic problem-solving methodology is very rigid and mechanical in the way they’re doing it, there could be an enormous amount of tension. If there’s not clarity in the role and not clarity in the process, I think having the two together can be, sometimes, problematic.

The second thing that happens often is that the artifacts the two methodologies try to gravitate toward can be different. Classic problem solving often gravitates toward a model; design thinking migrates toward a prototype. Rather than writing a big deck with all my supporting evidence, they’ll bring an example, a thing, and that feels different. Then you spend your time differently to achieve those two end products, so that’s another source of friction.

Now, I still think it can be an incredibly powerful thing to have the two—if there are the right people with the right mind-set, if there is a team that is explicit about the roles, if we’re clear about the kind of outcomes we are attempting to bring forward. There’s an enormous amount of collaborativeness and respect.

Simon London: But they have to respect each other’s methodology and be prepared to flex, maybe, a little bit, in how this process is going to work.

Hugo Sarrazin: Absolutely.

Simon London: The other area where, it strikes me, there could be a little bit of a different sort of friction is this whole concept of the day-one answer, which is what we were just talking about in classical problem solving. Now, you know that this is probably not going to be your final answer, but that’s how you begin to structure the problem. Whereas I would imagine your design thinkers—no, they’re going off to do their ethnographic research and get out into the field, potentially for a long time, before they come back with at least an initial hypothesis.

Want better strategies? Become a bulletproof problem solver

Hugo Sarrazin: That is a great callout, and that’s another difference. Designers typically will like to soak into the situation and avoid converging too quickly. There’s optionality and exploring different options. There’s a strong belief that keeps the solution space wide enough that you can come up with more radical ideas. If there’s a large design team or many designers on the team, and you come on Friday and say, “What’s our week-one answer?” they’re going to struggle. They’re not going to be comfortable, naturally, to give that answer. It doesn’t mean they don’t have an answer; it’s just not where they are in their thinking process.

Simon London: I think we are, sadly, out of time for today. But Charles and Hugo, thank you so much.

Charles Conn: It was a pleasure to be here, Simon.

Hugo Sarrazin: It was a pleasure. Thank you.

Simon London: And thanks, as always, to you, our listeners, for tuning into this episode of the McKinsey Podcast . If you want to learn more about problem solving, you can find the book, Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything , online or order it through your local bookstore. To learn more about McKinsey, you can of course find us at McKinsey.com.

Charles Conn is CEO of Oxford Sciences Innovation and an alumnus of McKinsey’s Sydney office. Hugo Sarrazin is a senior partner in the Silicon Valley office, where Simon London, a member of McKinsey Publishing, is also based.

Explore a career with us

Related articles.

Strategy to beat the odds

Five routes to more innovative problem solving

How to Conduct Effective Problem-Solving Sessions with Customer Service

In the customer service industry, effective problem-solving is a crucial skill that can greatly impact customer satisfaction and business performance. When handled properly, problem-solving sessions provide an opportunity to identify and address issues that customers may encounter. This article will delve into the importance of problem-solving in customer service and provide key elements and techniques for conducting successful sessions. Additionally, we will explore common challenges faced during problem-solving sessions and offer strategies to overcome them.

Understanding the Importance of Problem-Solving in Customer Service

Problem-solving plays a significant role in ensuring customer satisfaction. When customers face challenges or issues, their overall experience can be negatively affected. However, by actively engaging in problem-solving sessions, businesses can effectively address customer concerns and improve their experience. By resolving issues promptly and efficiently, companies can enhance customer loyalty and build long-term relationships.

Customer service is a vital aspect of any successful business. It is the backbone of customer satisfaction and retention. When customers encounter problems or difficulties, it is crucial for businesses to have a robust problem-solving mechanism in place. By acknowledging and addressing customer concerns, companies demonstrate their commitment to providing exceptional service and ensuring customer happiness.

Problem-solving in customer service goes beyond simply fixing a specific issue. It involves understanding the root cause of the problem and implementing long-term solutions to prevent similar issues from arising in the future. This proactive approach not only resolves immediate concerns but also helps businesses improve their overall operations and customer experience.

The Role of Problem-Solving in Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the key to success for any business. By addressing customer issues through problem-solving sessions, companies demonstrate their commitment to resolving problems quickly and effectively. By actively listening to customers’ concerns and providing appropriate solutions, businesses can restore trust, boost customer satisfaction, and ultimately improve their reputation in the market.

Problem-solving sessions provide an opportunity for businesses to engage with their customers on a deeper level. By actively involving customers in the problem-solving process, companies show that they value their opinions and are dedicated to meeting their needs. This collaborative approach not only helps resolve immediate issues but also strengthens the bond between businesses and their customers.

Furthermore, effective problem-solving can lead to positive word-of-mouth referrals. When customers have a positive experience with a company’s problem-solving process, they are more likely to share their satisfaction with others. This can result in new customers and increased brand recognition, further contributing to business growth and success.

Improving Business Performance through Effective Problem-Solving

Effective problem-solving can also contribute to improved business performance. By identifying and addressing underlying problems, companies can streamline their operations and optimize their products or services. This, in turn, leads to increased efficiency, decreased costs, and improved overall performance. Problem-solving sessions provide a valuable platform to explore creative ideas and innovative solutions, enabling businesses to stay competitive in the market.

During problem-solving sessions, businesses have the opportunity to gather valuable feedback from customers. This feedback can provide insights into areas that require improvement, allowing companies to make informed decisions and implement necessary changes. By continuously seeking feedback and actively working towards resolving issues, businesses can adapt and evolve to meet the ever-changing needs and expectations of their customers.

Moreover, effective problem-solving can help businesses identify potential opportunities for growth and expansion. By analyzing customer feedback and addressing recurring issues, companies can uncover new market demands and develop innovative solutions to meet them. This proactive approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also opens doors to new revenue streams and business ventures.

In conclusion, problem-solving is an integral part of customer service and business success. By actively engaging in problem-solving sessions, businesses can address customer concerns, improve satisfaction, and drive overall performance. Effective problem-solving not only resolves immediate issues but also paves the way for long-term growth and success in the market.

Key Elements of a Problem-Solving Session

A successful problem-solving session comprises several key elements that ensure a systematic approach to addressing customer concerns.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, problem-solving has become an essential skill for organizations to thrive. Whether it’s resolving customer complaints, improving internal processes, or finding innovative solutions, effective problem-solving is crucial for success.

Identifying the Problem: The First Step

The initial step in conducting an effective problem-solving session is to identify the root cause of the issue. This requires active listening and gathering relevant information from both customers and internal stakeholders.

During this phase, it is important to create an open and non-judgmental environment where customers feel comfortable expressing their concerns. By empathizing with their experiences and actively seeking their input, businesses can gain valuable insights into the problem at hand.

Additionally, involving internal stakeholders such as employees from different departments can provide a holistic view of the issue. Their perspectives and expertise can uncover underlying factors that may have contributed to the problem.

By examining the problem from various angles, businesses can gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation and lay the foundation for finding the right solution.

Developing Potential Solutions: Brainstorming and Beyond

Once the problem is identified, the next step is to brainstorm potential solutions. In a problem-solving session, team members should be encouraged to contribute their ideas freely.

Brainstorming sessions can be conducted in various formats, such as group discussions, virtual collaboration platforms, or even through anonymous suggestion boxes. The key is to create an environment where creativity flourishes and no idea is dismissed without consideration.

This collaborative approach allows for diverse perspectives and creativity, increasing the chances of finding an effective solution. Moreover, considering multiple alternatives helps in evaluating the feasibility and viability of each potential solution.

During the brainstorming phase, it is important to focus on generating a wide range of ideas without prematurely evaluating them. This encourages out-of-the-box thinking and prevents the group from getting stuck on a single solution too early in the process.

Once a substantial list of potential solutions is generated, the team can move on to the next step of evaluating each option based on criteria such as cost-effectiveness, practicality, and alignment with the organization’s goals.

Implementing and Evaluating the Solution: The Final Steps

After developing potential solutions, it is essential to implement and evaluate the chosen solution. This involves creating an action plan, allocating resources, and assigning responsibilities.

During the implementation phase, effective communication is crucial to ensure that everyone involved understands their roles and responsibilities. Clear instructions, regular progress updates, and feedback mechanisms help keep the team aligned and motivated.

Once the solution is implemented, ongoing evaluation and feedback from customers and team members help to refine the solution as needed, ensuring its effectiveness in addressing the initial problem.

By continuously monitoring the solution’s impact and gathering feedback, organizations can make necessary adjustments and improvements to optimize its outcomes.

Moreover, documenting the entire problem-solving process, including the identified problem, potential solutions, and the chosen solution, can serve as a valuable reference for future problem-solving sessions. This knowledge repository can help organizations build upon past experiences and avoid reinventing the wheel.

In conclusion, a well-executed problem-solving session involves identifying the problem, developing potential solutions through brainstorming, and implementing and evaluating the chosen solution. By following a systematic approach and involving diverse perspectives, organizations can effectively address customer concerns and drive continuous improvement.

Facilitating a Problem-Solving Session: Essential Techniques

Facilitating a problem-solving session requires specific techniques to ensure productive outcomes.

Setting the Stage for a Productive Session

The facilitator plays a critical role in setting the stage for a productive problem-solving session. This involves creating a conducive environment where participants feel comfortable expressing their ideas and concerns. Clearly defining the session’s objectives and establishing ground rules fosters open communication and sets the tone for collaborative problem-solving.

Encouraging Open Communication and Collaboration

Open communication and collaboration are essential for effective problem-solving. The facilitator should encourage active participation from all team members, ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute their insights. Creating a non-judgmental atmosphere promotes free thinking, enabling teams to explore a wide range of ideas and perspectives.

Guiding the Team towards Effective Solutions

The facilitator’s role also includes guiding the team towards effective solutions. This involves keeping discussions focused and on track, ensuring that the team does not get sidetracked by unrelated issues. The facilitator should facilitate consensus-building, helping the team to align and make informed decisions. Effective problem-solving requires both critical thinking and collaboration.

Overcoming Common Challenges in Problem-Solving Sessions

While problem-solving sessions are beneficial, they can also present challenges that need to be overcome to achieve desired outcomes.

Dealing with Resistance and Conflict

Resistance and conflicts often arise during problem-solving sessions, hindering the progress. The facilitator should act as a mediator, promoting a respectful and inclusive environment. Encouraging active listening and empathy among team members helps to overcome resistance and conflicts, leading to a more productive session.

Ensuring Participation from All Team Members

Unequal participation from team members can prevent a problem-solving session from reaching its full potential. To ensure that all team members are engaged, the facilitator should explicitly ask for input from quieter team members and ensure that dominant team members do not monopolize the discussion. Establishing a safe space where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts is crucial for fostering equal participation.

Maintaining Focus and Momentum throughout the Session

Problem-solving sessions can sometimes lose focus or momentum due to lengthy discussions or side conversations. The facilitator must keep the session on track by summarizing key points, redirecting discussions when necessary, and managing time effectively. Maintaining a sense of urgency and keeping teams motivated ensures that the session remains productive from start to finish.

In conclusion, conducting effective problem-solving sessions is vital for customer service excellence. By recognizing the importance of such sessions and implementing key elements and techniques, businesses can address customer concerns efficiently and improve overall business performance. Overcoming common challenges requires facilitators to create a supportive environment that fosters open communication, collaboration, and effective decision-making. By adopting these strategies, companies can enhance customer satisfaction, drive innovation, and achieve enduring success.

CIPD Level 3 Course : The CIPD Level 3 Certificate in people practice is ideal for anyone looking to start a career in either HR or Learning and Development. CIPD Level 5 Course HR : The CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management will help you build on your existing HR knowledge. CIPD Level 5 Course L&D : The CIPD Level 5 Diploma in Organisational Learning and Development is the most comprehensive course available for L&D professionals, ideal for you if you want to formalise your existing experience, skills and knowledge. CIPD Level 7 : The CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma is aimed at expanding learners’ autonomy so they can strategically direct organisations and their people.

If you aspire to become a digital marketing manager or explore the senior level of your career, have a look at the squared  digital marketing programme .

Related Articles

In today’s fast-paced world, achieving a healthy work-life balance is more crucial than ever for maintaining employee productivity. We’ve all felt the strain of juggling our professional responsibilities with our personal lives, often leading to burnout and decreased job satisfaction. Fortunately, there are proven strategies that can help us find that sweet spot between work […]

In today’s fast-paced world, we understand that financial well-being is a crucial aspect of overall employee satisfaction and productivity. It’s not just about earning a paycheck; it’s about feeling secure and having peace of mind when it comes to financial matters. That’s why we’re diving deep into the steps necessary to ensure employees’ financial well-being, […]

In today’s globalised world, diversity and inclusion aren’t just buzzwords – they’re a business imperative. I’ve spent years delving into the nitty-gritty of HR strategies, and I’m here to share my insights on how to cultivate a diverse and inclusive workplace.  We’ll explore the different HR strategies that can help your business harness the power […]

7-day free trial | No credit card required

8000+ teams use Hiver to delight their customers!

Table of contents

The complete guide to customer service troubleshooting.

“Houston, we have a problem!”

“Never mind, John – there’s nothing great troubleshooting can’t fix!”

If you’re in customer support , solving customer issues is something you’re expected to be good at. After all, you spend much of your time helping “fix” things for customers.

And while you may be great at fixing customer issues, are you equally great at troubleshooting them?

Those are two very different things.

In this post, we’ll help you understand what customer service troubleshooting entails, and how you can become a great troubleshooter yourself.

Table of Contents

What is troubleshooting.

Quite simply, troubleshooting refers to the process of identifying the root cause of an issue and implementing the best possible solution to fix it. Oftentimes the terms troubleshooting and problem-solving are used interchangeably, but the former specifically pertains to technical support, while the latter is a broader, more general term.

Effective customer support troubleshooting isn’t about finding quick fixes – it follows a more methodical and careful approach to issue resolution. It requires a mix of ingenuity as well as experience; meticulousness and speed.

Implementing a temporary fix can seem like a swift and simple way to close a customer issue, but chances are, sooner or later, you’ll have to bear the brunt of that hasty fix – whether it’s in the form of time or money (or both!). 

Think about this in terms of how several people mismanage their finances. When they’re short on cash, they use their credit cards to “solve” the problem. When it’s time to pay their credit card bill, they try to find a “quick fix” to the issue by taking a cash advance from a different bank account. The result? They get stuck in an almost inescapable debt loop!

Poor troubleshooting is quite like that. Often succumbing to the pressure of resolving customer issues quickly, support professionals tend to rely on short-term fixes rather than spending time and effort in diagnosing why the issue occurred in the first place. This results in nothing but hastily-implemented stopgap solutions that are sure to cause significant long-term damage and loss to your business. 

That’s surely not what you want, do you? 

Well, that’s exactly why effective troubleshooting is crucial.

Why is troubleshooting such an important customer support skill?

Troubleshooting is one of the most critical aspects of a customer support job. Your customers have invested in your product with the hope and trust that it’ll consistently help them achieve their personal as well as their professional goals. If they experience an issue with your product, and if that issue isn’t handled to the best of their expectations, you’re jeopardizing their trust, and that’s bound to affect your customer satisfaction and brand reputation.

Following are the key reasons why great customer support troubleshooting is so essential for business’ success:  

1. It reduces customer churn

Research suggests that most customers will avoid reaching out to customer support agents for help unless absolutely necessary. It’s probably only after they’ve tried everything possible from their end, and haven’t succeeded, that they’ll get in touch with you. At this point, bear in mind that their patience is wearing thin, and their frustration is at an all-time high.

But that’s not entirely a bad thing.

When you go out of your way to fix a really complex customer issue quickly – one they’ve themselves been struggling to resolve, you’re helping earn back their trust and increase customer retention.

One survey found that resolving customer issues at the first engagement can prevent 67% of customer churn. This just goes to prove how important great troubleshooting skills are for service recovery .

2. It improves the customer experience

Imagine a scenario where a customer is under a tight deadline, and their work is stuck because they’re unable to login to your product. At such a time, all that the customer is truly hoping for is that their issue gets resolved quickly, and with minimum effort.

When you’re great at troubleshooting, you’ll empathize with the customer’s plight, know exactly the right questions to ask of them, and not put them under the pressure of inspecting and resolving the issue. 

Your customers will always value and remember these instances where you didn’t just resolve their issues on time but also made the process extremely convenient for them.

Recommended Reading

3. It saves you and your customers a lot of time

As a customer service representative, your to-do list is ever-expanding, and working efficiently is the only way you can keep up with the tasks at hand. That’s where your stellar troubleshooting skills come in handy. 

Good troubleshooting is not just about finding the best possible solution to a customer’s problem but is also about finding one quickly. Evaluating similar issues customers have faced in the past, having great knowledge of the product, and regularly documenting the troubleshooting process for unique customer issues are a few ways you can speed up issue resolution. Doing this can save both you as well your customers a lot of time.

The key qualities of a great troubleshooter

Great troubleshooting is an acquired skill. Sure, some people are gifted problem-solvers, but troubleshooting goes beyond the realms of mere problem-solving – it aims at understanding the nature of the problem, why it exists, what’s the best solution to it, and ensuring it doesn’t occur again. To do all of this successfully, customer service agents require the following qualities:

1. Communicating with empathy and patience

The most important quality of a troubleshooter is their ability to patiently listen to customers’ needs while showing genuine empathy for their problems.

It’s important that you pay attention to the smallest of cues and details that customers share with you. At the same time, it’s also essential that you don’t overwhelm them with too many unnecessary questions loaded with jargon. Remember – not all your customers are going to be tech-savvy, so simplify your communication as much as possible. 

Carefully listening to customer issues will help you troubleshoot quickly while also giving you ideas to constantly provide excellent customer service.

2. Researching well

While handling support for a product or service, you’ll have similar customer service issues come up multiple times. Chances are that a lot of these issues are fairly easy to resolve, and will have answers somewhere within your knowledge base , FAQ sections, or your issue logs. In such cases, walking customers through the issue resolution process isn’t much of a challenge.

The true test of your troubleshooting prowess happens when you encounter a unique customer issue that hasn’t been documented before. That’s when you need to know how to research the cause of the issue as well as its possible solutions by scouring through reliable resources across the internet and by discussing the problem with more experienced colleagues. Great research skills are indispensable for great troubleshooting.

3. Thinking out-of-the-box

Some customer issues can be handled in a pretty straightforward manner – you diagnose the issue, identify the main area(s) of concern(s) and find the best way to fix the problem for good. The customer is happy and so are you!

But, being in the tough job that customer support is, you’re well aware that not all days are as rosy and not all customer issues, as simple. 

Approaching complex customer problems requires a mix of critical, logical and creative thinking. You sometimes have to break free from the formulaic approach to resolving issues. 

Creating mind maps, having brainstorming sessions with your team and constantly updating your skills by the way of research and training are some great ways to enhance your creative troubleshooting abilities . 

4. Being a team player

No matter how skilled a problem solver you may be, collaborating with your team on various customer issues is a vital troubleshooting practice. 

Why? Because your support team will have individuals with diverse skill sets, experience, and varied perspectives. This will help you develop a holistic customer service problem-solving approach.

Ensure that you regularly bounce ideas off each other, hold daily discussions about unique customer issues and work together to resolve them. 

5. Being decisive

Customers hate waiting – no secrets there. When they reach out to you with support issues, they expect you to resolve them quickly. 

But as a dedicated service rep, you have to perform your due diligence. Providing them with a quick fix is not the right way to go about it.

How do you then give your customers what they want, without compromising on your support quality?

By being decisive when you need to. 

Once you’ve successfully identified an issue and the possible solutions to fix it, you must be quick in evaluating every solution, choosing the most appropriate one, and helping customers implement it. 

Decisiveness isn’t just about rushing to make a choice when you’re presented with a plethora of options – it’s about making the right one.

Steps involved in the troubleshooting process

Now that we’ve gone over the importance of customer support troubleshooting along with the key skills needed to troubleshoot effectively, let’s unpack what the entire process looks like.

Here’s the step by step guide you’ll need to troubleshoot customer support issues effectively:

1. Understand the problem

The first step in troubleshooting a support issue is to understand the problem. Here’s where the effective communication skills we earlier spoke of come in handy. To understand an issue comprehensively, you must do the following three important things:

a) Ask the customer the right questions 

Perhaps the most important first step in troubleshooting an issue (besides apologizing for it, of course) is  asking the customer the right questions . 

More often than not, customers won’t be able to give you a clear picture of their issue unless you guide them well. Start by asking the most basic question – “Can you please explain the problem you’re experiencing?”. Follow up with more specific questions like, “When did this problem first occur?”, “Can you please send me a screenshot of the error you see?”, “Are you seeing the error message only when you perform a particular action?”, etc.

Your questions should help you get clarity and context about what the issue is and how it’s impacting the customer.

b) Dig deeper into the issue

Once you’ve collected all the necessary information from the customer, the next step is to dig deeper into the issue – check if a similar issue has been documented in the past (in your knowledge base or issue logs). If it has, you know the drill, but if it hasn’t, you’ll have to collect more information to successfully diagnose the issue. 

Ask the customer if they can do a screen share with you. This way, you can use your expertise to gauge the problem better and make note of the important details the customer may have missed sharing with you. 

c) Define the issue 

Once you’ve clearly understood the problem, you should be able to define it – what the issue actually is, what the customer is intending to do vis-à-vis what is happening instead.

At this stage, it is important that you clearly communicate your understanding of the issue to the customer so you’re both on the same page.

2. Break it down

After understanding and defining the issue properly, you’ll have to further break it down to find out at which exact point things went wrong – in other words, identify the “root cause” of the issue. You’ll need to do the following:

a) Test out the basics first (one at a time)

Oftentimes, a customer issue isn’t as complex as it appears to be at the first glance. Changing simple things like clearing the cache and cookies, logging out and logging back in, removing browser extensions, restarting the device and using a different browser can help fix the issue. 

Make sure to try each of the above things one at a time though. Doing this will help you understand which one of your tests exactly resolved the issue. Use your discretion and knowledge to decide the order in which you want to run the tests.

b) Do a before vs. after comparison

A great way to narrow down a tech issue is to compare it with a normal, working version of it. Create a checklist of the differences if you like – it’ll just make it a lot clearer for you to understand where the issue lies and how you should approach it.

3. Identify possible solutions

At this point, you’re well on your way to find a fix or a workaround for the issue your customer is facing.  Brainstorm possible solutions with your team . This is the stage where you’ll also need to see if other departments (for example, engineering) need to step in. Create a list of all possible solutions you’ve come up with. Here are the next steps you should follow:

a) Evaluate alternative solutions

There’s almost always going to be more than one way to fix a customer issue. Your job is to evaluate each one of these alternatives and propose the best one – one that’s the most fool-proof, the fastest and the most convenient to implement. Again, it’s a great practice that you get inputs from your more experienced colleagues here.

b) T est out the chosen solution 

Before getting the customer onboard with the solution, make sure you thoroughly test it out yourself and iron out any issues that might crop up.  You don’t want the customer getting excited for nothing!

If things look good, which they’re most likely to, wonderful! If not, don’t worry – try going back to the earlier steps and see if you’ve missed something and make the required changes.

c) Propose the solution to the customer

After you’ve tested out the solution, it’s time to let the customer know you have a fix for their issue. Try to be as descriptive and clear as possible while sharing details about the proposed solution. If required, fix a call with the customer and walk them through the entire process.

4. Implement the solution

You’ve found the right solution to the issue and your customer’s onboard with it. Great! Now, it’s time to implement it. Considering that you’ve been thorough with all your testing, implementing the fix should be fairly simple.

The following are two important steps to follow after you’ve implemented the fix:

a) Try to find a permanent fix 

Try to analyze if this issue can be fixed permanently so that other customers don’t have to experience the same problem. For example, if while troubleshooting you found that using a particular browser causes your app to crash, let your development team know so they can fix the issue for good.

b) Document the issue

This is a very important step that shouldn’t be missed. Make sure you document all the details about this issue and the resolution process for the benefit of other members in your team as well as other customers. This will help them both save a lot of time if they were to encounter a similar issue in the future. 

Make it a practice to update your knowledge base and issue logs each time you troubleshoot a unique issue.

Most importantly – help your customers help themselves

Following the above structure is a great way to resolve most complex support issues, but a lot of times, simple tweaks can do what a long-drawn-out troubleshooting process doesn’t have to. 

Encourage your customers to perform the basic troubleshooting checks (as mentioned above in step 2) like rebooting their system, clearing their cache and cookies, etc. themselves. Guide them with the information in your knowledge base that’s relevant to their issue. Instead of sending them a direct link to the article, summarize the resolution process in an email and add the article link towards the end. 

Effective troubleshooting is as much about being efficient as it is about being systematic. It’s something both your team and your customers will appreciate.

Now go – be the troubleshooting hero you’re meant to be!

Deliver stellar customer support right from Gmail

Top 13 LiveChat Alternatives For Your Customer Support Teams in 2024

Seeking top alternatives to LiveChat? Find 13 leading LiveChat alternatives to upgrade your customer engagement.

7 Best Renewal Reminder Templates for Faster Payments

In this post, discover renewal reminder email templates that can supercharge your revenue collection efforts. From personalized...

Hiver is Now a Customer Service Solution: The Story Behind Our New Positioning

Our CEO and Co-founder, Niraj Ranjan, explains why and how Hiver’s new positioning – as a customer service solution...

Hiver has come along as a trustworthy, discerning, and dependable sidekick that has helped us manage our emails better and faster.

Hiver is extremely easy to use. We were able to hit the ground running right from day one. Plus, their customer service is fantastic!

We're 100% Gmail. Working on customer queries from Gmail was exactly what we needed. Moreover, moving to Hiver was a painless affair.

Success in your inbox

Get monthly insights handpicked by our editorial team. Act on it.

Connect with customers

LiveChat is a complete customer service platform that delights your customers and fuels your sales.

Trusted by 36,000+ companies

LiveChat helps you delight your customers and fuels your sales.

4 steps to effective customer service problem solving with examples.

• Post on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Post on LinkedIn
• Post on Reddit
• copy-button#copy track#send" data-controller="track" data-track-category="Success" data-track-action="Share" data-track-label="Copy link" > Copy link to clipboard Link copied to clipboard https://text.com/success/effective-customer-service-problem-solving/

Recently, I came across a fascinating customer service story involving an American Express cardholder. It all began with a seemingly innocent mistake while making a payment involving a decimal point in the wrong spot, resulting in the customer inadvertently paying thousands of dollars instead of hundreds.

Determined to rectify the error and seek guidance, the customer promptly contacted American Express to report the issue. To his relief, a representative assured him that the mistake would have no adverse impact on his account and that all charges would be promptly refunded. Little did he know that this was just the prologue to a series of challenges.

A few days later, the customer was taken aback when he discovered that all his debit cards were unexpectedly suspended. Perplexed and concerned, he went over his account for any indications of suspicious activity or an account block, but to no avail. Thus, he decided to reach out to American Express once more to seek clarification.

To his utter surprise and dismay, the representative he connected with not only questioned why he had not halted the incorrect payment but also accused him of attempting fraud. The customer explained that a previous representative had not advised him to stop the payment and had, in fact, assured him that there would be no negative consequences resulting from his honest mistake.

The response?

That's what customer service does. They tell you what you want to hear.

This quite nasty customer service story inspired me to write about the real purpose of customer service. Which is not “telling customers what they want to hear” but helping customers and resolving their problems.

In this article, you’ll also learn some troubleshooting techniques to make your job easier.

Creating a Good Customer-Centric Culture

A customer-centric culture serves as the bedrock of exceptional problem-solving and sustainable business success. In a world where customers today wield unparalleled power and influence, placing them at the heart of your operations is not just a choice; it is a strategic imperative.

At all levels of the organisation, employees must wholeheartedly prioritise customer happiness, understanding that every interaction is an opportunity to leave a lasting impact. By cultivating such a culture, businesses create a positive and supportive environment that empowers employees to go above and beyond to delight customers.

Nurturing this culture demands a multifaceted approach. One potent strategy is to recognise and reward outstanding customer service efforts. By celebrating employees who embody the customer-centric ethos, businesses reinforce the value they place on exceptional experiences. This recognition motivates individuals to exceed customer expectations continually and sets a powerful example for others to follow.

Encouraging collaboration is another pivotal aspect of fostering a customer-centric culture. In today's interconnected business landscape, problems seldom fit neatly within departmental silos. Emphasising collaboration cultivates a shared sense of responsibility for customer success and enables employees to pool their expertise, collectively devising innovative solutions that surpass individual capabilities. The result is a seamless and consistent experience for customers, who benefit from the collective effort of a united organisation.

To equip employees for the challenges of modern customer service, businesses must invest in skills training. Outstanding problem-solving skills do not materialise by chance; they are honed through intentional development. Equipping employees with the necessary tools and knowledge to navigate diverse customer interactions positions them to respond adeptly and confidently, even in the face of dissatisfied customers.

Customer Service Problem-Solving

Speaking of dissatisfied customers, they hold the key to unlocking greater customer retention. Rather than viewing poor experiences as a liability, businesses must embrace them as opportunities for growth. Each negative interaction presents a chance to introspect, identify pain points, and make tangible improvements. By actively seeking feedback from dissatisfied customers, businesses demonstrate their commitment to listening and learning, earning trust and loyalty in the process.

A customer-centric culture is more than a mere buzzword; it drives superior customer experiences and enhanced customer retention. By prioritising customer satisfaction at every touchpoint, celebrating exceptional service, fostering collaboration, investing in skills training, and actively engaging with dissatisfied customers, businesses can forge a path to sustained success and unmatched customer loyalty. Embrace the customer-centric ethos, and you will unlock the true potential of your organisation in a customer-centric world.

Strategies for Effective Customer Service Problem-Solving

Timely response and resolution are essential components of successful troubleshooting. Customers appreciate swift action, showing that their concerns are taken seriously. Personalisation also plays a significant role, as customers feel valued when their issues are treated individually rather than generically.

Navigating challenging situations with irate customers requires patience and tact. Service reps need to stay calm, acknowledge the customer's feelings, and work towards finding a resolution.

4 Steps for Better Customer Service Problem Solving

As a customer service agent, providing satisfying solutions is essential. Let's explore the path to achieve this.

1. Understanding the Customer's Point of View

Imagine yourself in the customer's shoes. They reach out to you with what seems like an impossible request. For instance, they received a notice that their phone line would be cut due to non-payment, yet they requested credits on their invoices due to financial constraints. Initially, you might question their request, but remember, you're not just an ordinary person; you're a Support Hero tasked with saving the customer's day. Negative thinking won't lead to solutions.

At this stage, it's hard to distinguish if the customer is genuine or potentially fraudulent. However, instead of passing judgment, assume the customer needs assistance and act accordingly. Engage in active listening to comprehend the problem thoroughly and find a way to help.

Exceptional problem-solving hinges on understanding customer needs and concerns. Active listening enables service representatives to connect with customers on a deeper level and empathise effectively. By listening attentively, you can pinpoint the root cause of the problem and tailor solutions to meet their specific needs.

Remember these keywords throughout your journey: fully understand the problem, solve the customer's problem, find a workable solution, and ensure the customer is happy with the resolution.

2. Identifying a Problem

Ensuring that customers are happy with the solutions provided is crucial in customer service. Sometimes, customers simply struggle to articulate their issues, and that's entirely normal. They may not be familiar with your processes or jargon; all they know is that their expectations regarding your product or service have been disappointing.

As a Support Hero, it's your responsibility to restore their faith in your company, but to do that, you must first pinpoint the problem.

To troubleshoot effectively, here are a few questions that can guide you. Sometimes, by asking these simple questions, you can quickly identify an outage or a faulty batch of products sent out by a manufacturer!

Can you describe the problem you're facing precisely? When did this problem start? Has this issue occurred before?

Next, consider the following:

Are all users affected, or is it isolated to just one customer? Has anyone else faced a similar problem in the past?

Once the customer responds, summarise their answers back to them. This gesture demonstrates that you genuinely comprehend their concerns and helps you verify the facts.

If you're unfamiliar with the problem or unsure how to proceed, offer a brief apology and inform the customer that you need to discuss their case with a colleague or supervisor. Maintain a self-assured tone, and don't hesitate to ask the customer to hold on for a moment.

Remember, customers value accuracy even if it takes a bit more time to sort out the issue.

Instead of abruptly transferring a customer to another department, try saying:

"We're committed to resolving this for you. Let me transfer you to a specialist best equipped to address your question."

Customers appreciate the effort you put into understanding their journey and resolving their issues promptly. Poor customer service can lead to bad customer experiences, but by actively listening to their concerns, you can turn their dissatisfaction into a happy customer.

Always focus on solving the problem, no matter how common or complex. As a customer service representative, your role is to provide exceptional support and ensure that customers are satisfied with the resolution.

So, embrace every customer service issue as an opportunity to solve the problem and deliver exceptional customer support. Your dedication and responsiveness will create a positive experience, turning unhappy customers into satisfied ones.

Remember, the help desk is where customer issues are met with efficiency and care. The key to a successful customer service journey lies in how you handle problems and fix them effectively.

3. Find a Solution

Utilise your analytical thinking to devise a solution that best suits your customer's needs. Here are some key questions to help you plan an effective resolution:

Is there enough staff to carry it out?

Who will be involved in implementing the solution?

What is the expected time frame for the solution?

What resources are needed to make it happen?

Who should be informed about the planned solution?

How will the customer be notified about the solution?

Even if you're faced with a case that goes against your company's policy, there is always room for creative suggestions. Take, for example, a customer seeking a refund, which may not align with your policy.

However, consider these alternative solutions:

Inform the customer that you cannot credit the bill, but offer to split the payment into smaller instalments to accommodate their financial situation.

Postpone the account suspension temporarily, allowing the client to continue using the service.

Analyse the customer's account and propose a switch to a more budget-friendly price plan.

Your creativity can turn an unreasonable request into three viable solutions!

But what if you're not the one who can solve the problem?

In such cases, you may need to open a ticket to escalate the issue appropriately. To ensure the ticket doesn't get lost, assign it to yourself and monitor its progress. If the problem remains unresolved after 24 hours, consider contacting the customer to provide an update on your ongoing efforts.

Occasionally, there are situations where the problem cannot be fully sorted. For instance, your company may have stopped selling a particular product, or you may not have a gluten-free option on your menu. However, that doesn't mean you can't offer a helpful solution. If you don't have what the customer needs, guide them to the right source. Let them know where they can find the desired product or suggest alternatives.

Going the extra mile can create customer happiness, even if the solution deviates from their initial expectations.

Here's an example from our experience: My colleague, Justyna, recently chatted with a customer disappointed that our application lacked an in-built screen-sharing and screenshot-making tool. With a composed demeanour, I informed Aline that while LiveChat lacked those features, she could set up an integration for screen-sharing sessions and use a free screenshot tool like Jing. It did the trick! Aline was delighted with the solution, and my mission was accomplished.

Throughout the resolution process, ensure that the customer is at the centre of your focus. Handle customer service issues with attentiveness and empathy, as a positive customer service experience can be transformative. Use a series of questions to fully understand the problem, allowing you to implement the right solution and untangle customer queries effectively.

4. Fix the Problem and Follow Up on the Solution

Finally! The customer has agreed on a solution. You've offered a brief apology for the problem, and now you can fix it and close the case, right?

Unfortunately, it's not always that straightforward.

Sometimes, the solution provided may not address the root cause of the problem. For example, let's say a customer had an issue with the application, and you suggested restarting the device. While this might settle the problem, it's more likely that the customer will return with the same issue, possibly even upset that the initial solution didn't work as expected.

I understand that working in customer service leaves little time for breaks, and now I'm asking you to follow up on your customer's problems. But there are significant benefits to spending a little extra time reaching out to these customers.

Doing so demonstrates genuine care and creates an exceptional customer experience. You ensure that you won't receive calls or chats from furious customers later. You can verify whether your solution worked, giving you confidence for future interactions.

If you find it challenging to make calls or send emails to follow up, don't worry. There are alternative approaches you can take. Some apps allow you to send automatic emails once a ticket is resolved (e.g., LiveChat). You can test and try this feature to save time.

Alternatively, your team can use an automatic survey to gauge customer satisfaction and determine whether the problem was adequately resolved. Platforms like SurveyMonkey and Typeform can be useful in this regard. Alternatively, you can send a simple template asking two questions:

Did we help you solve your problem?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your overall experience?

Customers will undoubtedly appreciate these efforts!

In customer service, increasing customer success is vital. To achieve this, it's essential to understand the issue at hand fully. When a customer allows you to delve into their concerns, you can identify the right product or service to address their needs effectively.

Remember, customers are likely to encounter complex problems, and they depend on you for assistance. Utilise customer service problem-solving techniques to handle their issues competently and ensure they are satisfied with the outcome.

Empowering a Customer Service Representative

To excel in issue resolution, customer service reps must have the right skills and authority. Regular training and development programs ensure that representatives are well-prepared to handle various situations effectively.

Additionally, empowering representatives to take ownership of customer issues instils a sense of responsibility, leading to more proactive and efficient resolutions.

Solve Customer Service Problems With Technology

Technology plays a vital role in modern customer service troubleshooting. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems help consolidate customer data, making it easier for representatives to access relevant information quickly.

AI-powered chatbots can provide instant support, resolving common queries and freeing up human representatives to handle more complex issues. Data analytics tools allow companies to gain insights into customer behaviour and preferences, enabling them to tailor their services accordingly.

Measuring and Monitoring Customer Service Success

To continuously improve the way problems are solved, companies need to track and measure their customer service performance. Key performance indicators (KPIs), such as response time, resolution rate, and satisfaction scores, provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of customer service efforts.

By monitoring these metrics, businesses can identify areas that require attention and implement targeted improvements.

Great Customer Service Requires Resolve

Curious about how the story of the American Express customer ended? Well, after cancelling the payment, he reached out to customer service again, giving the company one last chance. However, he connected with a different representative this time—a night-and-day contrast from the previous encounter.

Unlike before, this representative was willing to listen. She grasped the situation immediately, empathising with the customer's plight. After reviewing his account and consulting with her supervisor, she astonishingly informed him that his card would be reactivated. The customer was both shocked and elated with this positive outcome.

It's remarkable how two representatives working for the same company in the same customer service team can provide vastly different experiences—one great and the other terrible.

The root cause of the poor experience is challenging to pinpoint. Perhaps the first representative was not suited for customer service, or management failed to train and motivate them adequately. Regardless, the bottom line was that the customer sought help but did not receive it.

Often, solving a customer-service problem involves navigating between company policies and customer interests, as was evident in this case. The first representative struggled to handle such a situation, whereas the second possessed the necessary skills to address the issue effectively.

Problem-Solving is not just an Ability -- It's a Mindset

As we explored in my previous post on problem-solving skills , the golden rule of customer service is to create a fantastic customer experience even when the problem may not directly concern your product. Offering a possible solution exemplifies the essence of customer service—solving problems, not merely telling customers what they want to hear.

The key to success lies in persistence, utilising the advice shared here, and maintaining a positive outlook. Armed with these qualities, there will be no problem you cannot conquer.

Get a glimpse into the future of business communication with digital natives.

Keep the conversation going

• copy-button#copy track#send" data-controller="track" data-track-category="Success" data-track-action="Share" data-track-label="Copy link" > Copy link Link copied to clipboard https://text.com/success/effective-customer-service-problem-solving/

LiveChat is a complete customer service platform that delights your customers and fuels your sales

Step-By-Step Guide: How to Handle Customer Complaints

Many customers will continue doing business with you after they've been dissatisfied and complained.

In fact, according to the service recovery paradox , a complaint is an opportunity that can actually result in the customer having a more positive view of your business after a complaint is resolved than before they ever had a problem.

Being able to assess and address customer complaints efficiently is key to making this happen.

How to Talk to Customers: 47 Expert Tips

Great communication is an art. Honing it to a keen edge is a science. These tips will help you improve how you and your team talk to customers — starting today!

What are customer complaints, really?

Customer complaints are often a sign that there's a disconnect between what customers expected and what you delivered. Sometimes that disconnect is caused by a customer's unreasonable expectations or incorrect assumptions. Other times, it's caused by something your company is doing wrong.

A customer complaint might be the result of your marketing copy leading them to believe something incorrect about your product/service — or of your user experience setting customers up for failure. Or it could reflect a problem that's happening outside of your direct control (e.g., third-party shipping issues).

The only way to find out is to give credence to customer complaints to determine if they contain genuinely useful feedback.

A 5-step process for handling customer complaints

To uncover the reason you received a complaint from a customer and solve the problem in order to retain that customer, use this five-step process for handling customer complaints.

Step 1: Dig deeper by asking the right questions

Complaints — even angry ones — can contain insights, and it’s your job to seek out the point of friction. Socratic questioning can help you get to the source of the issue.

Ask your customer questions like:

What do you mean by...?

Could you provide an example?

Could you expand on that point further?

And ask yourself questions like:

What other information do I need?

What am I assuming here?

Why is this complaint important?

Often, complaints are the result of problems that need to be solved. Asking the right questions helps you get to the root of the complaint, figure out if there's a way to resolve the issue, and determine if the complaint contains genuinely useful feedback.

If you determine that you aren't the right person to help with the customer's complaint and need to transfer them to someone who can , make sure to explain why. This can be as simple as saying, "I’m going to set you up with our specialist who will get that squared away for you right away."

Step 2: Identify the type of customer you're dealing with

A study from the University of Florida found that when dealing with customer complaints, you may run into one of the following types of customers, each "motivated by different beliefs, attitudes, and needs":

Customers who aren't shy about letting you know they're upset. When responding, avoid mirroring their confrontational behavior; instead, react with firm politeness.

Customers who pay well and demand premium support for it. When responding, avoid excuses and just get to the solution. Consider creating a VIP folder and workflow to make it easy to identify and respond to their complaints.

Customers who contact you frequently. Stay patient and avoid coming across as frustrated when responding to these customers. When satisfied, they often become repeat customers and advocates for your company.

Customers who don't want to complain and may just take their business elsewhere without ever letting you know there was a problem. You'll have to actively reach out to these customers to solicit and resolve their complaints; otherwise, you may never hear their feedback.

These are broad descriptions and, of course, your customers will present a more complex mixture of motivations and behaviors, but being aware of different persona types can help you respond most appropriately to the real person you are assisting.

Step 3: Respond to the customer quickly

When it comes to unhappy customers, a speedy response goes from being a nice-to-have to a necessity. Complaints are best resolved as soon as possible.

A customer leaving a feature request won’t mind at all if it takes you a day to respond, but customers who are in a “pulling my hair out” situation want a resolution yesterday. Make responding to them a priority.

It can be useful to set up a folder that's separate from the main support queue where you can filter less-than-ecstatic messages. Here, the team can see immediately which emails are from customers who need help right away.

Try the customer support platform your team and customers will love

Teams using Help Scout are set up in minutes, twice as productive, and save up to 80% in annual support costs. Start a free trial to see what it can do for you.

Step 4: Present a solution, and verify that the problem is solved

After you've identified the root cause of the customer's complaint, found a solution, and sent that solution to the customer, it's important to verify that the solution you proposed actually solved the problem. There are a couple of ways to do this:

If you can't verify that the solution is working, add this line to the end of your communication: "Please let me know if there's anything else I can do for you. I'm happy to help!"

Verify that the solution is working, then reply with: "I've tested this myself and it all appears to be working as expected, which you can see here: (include screenshot). But please let me know if you're still running into issues."

In some cases, it may even be worth reaching back out to the customer after a few days have passed to make sure that everything is resolved.

You may also want to consider monitoring any satisfaction ratings you receive on the conversation in your customer service software . Negative feedback may be a sign that there are still issues that need to be addressed (though there will be times that you've done everything you can do and the customer will still leave upset).

Step 5: Log the complaint so you can track trends

If you've gotten one complaint from one customer about one specific issue over the last 10 years, that issue might not be worth addressing. But if you're getting multiple messages from multiple customers who all shared the same complaint, that's the beginning of a narrative.

To identify high-volume complaints, you'll need a system for tracking them. At Help Scout , we use the Help Scout + Jira integration to track customer complaints so we can capture them, monitor how often we're hearing recurring concerns, and follow up with each customer directly when the issue has been resolved.

Whatever system you use, the key is to make it easy to capture meaningful complaints and track the volume of customers who are bringing up similar or identical issues.

How to handle negativity as a support professional

Handling customer complaints is just par for the course for support professionals, but that doesn't mean it won't take a toll on you emotionally from time to time.

So in addition to providing you with a process for handling customer complaints, we wanted to share these tips from Jeremey DuVall , Support Engineer at WordPress VIP, on how to keep yourself from feeling down on days when there's lots of negativity in the queue.

Rehearse objections ahead of time

By rehearsing potential objections ahead of time, you can prepare before real-life negative interactions occur. Before launching a new product or feature, think about things that might attract polarizing opinions. This has three purposes:

Tackle negativity — First, tackle negativity to force everyone to confront the fact that some customers might not like the change you're making. Addressing that ahead of time prevents anyone from looking at the situation with rose-colored glasses.

Discuss rationale — Second, discuss the rationale for the change. If the decision to make a change was well-thought-out and backed by data, you can move forward knowing you made the right decision, even if it ruffles some customers' feathers.

Rehearse answers — Lastly, rehearse your answers and get everyone on the same page. It’s not about creating support robots who copy and paste the same replies to customers; it’s about creating a consistent support experience for customers.

Balance negativity

In To Sell Is Human , Daniel H. Pink discusses how door-to-door salespeople experience “no” a heck of a lot. How do you keep your head up amongst that level of negativity?

Pink points to research on positivity ratios — the number of positive interactions to negative ones. If the ratio is high (say, 10:1), you’ll think nothing can go wrong (not necessarily realistic). A ratio of 1:1 is too pessimistic; the glass is half empty. A ratio of 3:1 is just about right.

While we don’t need to focus too specifically on the exact ratio, we do need to have tools in place to boost positivity when we feel ourselves slipping down the negativity slope. Here are some ideas:

Happy file: Create a happy file just for yourself. In that file, keep amazing interactions you've had with customers and conversations that always put a smile on your face. When you feel down during the day, looking through the file is a quick way to pick yourself back up.

Team kudos: At the end of every month, have one person read through all the awesome comments from customers and pick out the best one for each person. If you forget about how awesome your teammates are, this is an easy, quick reminder.

Happiness #hugs: Aggregate awesome comments from your customers and post them to a company-wide feed with the hashtag #hugs. When you’re having a bad day, it’s easy to view the tag feed and get a huge boost.

Master explanatory style

We can explain negative interactions after the fact in a couple of ways. The feedback is either "permanent, pervasive, and personal," or "temporary, specific, and external."

When you view a negative interaction as permanent (not going away), pervasive (everyone feels this way), and personal (there’s a part of me that plays into this), you feel like you have little control over your environment. Things are happening to you.

The alternative to “permanent, pervasive, and personal” is “temporary, specific, and external.” In this light, negative interactions become more manageable and actionable.

First, negative interactions probably aren’t the norm (if they are, you’re doing something wrong). Second, negative feedback is usually specific to a certain product or thing. Finally, it’s external. It’s generally not about you or anything you are doing.

How do you put this into practice? Conduct personal reviews of negative feedback every so often to do the following:

Look for areas where you could have improved in the interaction (details you missed, ways you could have improved the service, etc.).

Practice self-talk so these interactions don’t feel personal. This practice prepares you to stomach any waves of negativity you might run into when navigating the queue.

How to handle customer complaints the right way

Some people aren’t going to like what you build. That’s the cost of shipping things out into the world. If your product is great enough, there’s a good chance you’ll hear polarized opinions about it.

But by preparing ahead of time, maintaining appropriate positivity ratios, and framing feedback as temporary, specific, and external, you can arm yourself with ways to handle the negativity so you can address customer complaints efficiently and use them to create loyal customers.

Like what you see? Share with a friend.

Gregory ciotti.

Greg is a writer, marketing strategist and alum of Help Scout. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn .

We've got more to share

The Supportive Weekly

For the customer service obsessed

In the Works

For founders and growing companies

Your privacy matters! Help Scout only uses this info to send content and updates. You may unsubscribe anytime. View our privacy policy for more.

16 Types of Customer Needs (and How to Solve for Them)

Published: March 24, 2023

Companies want to stay relevant and innovative and often look at other successful companies, hot industry trends, or new shiny products for inspiration.

However, a vital component to growth is at every business's fingertips — it's customers. Honing in on customer needs can improve the longevity and progress of your business. Happy customers result in higher retention rates, lifetime value, and brand reach as they spread the word in their social circles.

The first step toward creating the types of customer experiences that result in happy customers is by understanding and meeting customer needs.

In this article, you'll learn:

• The Definition of Customer Needs
• The Types of Customer Needs

How to Identify Customer Needs

• What a Customer Needs Analysis Is
• How to Solve for Your Customers' Needs

Types of Customer Service

What are customer needs.

A customer need is a motive that prompts a customer to buy a product or service. Ultimately, the need is the driver of the customer's purchase decision. Companies often look at the customer need as an opportunity to resolve or contribute surplus value back to the original motive.

An example of customer need takes place every day around 12:00 p.m. This is when people begin to experience hunger (need) and decide to purchase lunch. The type of food, the location of the restaurant, and the amount of time the service will take are all factors to how individuals decide to satisfy the need.

Customer-centric companies know that solving for customer needs and exceeding expectations along the way is how to drive healthy business growth and foster good relationships with the people your company serves.

Although customer centricity is not a new concept, the right steps to achieve a customer service focus are still hazy.

Why are customer needs important?

Anticipating customer needs will help you cater to customers before they feel the need to put in a request for a new feature, product, or solution for you. If companies can begin to make changes before their customers' needs aren't fulfilled, this can ultimately lead to growth, innovation, and retention.

Creating a customer-centric company that truly listens to customer needs can be daunting, and there's a steep learning curve if you haven't paid close attention to customers before.

Below are the most common types of customer needs — most of which work in tandem with one another to drive a purchasing decision.

8 Free Customer Profile Templates

Use these free templates to build out your customer profiles for your marketing, sales, and customer service teams.

• Long Customer Profile Templates
• Short Customer Profile Templates
• Designed Customer Profile Templates
• Simple Customer Profile Templates

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Customer Profile Templates

Fill out the form to better understand your customer needs., 16 most common types of customer needs.

The types of product needs can be split into two categories: product and service.

Product Needs

1. functionality.

Customers need your product or service to function the way they need in order to solve their problem or desire.

Customers have unique budgets with which they can purchase a product or service.

3. Convenience

Your product or service needs to be a convenient solution to the function your customers are trying to meet.

4. Experience

The experience using your product or service needs to be easy — or at least clear — so as not to create more work for your customers.

Along the lines of experience, the product or service needs a slick design to make it relatively easy and intuitive to use.

6. Reliability

The product or service needs to reliably function as advertised every time the customer wants to use it.

7. Performance

The product or service needs to perform correctly so the customer can achieve their goals.

8. Efficiency

The product or service needs to be efficient for the customer by streamlining an otherwise time-consuming process.

9. Compatibility

The product or service needs to be compatible with other products your customer is already using.

Service Needs

10. empathy.

When your customers get in touch with customer service, they want empathy and understanding from the people assisting them.

11. Fairness

From pricing to terms of service to contract length, customers expect fairness from a company.

12. Transparency

Customers expect transparency from a company they're doing business with. Service outages, pricing changes, and things breaking happen, and customers deserve openness from the businesses they give money to.

13. Control

Customers need to feel like they're in control of the business interaction from start to finish and beyond, and customer empowerment shouldn't end with the sale. Make it easy for them to return products, change subscriptions, adjust terms, etc.

14. Options

Customers need options when they're getting ready to make a purchase from a company. Offer a variety of product, subscription, and payment options to provide that freedom of choice.

15. Information

Customers need information, from the moment they start interacting with your brand to days and months after making a purchase. Businesses should invest in educational blog content, instructional knowledge base content, and regular communication so customers have the information they need to successfully use a product or service.

16. Accessibility

Customers need to be able to access your service and support teams. This means providing multiple channels for customer service. We'll talk a little more about these options later.

With so many types of customer needs, how do you understand which ones apply to your customers specifically? Next, we'll dig into how to identify them.

• Use Existing Data
• Solicit Customer Feedback
• Customer Journey Mapping
• Input from Service Team
• Study Competitors
• Social Media Listening
• Keyword Research

"You've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology," Steve Jobs notably stated . "You cannot start with the technology and try to figure out where you are going to sell it."

Whether you sell technology or some other product or service, the underlying message he's saying here rings true.

This means understanding where they're coming from when they've chosen to make a purchase, what expectations they're bringing to the table, and what bumps they'll encounter along the way.

Identifying Customer Needs

You can gain more knowledge about what your customers want using a few different strategies.

1. Use Existing Data

Most likely you have some customer data already, especially if you’re using a CRM. This is the best place to start your search. Are there pain points or issues you can glean from just looking at this customer data? Are there any patterns you can identify? Taking note of who your current customers are and their past interactions with your brand to get a better idea of where customers are coming from and if you’re meeting their needs.

2. Solicit Customer Feedback

When trying to identify consumer needs, go straight to the source. This can be done using surveys that live on your site, or sent via email. Additionally you could conduct focus groups to gain more in depth insight to customer needs and their overall experience with your product or service.

3. Customer Journey Mapping

To better understand and assist customers, you’ll need to first know what phase of the customer journey they are in and what they’re looking for. This is where customer journey mapping can help, giving a visual representation of how customers interact with your brand. This exercise will help you create a more proactive customer service approach and improve retention.

Featured Resource: Customer Journey Map Templates

Download the Free Templates

4. Input from Service Team

In addition to getting customer feedback, it’s important to consult those who work with them most — your service team. They’ll often have insights you may not be privy to and can help you anticipate the needs of your customers as well as solve existing issues. They’ll also be able to explain how customers are currently using your product or service and can identify any hiccups in the process.

5. Study Competitors

It’s common to study competitors when conducting market research, but you should also consider them when identifying customer needs. There might be overlap in your target audience, meaning your brand could benefit from reviewing any issues competitors are experiencing and gain insight on how they went about fixing it. You might find that some of their strategies would be worth implementing at your company, or discover gaps in service that your company can fill.

10 Free Competitive Analysis Templates

Track and analyze your competitors with these ten free planning templates.

• SWOT Analysis
• Battle Cards
• Feature Comparison
• Strategic Overview

6. Use Social Media

Chances are, your customers use a variety of social media platforms in their day to day. Take advantage of that by using it as a way to listen in on what customers are saying about your products and your competitors. Are people asking questions under your posts? What sorts of comments are they making? Are they giving praise, asking for assistance, or do they want new features? Using a social media monitoring tool like Hootsuite will help you identify trends, mentions, and hashtags relevant to your brand to better inform your strategy.

7. Keyword Research

People turn to the internet for most things, so Google is an excellent resource for figuring out customer needs. How are customers finding your brand online and what are they typing into the search box to find it? Doing keyword research can give you a broad overview of what your customers need based on search data. Keyword research will also help you optimize your site for search engines by aligning the content of your site with what customers are searching for.

If you design your process with these things in mind, you'll be able to uncover consumer needs at any stage of their lifecycle. You can take a deeper dive into their needs by conducting a customer needs analysis.

What is a customer needs analysis?

A customer needs analysis is used in product development and branding to provide an in-depth analysis of the customer to ensure that the product or message offers the benefits, attributes, and features needed to provide the customer with value.

To conduct a customer needs analysis successfully, you need to do the following:

1. Customer Needs Analysis Survey

The customer needs analysis is typically conducted by running surveys that help companies figure out their position in their respective competitive markets and how they stack up in terms of meeting their target customers' needs.

The survey should primarily ask questions about your brand and competitors, as well as customers' product awareness and brand attitudes in general.

Questions can include:

• Questions about positive and negative word associations with your brand
• Questions asking customers to group your brand in with similar and/or competing brands
• Questions comparing and sorting brands according to their preferences for usage

You can learn more about which questions to ask in this survey in our guide and this guide from dummies.

2. Means-End Analysis

Once you've conducted the customer needs analysis survey, you can use the answers to get a fuller picture of the reasons why your customers purchase from you, and what makes your product or service stand apart from your competitors.

A means-end analysis analyzes those answers to determine the primary reasons why a customer would buy your product. Those buyer reasons can be divided into three main groups:

1. Features: A customer buys a product or service because of the features included in the purchase. If the customer were buying a computer, for example, they might buy it because it's smaller and more lightweight than other options.

2. Benefits: A customer buys a product or service because of a benefit, real or perceived, they believe it will offer them. The customer might also buy the computer because it syncs easily with their other devices wirelessly.

3. Values: A customer buys a product or service for unique, individual values, real or perceived, they believe it will help them fulfill. The customer might think the computer will help them to be more creative or artistic and unlock other personal or professional artistic opportunities.

As you might imagine, these reasons for purchasing something can vary from customer to customer, so it's important to conduct these customer surveys, collect the answers, and group them into these three categories. From there, you can identify which of those motivating factors you're solving for, and which you can improve on to make your product or service even more competitive in the market.

3. Customer Feedback

If you want to know what your customers think about the experience of working with your company, ask them. Interviewing your customers and members of your service team can contribute to a customer needs analysis and improvements to your customer lifecycle .

As you gather data from your customer needs analysis, it's important to identify the points of friction that your customers experience and the moments in their journey that provide unexpected delight.

• What can your company change?
• What are the elements that you can build from?
• What parts of the experience needs to be worked on?

Asking these questions can lead you to valuable insights as you work to solve for your customers.

How to Solve for Customer Needs

The first step to solving for your customers is to put yourself in their shoes: If you were the customer when we purchase your goods, use your technology, or sign up for your services, what would prevent you from achieving ultimate value?

Your customer needs analysis is a good starting point for getting in the mind of your customer, especially when it comes to identifying common pain points. From there, you can build a proactive plan to implement your customer-first values throughout the customer lifecycle. Here are some tips for doing so:

1. Offer consistent company-wide messaging.

Too often customers get caught up in the "he said, she said" game of being told a product can do one thing from sales and another from support and product. Ultimately, customers become confused and are left with the perception that the company is disorganized.

Consistent internal communications across all departments is one of the best steps toward a customer-focused mindset. If the entire company understands its goals, values, product, and service capabilities, then the messages will easily translate to meet the customers’ needs.

To get everyone on the same page, organize sales and customer service meetings, send out new product emails, provide robust new employee onboarding, and require quarterly training and seminars or staff-hosted webinars to share important projects.

2. Provide instructions for easy adoption.

Customers purchase a product because they believe it will meet their needs and solve their problem. However, adoption setup stages are not always clear. If best practices aren't specified at the start and they don't see value right away, it's an uphill battle to gain back their trust and undo bad habits.

A well-thought-out post-purchase strategy will enable your products or services to be usable and useful.

One way companies gain their customers' attention is providing in-product and email walkthroughs and instructions as soon as the customer receives a payment confirmation. This limits the confusion, technical questions, and distractions from the immediate post-purchase euphoria.

A customer education guide or knowledge base is essential to deliver proper customer adoption and avoid the ‘floundering effect' when customers are stuck. Other companies provide new customer onboarding services, host live demos and webinars and include events and promotions in their email signatures .

3. Build feedback loops into every stage of the process.

Lean into customer complaints and suggestions, and it will change the way you operate your business. Criticism often has negative connotations. However, if you flip problems to opportunities you can easily improve your business to fit the customer's needs.

Just as you solicited customer feedback in your needs analysis, you can keep a pulse on how your customers feel at scale with customer satisfaction scores , customer surveys , exploration customer interviews, social media polls, or personal customer feedback emails.

If you're able to incorporate this into a repeatable process, you'll never be in the dark about the state of the customer experience in your organization, and you'll be enabled to continue improving it.

Take customer suggestions seriously and act on those recommendations to improve design, product, and system glitches. Most customer support success metrics are paramount to the customer experience and this mentality should trickle down to every aspect of the organization.

4. Nurture customer relationships.

When a customer buys a product or service, they want to use it right away and fulfill their immediate need. Whether they are delighted within the first hour, week, or a month, it's important to constantly think about their future needs.

Proactive relationship-building is essential to prevent customers from losing their post-purchase excitement and ultimately churning. If customers stop hearing from you and you don't hear from them this can be a bad sign that they are about to churn .

Companies solve for customer relationships with a combination of customer service structure and communication strategies. Solve for the long-term customer need and create a customer service team dedicated to check-ins and customer retention , show appreciation with rewards and gifts to loyal customers, host local events, highlight employees that go above and beyond and communicate product updates and new features.

5. Solve for the right customer needs.

Excluding customers from your cohort of business can seem counterintuitive to solve for your customers' needs. However, understanding whose needs you can fulfill and whose you cannot is a major step toward solving the right problems. All customers' needs can't be treated equally and a company must recognize which problems they can solve and ones that aren't aligned with their vision.

To find the right customer priorities, create buyer personas and uncover consumer trends, look at customer's long-term retention patterns, establish a clear company vision, provide premier customer service to valuable customers and communicate with your ideal customer in their preferred social media space to capture questions, comments, and suggestions.

Successful startups, brick-and-mortar shops, and Fortune 500 companies solve and prioritize customer needs to stay ahead and establish industry trends.

6. Provide great customer service.

If a problem arises, your customers want to get it resolved and feel heard in the process. This starts with being able to meet their needs with empathy, but along the way, the process for obtaining support should be easy and on a channel that's convenient for them.

Some customer needs are time-sensitive and require immediate interaction via phone or chat. Others are less critical and can be resolved at a more casual pace. Let's break down the types of customer service and how each optimizes your team's ability to fulfill customer needs.

• Social Media
• Call Back Service
• Customer Self-Service
• Interactive Virtual Assistant
• Integrated Customer Service

Email is one of the most fundamental forms of customer service. It allows customers to fully describe their problems, and it automatically records the conversation into a resourceful thread. Customers only have to explain their issue once, while reps can reference important case details without having to request additional information.

Email is best used with customer needs that don't need to be resolved right away. Customers can ask their question, go back to work, and return to the case once the service rep has found a solution. Unlike phones or chat, they don't have to wait idly while a rep finds them an answer.

One limitation of email is the potential lack of clarity. Some customers have trouble describing their problem, and some service reps struggle to explain solutions. This creates time-consuming roadblocks when the issue is overly complex. To be safe, use email for simple problems that require a brief explanation or solution.

When customers have problems that need to be answered immediately, phones are the best medium to use. Phones connect customers directly to reps and create a human interaction between the customer and the business. Both parties hear each other's tone and can gauge the severity of the situation. This human element is a major factor in creating delightful customer experiences.

Phones come in handy most when there's a frustrated or angry customer. These customers are most likely to churn and require your team to provide a personalized solution. Your team can use soft communication skills to appease the customer and prevent costly escalations. These responses appear more genuine on the phone because reps have less time to formulate an answer.

The most common flaw with phone support is the wait time. Strive for shorter wait times as 33% of customers are frustrated by being waiting on hold. Customers hate being put on hold, and it's a determining factor for customer churn .

Chat is one of the most flexible customer service channels. It can solve a high volume of simple problems or provide detailed support for complex ones. Businesses continue to adopt chat because of its versatility as well as the improvement in efficiency it provides for customer service reps.

When it comes to solving customer needs, chat can be used to solve almost any problem. Simple and common questions can be answered with chatbots that automate the customer service process. For more advanced roadblocks, reps can integrate customer service tools into their chat software to help them diagnose and resolve issues.

The limitations of chat are similar to those of email. However, since the interaction is live, any lack of clarity between the two parties can drastically impact troubleshooting. As a former chat rep, there were plenty of times where I struggled to get on the same page as my customer. Even though we resolved the issue, that miscommunication negatively impacted the customer's experience.

4. Social Media

Social media is a relatively new customer service channel. While it's been around for over a decade, businesses are now beginning to adopt it as a viable service option. That's because social media lets customers immediately report an issue. And since that report is public, customer service teams are more motivated to resolve the customer's problem.

Social media is an excellent channel for mass communication, which is particularly useful during a business crisis. When a crisis occurs, your customers' product and service needs become the primary concern of your organization. Social media is an effective tool for communicating with your customers in bulk. With a social media crisis management plan , your team can continue to fulfill customer needs during critical situations.

Social media is different from other types of customer service because it empowers the customer the most. Customers tend to have more urgent needs and expect instant responses from your accounts. While this type of service presents an enormous opportunity, it also places tremendous pressure on your reps to fulfill customer demand. Be sure your team is equipped with proper social media management tools before you offer routine support.

5. In Person

As the oldest form of customer service, you're probably familiar with working in person with customers. Brands who have brick-and-mortar stores must offer this service for customers living near their locations. This fulfills a convenience need as customers can purchase and return a product without having to ship it back to the company through an online service.

In-person customer service is great for businesses with strong service personnel. Without dedicated employees, your customer service team won't be able to fulfill your customers' product or service needs. Successful teams have reps who are determined to provide above-and-beyond customer service .

5. Call Back Service

Sometimes it's not about how quickly your business can provide a solution, but rather how efficient you can make the service experience. For example, say a customer has a simple question about pricing that should only take a few minutes to answer, but their expected wait time for phone service is over 15 minutes. Rather than making this customer spend more time on hold than actually speaking with a representative, you can offer a call back service where your team reaches out to the customer as soon as the next rep is available.

Another situation where this type of service comes in handy is with text-based mediums like email and live chat. In some cases, these channels aren't ideal for troubleshooting and can lead to friction if the case isn't transferred to another platform. Having a call back service available allows customers to schedule time to speak directly with reps, particularly when they feel like they aren't gaining progress on their case. Instead of having to create a completely new support ticket , call backs seamlessly transition the conversation to a more effective channel.

6. Customer Self-Service

Self-service teaches your customers how to solve problems independently from your support team. Rather than calling or emailing your business whenever they need assistance, customers can navigate to your knowledge base and access resources that help them troubleshoot issues on their own. Not only does this get customers faster solutions, but it also saves them from having to open a ticket with your team. This makes the experience feel much less like a formal support case and more like a quick roadblock that your customers can handle on their own.

Self-service is advantageous for your team's productivity as well. If more customers use your knowledge base, less will call or email your team for help. This will free your reps up more to focus on complex service cases that require a longer time commitment.

7. Interactive Virtual Assistant

Chatbots are no longer novelties that customer service teams use to show off their technological prowess. Now, they're integral pieces of support strategies as they act more like interactive virtual assistants than simple, question-and-answer bots. Today's chatbots are powered by innovative AI technology that interprets customer needs and can walk people through step-by-step solutions.

Image Source

The image above shows a perfect example of how useful today's virtual assistants can be. In this situation, the customer is learning how to use their new car — a product that typically offers a lot of unique features and an extensive operator's manual. To help new users navigate the car's basic features, this brand offers an augmented reality tour hosted by a virtual assistant. The user simply has to scroll their camera over different parts of the car and the chatbot will tell them everything they need to know.

Interactive features like this show that you're investing in more than just product development. You're thinking about how you'll support customers and what services you can adopt that will make their lives easier. Customers pay attention to this type of customer service and it can often be a reason why many will return to your business.

8. Integrated Customer Service

Integrated service can be described as all of the little things your brand does to remove pain points from the customer experience. Some of this is proactive, like sending customers an automated newsletter that informs them about major updates or announcements, and some of it is reactive, like pinging a customer success manager whenever someone submits negative feedback to your team.

Even though these pain points may seem small, they add up over time if left unchecked. The best way to remove most of these points of friction is to adopt automation as you grow your customer base. Automated customer service tools like ticketing systems, help desks, and workflows help your team keep pace with increasing customer demand. This technology lets you maintain that same level of personalized customer service even as more people reach out to your business for support.

There's no "best" type of customer service. Each medium complements the other and optimizes your overall performance when used together. This creates an omni-channel experience for your customers which will keep them coming back for more.

What do customers want from a typical customer service situation?

It’s important to note that customer service is reactive. That said, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure you’re providing excellent customer service.

• Listen : While it’s normal to want to quickly get customers in and out of your service queue, it’s important to actually listen to what their issue is before giving them a solution. They may have a more nuanced issue that a boilerplate response can’t provide. There’s nothing more frustrating than providing customers with a canned response that doesn’t actually solve their issue. Automation is great, but just ensure that it is helping customers.
• Don’t Make Customers Repeat Information: No one wants to answer or submit the same questions repeatedly . Not only is it inconvenient, it shows the customer that no one is listening or paying attention. If you have a ticketing system, review the customer’s history or profile to get familiar with their situation before responding.
• Be Pleasant: Tone is much harder to convey over written communication and can unintentionally come across as cold. To convey some warmth you could introduce phrases like “I’d be happy to help with that,” or “Hope your day/week is going well.”
• Be Responsive : Not only do customers want their problem solved, but they prefer it’s resolved quickly. If you can’t solve their issue easily when they first contact you, set expectations around when it will be resolved (24hrs, 2 business days?) and keep them in the loop. Don’t ghost them.

What Customers Want

• Simple Solutions
• Personalization
• Transparency
• Accessibility

Each customer has their own unique needs, but there are a few that are universal.

1. Simple Solutions

While your product or service may run using a complex set of algorithms and procedures, customers don’t need to know that. They simply want a solution that resolves their issue with as little fuss as possible. Keep your messaging simple and focus on how your brand will solve the customer’s problem.

2. Personalization

Treat your customers like people and not numbers on a spreadsheet. Zendesk found that 54% of customers expect all experiences to be personalized. Use their name in communications and tailor your messaging to the buyer persona they most closely align with. Adding a personal touch when it comes to marketing lets customers know that their needs are at the forefront of your brand’s mission.

Does your product or service outperform the competition or provide a more cost effective solution for consumers? If so, drive that point home in your messaging. Explain how and why they should choose your product or service over others on the market. How will customers benefit when they choose your brand?

4. Transparency

One of the easiest ways to build trust with consumers is to be transparent. No one wants to feel duped by disingenuous, bait-and-switch advertising. Be honest about your product or service’s capabilities and pricing whenever possible.

5. Accessibility

While it is always encouraged to empower customers to help themselves with features like a knowledge base, getting extra assistance when they need it shouldn’t be difficult. Whether it’s phone, email, or chat support, it’s important to be responsive to consumer needs. At the beginning of this article we identified accessibility as one of the most common types of customer needs. If your team is unresponsive to their needs, customers will trade your brand in for a competitor that fills the gap.

Understanding Customer Needs and Expectations

One of the best things you can do is continue learning based on the types of issues that come up so that you can proactively address consumer needs and continue improving on the experience.

While the process requires quite a bit of legwork, the results will be instrumental in the success of your brand. Once you understand customer needs and expectations, you can work towards delighting them with your product.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

6 Companies That Saw Customer Acquisition Soar (And How They Did It)

4 Customer Acquisition Challenges You Might Face This Year

POS Reports: How to Use Them To Grow Your Customer Base

The Hard Truth About Acquisition Costs (and How Your Customers Can Save You)

What’s a Subscription Business Model & How Does It Work?

What is a Good LTV to CAC Ratio?

How to Build a Strong Customer Referral Program in 2023 [Ideas & Examples]

Customer Acquisition Cost: How to Calculate CAC [+Benchmarks & Formulas to Know]

Customer Acquisition vs. Retention: Where Should You Focus in 2023?

How to Ask for a Referral From a Client [+ Best Email Templates]

Free templates to build customer profiles for your marketing, sales, and customer service teams.

Service Hub provides everything you need to delight and retain customers while supporting the success of your whole front office

• (855) 776-7763

All Products

Knowledge Base

Survey Maker

ProProfs.com

• Get Started Free

Do you want a free Help Desk?

We have the #1 Online Help Desk Software for delightful customer support

10 Common Customer Service Problems and How to Resolve Them

Help desk & customer support specialists

The ProProfs Help Desk Editorial Team is a diverse group of professionals passionate about help desk management. We update you on the latest trends, dive into technical topics, and offer insights to elevate your business.

Customer. Vendor. Seller. Buyer.

All of them have been around since the concept of commerce started.

Fast forward to 2020.

Today, it is all about the ‘Age of the Customer’. Businesses have grown more concerned; some may say, even obsessed with how their customers are treated. 

And rightfully so. 

It only takes one bad experience for the customer to swear off your business forever. 

By the same logic, one outstanding customer experience can convert them into loyal brand ambassadors, lifelong. 

So, what is the most natural solution to ensure that your relationship with your customers becomes better? 

Isn’t the answer pretty obvious?

You can have a great product and a very talented staff. But the one thing that the majority of customers will remember in all likelihood is the direct interaction they had with your business. 

And who is at the forefront of this experience? Your customer service team, of course!

Great Customer Service Can Be an Asset to Your Business

The bottom line is that your customer service department is the face of the company for your customers. Any experience that they have is primarily a direct outcome of the quality and skill of the team. 

Hence, any strong business will look to harness the power of customer service to develop positive relationships with the clients. But if you are a proactive company, you will keep asking the questions, “ What is good customer service? ”

The core value of outstanding customer service is centralized around attending to the needs and expectations of your customers through careful listening. Therefore, to prevent the relationship from stagnating, you have to be constantly looking out for newer and innovative opportunities for experience enhancement. 

Improving Customer Service Standards by Addressing  Problems Head-on

Your customers are interacting with your business pretty much every day. It is clear that at some stage, your team will encounter roadblocks and challenges. 

The success of your business will depend on how skillfully you handle your customer service problems .

Remember, if you can resolve these issues successfully, you would have won a customer for their lifetime. They will return to you again and again, thus, boosting revenue and profits. 

On the other hand, if the handling is poor, expect your customers to bolt to your closest competitor. And with it goes your revenue too. 

So, the question remains that in spite of knowing the benefits of a positive customer service experience, why is it so hard to deliver it consistently? 

Everyone knows that customer service jobs are really challenging. And a problematic customer is probably the icing on the cake. 

Problems, queries, and complaints, you never know what’s in store for you next. Some days you could be solving customer problems for one distressed client, whereas other days can feel like a train wreck. And your job is to salvage it all.  And end it all on a high note.

Customer service is no rocket science.  But if it’s that simple, then why do so many businesses do not know how to solve customer service problems? 

Maybe looking and analyzing the reasons behind common customer service problems as reported by consumers can be a step in the right direction. 

Let’s take a closer look at the solutions that can help you get your customer service standards up in the process. 

1. When the Response Times Are Long

Customers today expect communication with service departments to be instant. In fact, they want immediate resolution of their concerns too. This is, indisputably, the first in the long list of the common problem with customer service that needs to be addressed by businesses. 

Check out the reasons why this major problem occurs frequently:

• If the company does not establish a standard set of processes and practices to the field, answer and evaluate responses
• If there is no accountability on the part of the agent if response times have been really prolonged
• If agents end up doing a lot of manual work in the absence of adequate automation
• If agents are not trained to handle multiple queries simultaneously

To drive yourself back into the fast lane, you need to do the following:

• Create a process that outlines the workflow of what an agent should do when he or she receives a customer query with the focus of handling it promptly and efficiently
• Ensure that your agents are aware of their roles and responsibilities along with who they are accountable to if and when there are lapses in service
• Make use of technology and automation that helps take care of some of the repetitive tasks through a combination of canned  responses that are framed to expedite the workflow
• Allow your customers to reach you via multiple channels including email, website chat, phone, hosted with  contact center technology , social, text message and allocate resources accordingly
• Start creating a knowledge base to pre-package responses to the most commonly asked questions which also ensures that your service team remains consistent with their levels of service

Customer service issues, if left unattended, can be a frustrating experience for your client. Be proactive and keep your customers informed of how you aim to address their issues quickly.

2. When Customer Reps Do Not Listen Carefully to What the Client Needs

Your customer service problem-solving starts by diving due importance to listening. This is often overlooked, which may result in catching the customer service agent off guard with questions to which you may not have the appropriate answer.

You may not want to be in a position where you have to listen to customers complaining. Unless you give your full attention to what the customer is saying, it will be difficult to understand what they need or how to service their problem. 

You can land up in this situation due to the following reasons:

• If the customer finds it difficult to explain the issue due to a lack of knowledge of relevant technical terms
• If the customer has been disappointed with the product or service as it did not meet their expectations
• If you simply do not know the answer to the concern because you did not pay attention to what the customer said

To help you deliver the right resolution, you can do the following:

• Ensure that you have understood the issue about what the customer requires and double-check the problem if required
• Follow it up with a genuine apology because many customers are simply looking for an acknowledgment of the mistake made by the business
• If you do not have a solution right away, then admit it to the customer right away
• On the other hand, if a ready solution is available, then share it with the customer immediately.

A study published in the Harvard Business Review reported that a complaining customer handled proactively in less than 5 minutes will go on to spend more on purchases in the future.

Y our agents should be quick to understand and analyze customer problems.

Remember that empathy, too, begins with active listening.  Wouldn’t you call this an ideal customer service problem example ?

3. When the Customer Gets Transferred from One Department to Another

When people engage with businesses, and it does not turn out as per their expectations, it is the ultimate death knell to your reputation.

When a customer keeps getting transferred from one agent or department to another, it ensures that a customer will never return to you or your business in the future. Neither will they recommend you to people they know. This brings us to the second most common customer service problem.

Here are some reasons why a customer call may get transferred:

• If the customer agent does not have a ready solution to the query that has been put forward by the client
• If the rep is not the appropriate individual to offer a resolution to the issue
• If the agent feels that a superior will be able to offer a better solution to the problem

To ensure that the customer is not enraged, this is what you can do to pacify the situation before transferring the customer:

• Inform the customer the reason, why you need to transfer the call to another agent, senior manager or department
• Explain the present situation in detail so that the customer understands that sticking with you may take more time to resolve the issue
• Request permission to transfer the call and ask if the customer has any further questions that need answering
• Wait for a confirmation in the affirmative and then initiate the transfer

Remember that the customer may already be on the brink of losing it if the call has already been transferred several times. Try not to push him any further than you need to. You do want the experience to end on a positive tone.

4. When Customer Service Reps Are Rude to Clients

This is possibly the worst-case scenario for a business where the customer service rep has been rude to the client. You can’t deny that this is a tough situation to handle and is best avoided under all circumstances. 

No matter how frustrated or high-pitched a customer might go at the time of conversing with a service agent, it does not give the rep the license to be rude to the customer in any way. Generally, such situations are handled by an experienced manager.

Circumstances that can lead them in the direction of being rude to the customer include:

• If the customer constantly challenges what the agent is trying to communicate to mitigate the situation to the best of their abilities
• If the customer is rude and abusive to the agent without any provocation from the rep’s side
• If the customer service agent has personal issues that he or she could not put aside whilst attending to customer calls

Following these guidelines can help you tackle even a sticky situation such as this:

• You need a team of service personnel with a positive and can-do attitude against hiring people just on the basis of their experience
• Ensure that they are empathetic to customer needs, no matter how badly the customer behaves or speaks
• Invest time and effort to upskill your team, especially in soft skills, through ongoing training and development programs

For now, it may seem like a rather far-fetched strategy to take care of a critical customer service problem and solution. In due course of time, you will see that it was worth the effort.

5. When You Cannot Offer A Solution to The Customer

There will be times when you may not have an instant solution for the customer. Telling that to the customer can be slightly tricky, especially if you notice that the customer is already annoyed. But dealing with an angry customer is part of the job description, and there is really no way of escaping it.

Customer service reps are only human and may not be able to offer a resolution of customer queries on the first contact. When customers have to chat or call the service department multiple times, it can be a hassle for them.

There may be several reasons why agents may not be able to offer immediate solutions. These include:

• If the business has encountered this specific customer query for the very first time in which case the solution guidelines have not been outlined for reference
• If the customer service rep has not received adequate training or information on the company, its goals, products, and services
• If the agent simply does not know the answer to the query because he or she has not proactively kept themselves updated on all relevant information and knowledge

You can go through possible solutions options in a scenario such as this:

• The agent can refer the query to a more experienced colleague or manager in the absence of an outline to the solution 
• The company should pass on all relevant information to their customer service department and follow it up with periodic training sessions
• The agent should also invest time in learning about the company, their products, and services, etc. on their own
• Let the customer know that resolving the issue will take time and promise to get back within a reasonable timeline with the solution the query

Even though this is not the ideal situation to end the conversation, it is a common occurrence in customer service. Just make sure that whenever you get back to the customer, the solution should be able to meet their expectations.

A very important and viable solution here can be an updated knowledge base that the support reps should have access to as and when they need it. This will reduce the chances of inadequate or incorrect information being passed by reps to the customers.  That’s a great customer service problem-solving example that anyone can refer to.

6. When Customers Cannot Get A Live Human Being

Be it  live chat tools or phones, technology has allowed a significant percentage of customer service processes to be automated. While the life of a customer service agent has been simplified to a large extent, most customers find it really annoying to have a real human dealing with their issues.

Customers today want to talk to humans, not machines. This brings us to another key customer service issue that is quite common these days.

The top reasons why businesses are prioritizing automation in their customer service processes are:

• If the business is looking to minimize customer wait times and reduce friction, then automation is the obvious answer
• If the business wants to prioritize and attribute tasks efficiently through workflow automation
• If the business hopes to reduce resource costs in which case automating some of the tasks can be beneficial
• If the business is trying to attract a newer demographic who are not averse to conversing with a chatbot or IVR

Here is how you can avoid some of the pitfalls:

• Pick the right tasks such as repetitive jobs, resources for self-service ,  FAQs , knowledge bases, etc. that can be automated with a knowledge base software which also prevents you from alienating your customers
• Merge your service channels by converting them into an omnichannel strategy to collaborate effectively and efficiently ensuring that information silos do not happen
• Automation should be undertaken to support your human team and not as a substitute for your live agents
• Always request feedback to keep abreast of any change in customer opinion regarding the automation of your processes, either partially or fully

Automation requires a lot of planning to make sure it is successful in offering the right customer experience to your clients. Too much of it can undermine the goals of achieving good customer service. Now, this looks like the perfect customer service problem and solution example. Wouldn’t you agree?

7. When Customer Service Pushes the Wrong Product or Service

This situation can arise if the customer has a specific product or service-related query or maybe needs guidance to decide on, which is a suitable variant or model that will fit best with their needs.

Many times, customer service agents adopt a ‘ one size fits all ’ kind of approach. This may result in them pushing a product or service to the customer, thus, adversely impacting their experience with the business. 

• If there is a serious lack of knowledge on the part of the agent where he or she does not know the USPs of specific products or services
• If the agent is unable to perform a competitive analysis of the buyer’s needs which may result in a guesstimate rather than an accurate evaluation
• If the rep does not take into account the customer’s interaction history , the products or services that interest him or her, what they’ve searched for in the past, and which pages on the site they have been browsing the most 

You need to do the following to get into the customer’s good books:

• Always listen to the customer’s requirements carefully and then carry out a detailed analysis to recommend the right product or service 
• Indulge in some thorough visitor tracking to know what or where the customer has been browsing on your site
• Keep yourself updated with the latest product and service information including features, benefits, prices, and freebies

Your customer is looking up to you for directions. Presenting him or her with a range of helpful suggestions will ensure that you drive the conversation on a positive note. All staff should be trained so that customers receive a consistently delightful, not just satisfactory experience.

Using live chat software that helps you track customer history as soon as the customer says its first word can make things easier for you. Live Chat comes with a plethora of features that help you access customer information in real time  and provide solutions that delight customers.

8. When Customer Service Does Not Follow Through with Promise

If the customer service department is unable to offer an instant solution to the client, they will ideally make a promise to deliver it within a stipulated period. In many instances, it has been observed that service reps are repeatedly missing to live up to what they’ve promised the customer.

This brings us to the next customer service problem of reps not following through with the promise that they have made to the customer. It can be infuriating when the issue remains unsolved due to this.

This customer service problem goes against the very ethos of the profession. However, some reasons why this may still happen are:

• If the processes are not in place to ensure that the agent receives alerts and notifications of an open ticket on time
• If the customer service agent is not proactive in passing the information to all relevant teams who need to be involved in solving the issue
• If the customer support agent is just plain lazy and not bothered about closing the issues with the customer

The following strategies can help fix the above-mentioned issues:

• When the agent follow-up on time, customers feel that they are cared for, which automatically increases customer trust and reliability in the brand
• Do not leave a lot of time gap between your last conversation and the follow-up and the faster you reach out, better are the chances of turning an average experience into a great one
• If the customer has contacted your service department during office hours, be sure to return the call, and email within 24 hours
• Try and avoid ‘Yes’ or ‘NO’ responses when you are following up with the client as opposed to asking more open-ended questions to get more information

No matter what the reason or type of follow-through is, always remember to thank your customers for continuing to be loyal patrons of your brand. A simple ‘Thank You’ will suffice. Streamline processes with the integration of a helpdesk software to ensure that the customer experience is top-notch.

9. When There Is Lack of Customer Centricity

It is easy to lose the culture of customer centricity as the business keeps expanding and growing. When you fail to place the customer at the core of your business, eventually, everything starts falling apart.

Temkin’s State of Voice of the Customer Programs 2017 report cited that 67% of large companies rated themselves as good at soliciting customer feedback , yet only 26% think they are good at acting on it.

This brings us to the next problem with customer service, where it is internal barriers are leading to behaviors that are detracting businesses from promoting a customer-centric culture.

Check these top reasons why customer-centricity issues are not being addressed:

• If the management and top leadership is weak, there will be little or no opportunities to develop the business as a customer-centric organization and this emotion percolates right to the depths of the customer service department too
• If the customer agents are weak and untrained, they will not be able to assess customer needs and expectations effectively
• If there is an overall lack of vision, the customer service department can never excel at their jobs as excellent customer service starts right from the top

Some of these tips can help get you on track:

• Strengthen communication channels between the executive, mid-level, and frontline teams
• Create a more holistic picture of your customers by continually communicating, sharing goals, and linking information and data for arriving at evidence-based decisions
• Empower your service agents to make decisions that also propel customer growth strategies

With a vision that is purpose-driven and a clear path forward will help to draw upon emotional belief systems and team member rationale to walk the talk of a customer-centric organization.

10. When Customer Service Is Not Aligned to Customer Journey

Bad customer experience at any point in the customer journey can absolutely ruin the relationship between the client and the business. Just having a good team in place is not enough. The service team should be aligned with the needs and desires of the customers throughout their lifecycle.  

This brings us to the last problem with customer service, where businesses are not paying adequate attention to getting their customer service workflow in line with the customer’s lifecycle. 

The key reasons are:

• If the business fails to recognize the importance of mapping the customer journey that is aligned with your brand
• If the top leadership is unable to comprehend the worth of mapping customer journeys to help achieve organizational goals
• If the management is not aware of how customer journey mapping can drive growth and offer profitability for the business

Follow these guidelines to succeed:

• Get out of the inside-out perspective of customer journeys because it is grounded with a biased viewpoint
• Focus on how customers and prospects interact with the brand over multiple touchpoints including your website and social channels, outbound marketing , sales team and customer service department
• Do not make the mistake of overlooking all relevant participants in the customer journey or your risk transforming the customer map into a superficial tool with little or no value

Always base your customer mapping on research that will help your service agents to understand the customer experience from the outside-in. Remember to capture the entire journey and always highlight the key moments that push your customers to stay on the course of their purchase path. 

Wrapping Up

Competition is fierce in this global marketplace, and customer service problems are inevitable. And sometimes it can be quite overwhelming to keep up with the ever-evolving innovations that have tremendous control over your customer experience, no matter how good your business is. 

It will always be outstanding customer service that will make them come back for more. People want to feel special. By addressing their customer service problems, you want your customers to walk away from the interaction feeling not only satisfied with the outcome but valued, understood, and prioritized. Try to adopt the solutions mentioned above and wherever required make use of a competent customer support tool  to upgrade your customer service and delight your customers.

Let’s read through some frequently asked questions in the context of customer service problems and how to resolve them:

Why is customer service problem solving important?

It is crucial to solve customer service problems because you want your customers to be happy and satisfied. It also allows the business to identify gaps in their service and figure out a course of action to take corrective measures. 

With a positive image of the brand, your customers will be more than happy to recommend it to their family and friends. 

How do you write a problem statement for a customer?

A problem statement for a customer primarily involves writing out the detailed description of a specific issue raised by a client that needs to be addressed by the team responsible for problem-solving. 

Start by describing the present condition of the customer’s situation and explain the problem from a customer perspective. Outline any possible financial implications that may be incurred as a result of solving the problem. Without evidentiary support, arriving at a final solution will be impossible. Conclude by explaining the obvious advantages of adopting the resolution.

What are the types of dissatisfied customers from customer service?

Generally, dissatisfied customers as a result of poor customer service can be classified into eight types – meek, aggressive, high roller, rip-off, expressive, passive, constructive, and chronic.

What are the problems faced by customers?

There are several common problems that customers face today. 

Topping the list is the lack of authentic information on products and services. Along with that, complex navigation to specific pages, followed by connection issues with digital payments, is also quite a hassle. Poor standards of customer service, after-sales service, and vague return policies also create problems for customers frequently.

How to solve customer service problems?

Handling customer service problems is never an easy job. While it may seem like a challenging process, remember that even the frustrated customer is looking for a solution. 

The best way to tackle such situations is by carefully listening to the issue at hand and without interruption. Acknowledge the issue and ensure that you have understood the concern from the customer’s point of view. Apologize and then offer a solution if it is readily available. 

Alternatively, if the issue needs more investigation or you do not have an instant resolution, communicate the same to the customer. End the call thanking the customer for calling in and asking if he or she needs any further assistance.

Remember that customer service means taking the good with the bad.

About the author

Proprofs editorial team.

The ProProfs Help Desk Editorial Team is a passionate group of customer service experts dedicated to improving your help desk operations with top-notch content. We stay ahead of the curve on trends, tackle technical hurdles, and provide practical tips to boost your business. With our commitment to quality and integrity, you can be confident you're getting the most reliable resources to enhance your customer support initiatives.

Popular Posts in This Category

Tips for Reducing Customer Complaints – 10 Simple Ways

Creating a Customer Centric Culture with Shep Hyken

How Support Desk Software Guarantees Customer Success

10 Post-Purchase Customer Experience Tips with Real Examples

What is Hotel Customer Service? Importance, Tips & Best Practices

These 5 Trends Will Define Great Customer Service

Success in your inbox

Get monthly insights handpicked by our editorial team. Act on it.

Connect with customers

LiveChat is a complete customer service platform that delights your customers and fuels your sales.

Trusted by 36,000+ companies

LiveChat helps you delight your customers and fuels your sales.

Showing top 0 results 0 results found, from crisis to solution: 10 steps to effective problem-solving.

• Post on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Post on LinkedIn
• Post on Reddit
• copy-button#copy track#send" data-controller="track" data-track-category="Success" data-track-action="Share" data-track-label="Copy link" > Copy link to clipboard Link copied to clipboard https://www.livechat.com/success/effective-problem-solving/

Whether you’re having a friendly debate about the best travel destination, struggling with online communication , or dealing with a complicated issue involving numerous departments and businesses, effective problem-solving requires a clear perspective and a rational action plan.

No matter your purpose, think of the following guide like a GPS, regularly updated to lead you to your destination. While the article concentrates on problem-solving in a business rather than persuading friends, you'll find these effective problem-solving techniques helpful in many other areas.

You’ll learn how to develop a clear perspective, generate effective solutions, evaluate options, and, ultimately, select the best course of action to solve problems. You can customize the steps to fit your unique situation and needs. Let's dive into the ten problem-solving steps to resolve the crisis and achieve your goals.

Ten steps to put out the fire, or problem-solving process

1. identify the problem.

In business and customer service, define the problem to ensure it is well-understood and addressed correctly. It's an absolute must among effective problem solvers, in unusual situations and in the most common customer service problems .

Gathering information from multiple sources and using problem-solving tools such as flowcharts or cause-and-effect diagrams can help identify the underlying causes of the problem. This will result in saving time and resources and improving the outcomes.

Identifying difficulties is among the most desirable problem-solving skills, especially in corporate structures with complex hierarchies and dependencies.

2. Understand the problem

The next step is to understand the underlying reasons for the problem. To do that, you need to gather relevant information and analyze it effectively. Avoiding these reasons or addressing them incorrectly is a surefire way to experience recurring issues and increased dissatisfaction. 

By understanding the reasons, you can develop long-term solutions that improve customer satisfaction and lead to overall success. Understanding and finding the cause is undoubtedly one of the underrated problem-solving skills.

3. Identify potential solutions

One of the most crucial aspects is identifying potential and practical solutions. How can you explore different options to come up with the best?

Brainstorming techniques can help generate creative and innovative business and customer service solutions. For example, a company may use brainstorming sessions to develop new product ideas or marketing strategies.

Customer service teams can also use brainstorming techniques to solve common customer complaints, such as long wait times or difficult-to-use interfaces. If you are looking for improvements, especially in this area, you will undoubtedly be interested in essential customer service skills .

Let's assume that you want to use proven brainstorming techniques.

Brainstorming techniques to consider 

• Mind mapping: A visual brainstorming technique that involves mapping out ideas and connecting them to related concepts. This technique helps individuals and teams explore all possible options and consider different perspectives to develop unique solutions.
• Reverse brainstorming: A technique that involves thinking of solutions that would make the problem worse instead of better. This technique helps individuals and teams identify potential obstacles and develop strategies to avoid them.
• SWOT analysis: A structured brainstorming technique that analyzes an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This technique helps individuals and teams identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to capitalize on opportunities and minimize hazards.
• Random word association: A technique that involves brainstorming ideas by randomly associating words with the problem. This technique helps individuals and teams break their usual thinking patterns and generate new and creative ideas.
• Role-playing: A technique that involves acting out different scenarios and perspectives related to the problem. This technique helps individuals and teams better understand the problem and develop empathy for the customer or stakeholders involved.

Unconventional techniques to consider

• SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse) - This technique encourages people to think outside the box and consider unconventional ways to approach a problem.
• Design thinking - This problem-solving approach puts the customer's needs and experiences at the forefront. It involves empathizing with the customer, defining the problem, ideating potential solutions, prototyping, and testing to refine the solution.
• Lateral thinking - This problem-solving technique encourages people to approach problems from different angles and perspectives. It involves breaking down assumptions and challenging traditional thinking methods to arrive at unexpected solutions.

Consider all possible options, including unconventional ones, to find problem-solving techniques that address the current problem and prevent similar issues in the future.

4. Evaluate potential solutions

Once you have identified potential solutions, focus on the most feasible, impactful, and effective option. How do you sift through them?

Evaluating potential solutions involves analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each option, considering the resources required, and assessing the potential impact on the organization or customers.

What are the most popular ways? Techniques such as cost-benefit analysis, risk analysis, and decision matrix can effectively help evaluate possible solutions.

5. Select the best solution

Techniques for selecting the best solution involve revisiting the evaluation criteria, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and selecting the option that best meets the requirements.

Additionally, you can seek customer feedback. Stakeholders can provide valuable insights into choosing the best solution to solve problems.

By choosing the best solution that aligns with the organization's goals, meets the customers' needs, and can be implemented using the available resources, you can address problems effectively and efficiently, leading to improved outcomes.

This translates into achieving organizational goals, meeting customer needs, enhancing customer satisfaction, increasing productivity, reducing costs, improving efficiency, effective communication, and more. 

6. Develop an action plan

Techniques for developing an action plan involve breaking down the solution into manageable tasks, setting clear timelines, assigning responsibilities, and identifying the resources required for implementation. Also, involve stakeholders in the action plan's development to get their support for the solution's success.

7. Implement the solution

After developing a detailed action plan, communicate it clearly and implement the solution effectively. This is likely one of the most desirable problem-solving skills.

To do so, allocate resources, assign responsibilities, and ensure all stakeholders understand their roles. Additionally, monitoring progress and addressing any issues that appear during the implementation can ensure the solution is implemented successfully.

8. Monitor and evaluate progress

Collecting and analyzing data is vital to assess the solution's effectiveness and determine if any adjustments are needed. This process involves regularly tracking key performance indicators and using customer and stakeholder feedback.

The latter offers valuable insights that help pinpoint opportunities for enhancement and make informed decisions.

By monitoring progress and evaluating results, individuals and organizations can ensure the implemented solution is efficient and sustainable over the long term.

This step also provides an opportunity to learn from experience and adjust as needed to achieve continuous improvement.

9. Learn from experience

The knowledge gathered throughout the process is key to learning from mistakes. It's also vital to reflect on the problem-solving process and identify what worked well and could be improved.

By analyzing the process, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing changes, you ensure that future problem-solving efforts are more effective.

Documenting the problem-solving process can also provide a reference for future efforts that individuals and organizations will face.

10. Standardize and sustain

If you've already collected the champagne corks and are sweeping up the last bits of confetti, it's worth remembering one last step.

To ensure that the problem does not reoccur and that the solution becomes standard practice for the organization, establish a standardized approach and maintain it over the long term.

The organization should document a working solution and create a standard operating procedure (SOP) outlining the necessary steps to establish the action key.

By doing so, every organization member will have a clear understanding of the required steps and how to execute them.

To sustain the solution, the organization should continue to monitor progress and evaluate results over time. This helps identify potential issues or areas for improvement and ensures that the solution remains effective over the long term.

In the ideal scenario, the organization should also provide ongoing training and support to ensure everyone is well-equipped with the problem-solving skills and knowledge to implement "the cure."

Practical problem-solving is an ongoing continuous improvement process, and remember that the problem may reoccur in the future.

Don’t strive for the perfect solution from the start, and embrace the issues that come along the way since they provide valuable learning opportunities.

Instead, maintain an attitude of perseverance and focus on finding solutions to new challenges as they arise, which can help you save time and reduce stress.

By adopting this mindset, you'll be better equipped to tackle any problem that comes your way. Good luck with your problem-solving endeavors!

Get a glimpse into the future of business communication with digital natives.

Keep the conversation going

• copy-button#copy track#send" data-controller="track" data-track-category="Success" data-track-action="Share" data-track-label="Copy link" > Copy link Link copied to clipboard https://www.livechat.com/success/effective-problem-solving/

Thanks for your comment!

It will go live straight after moderation. Come back soon!

Something's wrong

We are sorry! Please try again in few moments

Server error

Something went wrong. Please try again in few moments.

Related topics

LiveChat is a complete customer service platform that delights your customers and fuels your sales

You may also like

8 min read | Oct 05 | Justyna Polaczyk

How to Be More Productive at Work: 4 Productivity Methods You Can Start Using Today

Have you ever wondered how productive you are? How much of your time you’re slacking off... read more

16 min read | Feb 02 | Paweł Hałabuda

13 Common Customer Service Problems and How to Solve Them

In the fast-paced digital world, good customer service is more than just a nice-to-have;... read more

8 min read | Mar 27 | Olga Rogacka and Jacquelyn Dunham

15 Inspiring Quotes to Ignite Teamwork and Collaboration

Have you ever been part of a team where everything just clicked? The kind of team where... read more

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management
• Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team

• Harvard Business School →
• HBS Online →
• Business Insights →

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

• Career Development
• Communication
• Decision-Making
• Earning Your MBA
• Negotiation
• News & Events
• Productivity
• Staff Spotlight
• Student Profiles
• Work-Life Balance
• AI Essentials for Business
• Alternative Investments
• Business Analytics
• Business Strategy
• Business and Climate Change
• Design Thinking and Innovation
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Disruptive Strategy
• Economics for Managers
• Entrepreneurship Essentials
• Financial Accounting
• Global Business
• Launching Tech Ventures
• Leadership Principles
• Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
• Leading Change and Organizational Renewal
• Leading with Finance
• Management Essentials
• Negotiation Mastery
• Organizational Leadership
• Power and Influence for Positive Impact
• Strategy Execution
• Sustainable Business Strategy
• Sustainable Investing
• Winning with Digital Platforms

What Is Creative Problem-Solving & Why Is It Important?

• 01 Feb 2022

One of the biggest hindrances to innovation is complacency—it can be more comfortable to do what you know than venture into the unknown. Business leaders can overcome this barrier by mobilizing creative team members and providing space to innovate.

There are several tools you can use to encourage creativity in the workplace. Creative problem-solving is one of them, which facilitates the development of innovative solutions to difficult problems.

Here’s an overview of creative problem-solving and why it’s important in business.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is Creative Problem-Solving?

Research is necessary when solving a problem. But there are situations where a problem’s specific cause is difficult to pinpoint. This can occur when there’s not enough time to narrow down the problem’s source or there are differing opinions about its root cause.

In such cases, you can use creative problem-solving , which allows you to explore potential solutions regardless of whether a problem has been defined.

Creative problem-solving is less structured than other innovation processes and encourages exploring open-ended solutions. It also focuses on developing new perspectives and fostering creativity in the workplace . Its benefits include:

• Finding creative solutions to complex problems : User research can insufficiently illustrate a situation’s complexity. While other innovation processes rely on this information, creative problem-solving can yield solutions without it.
• Adapting to change : Business is constantly changing, and business leaders need to adapt. Creative problem-solving helps overcome unforeseen challenges and find solutions to unconventional problems.
• Fueling innovation and growth : In addition to solutions, creative problem-solving can spark innovative ideas that drive company growth. These ideas can lead to new product lines, services, or a modified operations structure that improves efficiency.

Creative problem-solving is traditionally based on the following key principles :

1. Balance Divergent and Convergent Thinking

Creative problem-solving uses two primary tools to find solutions: divergence and convergence. Divergence generates ideas in response to a problem, while convergence narrows them down to a shortlist. It balances these two practices and turns ideas into concrete solutions.

2. Reframe Problems as Questions

By framing problems as questions, you shift from focusing on obstacles to solutions. This provides the freedom to brainstorm potential ideas.

3. Defer Judgment of Ideas

When brainstorming, it can be natural to reject or accept ideas right away. Yet, immediate judgments interfere with the idea generation process. Even ideas that seem implausible can turn into outstanding innovations upon further exploration and development.

4. Focus on "Yes, And" Instead of "No, But"

Using negative words like "no" discourages creative thinking. Instead, use positive language to build and maintain an environment that fosters the development of creative and innovative ideas.

Creative Problem-Solving and Design Thinking

Whereas creative problem-solving facilitates developing innovative ideas through a less structured workflow, design thinking takes a far more organized approach.

Design thinking is a human-centered, solutions-based process that fosters the ideation and development of solutions. In the online course Design Thinking and Innovation , Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar leverages a four-phase framework to explain design thinking.

The four stages are:

• Clarify: The clarification stage allows you to empathize with the user and identify problems. Observations and insights are informed by thorough research. Findings are then reframed as problem statements or questions.
• Ideate: Ideation is the process of coming up with innovative ideas. The divergence of ideas involved with creative problem-solving is a major focus.
• Develop: In the development stage, ideas evolve into experiments and tests. Ideas converge and are explored through prototyping and open critique.
• Implement: Implementation involves continuing to test and experiment to refine the solution and encourage its adoption.

Creative problem-solving primarily operates in the ideate phase of design thinking but can be applied to others. This is because design thinking is an iterative process that moves between the stages as ideas are generated and pursued. This is normal and encouraged, as innovation requires exploring multiple ideas.

Creative Problem-Solving Tools

While there are many useful tools in the creative problem-solving process, here are three you should know:

Creating a Problem Story

One way to innovate is by creating a story about a problem to understand how it affects users and what solutions best fit their needs. Here are the steps you need to take to use this tool properly.

1. Identify a UDP

Create a problem story to identify the undesired phenomena (UDP). For example, consider a company that produces printers that overheat. In this case, the UDP is "our printers overheat."

2. Move Forward in Time

To move forward in time, ask: “Why is this a problem?” For example, minor damage could be one result of the machines overheating. In more extreme cases, printers may catch fire. Don't be afraid to create multiple problem stories if you think of more than one UDP.

3. Move Backward in Time

To move backward in time, ask: “What caused this UDP?” If you can't identify the root problem, think about what typically causes the UDP to occur. For the overheating printers, overuse could be a cause.

Following the three-step framework above helps illustrate a clear problem story:

• The printer is overused.
• The printer overheats.
• The printer breaks down.

You can extend the problem story in either direction if you think of additional cause-and-effect relationships.

4. Break the Chains

By this point, you’ll have multiple UDP storylines. Take two that are similar and focus on breaking the chains connecting them. This can be accomplished through inversion or neutralization.

• Inversion: Inversion changes the relationship between two UDPs so the cause is the same but the effect is the opposite. For example, if the UDP is "the more X happens, the more likely Y is to happen," inversion changes the equation to "the more X happens, the less likely Y is to happen." Using the printer example, inversion would consider: "What if the more a printer is used, the less likely it’s going to overheat?" Innovation requires an open mind. Just because a solution initially seems unlikely doesn't mean it can't be pursued further or spark additional ideas.
• Neutralization: Neutralization completely eliminates the cause-and-effect relationship between X and Y. This changes the above equation to "the more or less X happens has no effect on Y." In the case of the printers, neutralization would rephrase the relationship to "the more or less a printer is used has no effect on whether it overheats."

Even if creating a problem story doesn't provide a solution, it can offer useful context to users’ problems and additional ideas to be explored. Given that divergence is one of the fundamental practices of creative problem-solving, it’s a good idea to incorporate it into each tool you use.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a tool that can be highly effective when guided by the iterative qualities of the design thinking process. It involves openly discussing and debating ideas and topics in a group setting. This facilitates idea generation and exploration as different team members consider the same concept from multiple perspectives.

Hosting brainstorming sessions can result in problems, such as groupthink or social loafing. To combat this, leverage a three-step brainstorming method involving divergence and convergence :

• Have each group member come up with as many ideas as possible and write them down to ensure the brainstorming session is productive.
• Continue the divergence of ideas by collectively sharing and exploring each idea as a group. The goal is to create a setting where new ideas are inspired by open discussion.
• Begin the convergence of ideas by narrowing them down to a few explorable options. There’s no "right number of ideas." Don't be afraid to consider exploring all of them, as long as you have the resources to do so.

Alternate Worlds

The alternate worlds tool is an empathetic approach to creative problem-solving. It encourages you to consider how someone in another world would approach your situation.

For example, if you’re concerned that the printers you produce overheat and catch fire, consider how a different industry would approach the problem. How would an automotive expert solve it? How would a firefighter?

Be creative as you consider and research alternate worlds. The purpose is not to nail down a solution right away but to continue the ideation process through diverging and exploring ideas.

Continue Developing Your Skills

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, marketer, or business leader, learning the ropes of design thinking can be an effective way to build your skills and foster creativity and innovation in any setting.

If you're ready to develop your design thinking and creative problem-solving skills, explore Design Thinking and Innovation , one of our online entrepreneurship and innovation courses. If you aren't sure which course is the right fit, download our free course flowchart to determine which best aligns with your goals.

About the Author

The Five-Step Problem-Solving Process

Sometimes when you’re faced with a complex problem, it’s best to pause and take a step back. A break from…

Sometimes when you’re faced with a complex problem, it’s best to pause and take a step back. A break from routine will help you think creatively and objectively. Doing too much at the same time increases the chances of burnout.

Solving problems is easier when you align your thoughts with your actions. If you’re in multiple places at once mentally, you’re more likely to get overwhelmed under pressure. So, a problem-solving process follows specific steps to make it approachable and straightforward. This includes breaking down complex problems, understanding what you want to achieve, and allocating responsibilities to different people to ease some of the pressure.

The problem-solving process will help you measure your progress against factors like budget, timelines and deliverables. The point is to get the key stakeholders on the same page about the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the process. ( Xanax ) Let’s discuss the five-step problem-solving process that you can adopt.

Problems at a workplace need not necessarily be situations that have a negative impact, such as a product failure or a change in government policy. Making a decision to alter the way your team works may also be a problem. Launching new products, technological upgrades, customer feedback collection exercises—all of these are also “problems” that need to be “solved”.

Here are the steps of a problem-solving process:

1. Defining the Problem

The first step in the process is often overlooked. To define the problem is to understand what it is that you’re solving for. This is also where you outline and write down your purpose—what you want to achieve and why. Making sure you know what the problem is can make it easier to follow up with the remaining steps. This will also help you identify which part of the problem needs more attention than others.

2. Analyzing the Problem

Analyze why the problem occurred and go deeper to understand the existing situation.  If it’s a product that has malfunctioned, assess factors like raw material, assembly line, and people involved to identify the problem areas. This will help you figure out if the problem will persist or recur. You can measure the solution against existing factors to assess its future viability.

3. Weighing the Options

Once you’ve figured out what the problem is and why it occurred, you can move on to generating multiple options as solutions. You can combine your existing knowledge with research and data to come up with viable and effective solutions. Thinking objectively and getting inputs from those involved in the process will broaden your perspective of the problem. You’ll be able to come up with better options if you’re open to ideas other than your own.

4. Implementing The Best Solution

Implementation will depend on the type of data at hand and other variables. Consider the big picture when you’re selecting the best option. Look at factors like how the solution will impact your budget, how soon you can implement it, and whether it can withstand setbacks or failures. If you need to make any tweaks or upgrades, make them happen in this stage.

5. Monitoring Progress

The problem-solving process doesn’t end at implementation. It requires constant monitoring to watch out for recurrences and relapses. It’s possible that something doesn’t work out as expected on implementation. To ensure the process functions smoothly, you can make changes as soon as you catch a miscalculation. Always stay on top of things by monitoring how far you’ve come and how much farther you have to go.

You can learn to solve any problem—big or small—with experience and patience. Adopt an impartial and analytical approach that has room for multiple perspectives. In the workplace, you’re often faced with situations like an unexpected system failure or a key employee quitting in the middle of a crucial project.

Problem-solving skills will help you face these situations head-on. Harappa Education’s Structuring Problems course will show you how to classify and categorize problems to discover effective solutions. Equipping yourself with the right knowledge will help you navigate work-related problems in a calm and competent manner.

Explore topics such as  Problem Solving , the  PICK Chart ,  How to Solve Problems  & the  Barriers to Problem Solving  from our Harappa Diaries blog section and develop your skills.