Is there really a magical or powerful theory that would convert your customer service efforts in to business from a plethora of customers? Are your customer representatives skillfully strong to attract and keep customers? The answer seems to be yes if Customer Service is not seen as a stand-alone one department job. It may not be a KPI on someone’s job description, but serving your customers is and must be an extension of each and every employee’s job. The truth is that the company exists and the jobs therein are there because the company has customers. If your customers are happy and loyal, they give you increased business which leads to greater profit and success for you part of which you are able to pass on to every employee. Your happy customers, who have received great customer service, would be willing to spread a good word about your company that would ultimately benefit everyone in the organization. So why should engaging with customers and keeping them happy, be only the responsibility of the customer service team? True, to begin with it is their only focus and key performance indicator but customer satisfaction must be all pervasive within the company. Don’t undermine The Power of Great Customer Service!
[img src=”https://corp.yonyx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/443px-thumbnail-210×150.jpg” width=”” height=”” align=”right”] Great customer service is essentially the cornerstone for any company. It is this that speaks volumes of the company’s values and mission. A company that lends great focus to customer service will display this in all its actions – products or services, strategies, business processes and the way it engages with its customers. Great customer service is the first step of the ladder that leads to customers being happy, satisfied and displaying loyalty by remaining with your company. All these components are linked and together decide the fate of your company and its brand. When you as a company, starting with the customer service representatives, are able to gauge and comprehend what the customer wants and expects, you will not only be able to meet those demands, but also exceed them leading to your customer’s happiness and satisfaction. However, given the competition, the volatile market conditions and the ever increasing and changing customer demands, it would be unwise to take the current customer satisfaction levels as an absolute. A company and its representatives need to not just keep pace, but stay ahead by anticipating the next possible expectation of the customer. Having a robust and great customer service system in place will make your company tower over the competition and be noticed for all the good reasons.
All worth noting is that a customer is not making demands or having expectations, just for a lark. His or her prior experiences, the high or low standards set by your company in customer service and the market are all very valid reasons for expectations to change and become demands. Through the interaction with customer service, if a customer is able to perceive your product or service to be shrewd and spirited initiative that he or she stands to gain from, you will have for yourself a happy and satisfied customer. As your company builds and strengthens this relationship through outstanding customer service, that is innovative and effective, your customer’s satisfaction takes a turn towards loyalty. This is the pinnacle for you as a company since your hard-work has paid off and you have a customer that not only swears by your products but cannot stop raving about your great customer service. He or she will give you repeat business and is even ready to overlook any minor errors or omissions on the part of your company. You can be sure that he will talk positively about your company, albeit praising his or her own powers of negotiation, and influence his or her friends to approach you. Loyalty again cannot be taken for granted. A company that is dedicated in its customer service and has consistent customer centric processes is the one that will be able to garner more loyalty and be able to retain customers for longer. The more your customer service engages and keeps in touch with your customers, the more likely it is that they will feel an affinity towards your company.
Have you noticed that when you take on the role of customer, at a mall or retail outlet or any service you require, you prefer to make your purchases from the shops or vendors that make you feel welcome and comfortable? The ones who you perceive as liking you and towards whom you feel connected, as the ones that you are most likely to buy from even if they have on offer the exact same product or services as the next shop or vendor who you don’t feel happy to be about. The same is true of your customers. They have the underlying human need to feel special and wanted and to know that their business means a lot to your company. They will react to you positively, probably unaware of why they feel so strongly towards you. But you know that the interactions, customer service and pleasurable experiences you created for them have finally paid off and tilted the scales in your favor. Imagine receiving a written message or even a phone call from a customer, profusely thanking you for the wonderful service you provided. The fact, that a customer took out time and made the effort to recognize your efforts, should tell you that as an employee and a company you are doing something right and work towards enhancing these experiences. It is bound to leave you happy and ecstatic even if your day was particularly burdensome. Such messages look good on your performance appraisal form too!
Sustaining these high peaked levels of satisfaction and delight is no mean task. As a company it is important to remember, that a customer may not compliment you on each good service he experiences, but will definitely let you and others know if your customer service fails. And so maintaining superlative levels of customer service along with excellent products or services, becomes an ongoing and unrelenting process. It is all about understanding and anticipating customer needs and then gaining leverage by delivering customer service par excellence. Being aware of the kind of reactions and emotions, which would be triggered in a customer, will help you to personalize your customer service to elicit only positive responses. For example, a great price with some added frills, will give the customer confidence and a sense of reliability towards your company and its customer service. However, smart customer service representatives, will be able to differentiate between a customer who is genuinely interested in buying but wants a better rate, from one who is only trying to leverage his or her ‘position’ of being a customer and trying to bully the company in to providing a product or service at an unreasonably low price. Dealing astutely with such customers, all displays how effective great customer service can be.
It is a given that every person has his or her way of approaching subjects and perceives things in the way that is best suited to them. This is obviously true of customers too. The top person of a company calling your customer service desk, is operating from the perception of himself in his own domain or company, and when he calls your customer service desk, the representative views him, and rightly so, as a customer who is as important as any other. To this customer the approach may seem rather casual at first, but if responded to professionally and every effort is made to get his business, the customer service representative will be able to change his perception and make him feel more at ease and just as important. There is no magic formula or secret involved here – just going round to the customer’s side and gently nudging him towards yours!
As a company you need to get your head around to understanding your customer well. Right from remembering his personal details and interests to learning about the nature of his or her business you can help your customer service to be guarded against anything that might put the customer off. Conversely getting a grip on these details would help personalize the service to incorporate aspects that the customer will view as value-added. Anyway you see it, great customer service will exert enough power, to help your business to soar!
