“Good service is good business.” – Siebel Ad
Back to basics – in today’s cutthroat business world, only companies that can adapt to the dynamic needs and expectations of customers would survive and thrive. Obviously, those who are unable to keep pace with customers would inevitably face closure. One of the top and changing expectations of customers is consistently good customer service, and this is one of the pitfalls of companies – the inability to provide such service, which results in a crash in customer satisfaction levels. Even if companies were to believe that customers are not always right, the fact is that they must pursue total customer satisfaction relentlessly and ruthlessly, in order to gain sustainable profitability. Customers today ‘call the shots’ and companies that are serious about gaining market share and top spots, must realize the criticality of consistently good customer service. The word consistently is significant – customers will not settle for erratic service, even if a company afforded them with a few instances of outstanding service.
As mentioned, even if companies know customers are not always right (and this is true), good customer service is about treating each customer with respect – much as they would treat their own family. It would be essential to remember basic courtesy, not talk down at them by showing them that the company knows more than them, and being honest in all dealings (not trying to extract money at every possible occasion). Good customer service is about giving customers more than they expect (and deserve), adding huge amounts of value to the relationship, and being genuinely interested in the customer’s success. In today’s day, by delivering sincere value to customers, a company is not doing customers a favour; instead, it would be guaranteeing its own success. The customers of today are quick to perceive genuine concern from feigned care, and would reward or punish a company accordingly. Successful and iconic companies do not just happen – they are a result of good customer service, which continues to keep the customer’s best interest at heart, and understand that customers are above all else. A close look at the behemoths of today would reveal that they all have the same values and beliefs – that of treating customers as royalty and with utmost respect.
The main underlying reason for why good customer service is most important is that customers today have myriad choices, and unless a company can stand out significantly, the chances of success would be slim. It is imperative for companies to have ready answers for questions such as – what makes it different? What value can they add to a customer – something that no one else could? What would be the reasons that a customer would choose a company and stay with it, over all the other players? Companies with speedy and effective solutions and answers to these questions would be better equipped to give customers what they want and provide consistently good customer service. Research shows that a greater number of customers are more likely to share negative experiences and instances of poor customer service, and fewer would bother sharing positive experiences. The fact is that bad news travels faster and in today’s digital age, a single poor comment is broadcast easily to an extremely wide audience in an instant.
Companies today, therefore, have no choice but to understand that good customer service is most important, and in order to have considerable growth, they would need to practice it at all times. This goes beyond all financial reasons and rather is about the very existence of companies. The way a company treats its customers, would be indicative of the culture and values of a company – if customers are treated poorly, it is sure that the employees would not be treated well either. Hence, the company would be internally weak, and would not be able to sustain itself for too long – highly unlikely that customers would want to stick with such a company. Place your customers on a pedestal – the secret to success and sustainability. There could be ample reasons for why companies come into existence. However, one of the top ways to stay in business would be affording consistently good customer service.
It is a fact that retaining customers is far more profitable and a lot less expensive than gaining new ones – it is about five to seven times more expensive to attract new customers. This fact on its own highlights the importance of providing consistently good customer service to all customers. With all the effort and resources required to sourcing and attracting customers to start with, it would seem like a sordid waste to let them go because of poor service, and it would be wiser to ensure that every customer remained happy and stayed with the company for the longest time. Existing customers already have faith and trust on a company, which ensures that they buy more and they would be more likely to provide repeat and increased business to the company. The probability of selling to new customers is around 5-20%, while this same figure shoots up to about 60-70% for existing customers.
By providing consistently good customer service, a company not only increases its sales and profits, but also is able to reduce problems that could result of poor service. Loss of market share and reputation, lowered sales, negative customer comments, and possible legal tangles are all very real and possible outcomes of treating customers poorly, and usually lead to the untimely closure of a company. Good customer service on the other hand, strengthens the brand through positive reviews, which have a positive effect on the mind and opinion of a wider target audience. Not only does a reputation of good customer service of a company allow it to gain more customers a lot more easily, but top class service ensures that the existing ones remain with the company for longer, take pride in promoting the business of the company, and making sure that the relationship with the company remains successful.
In today’s world of digitization and technology, even the flashiest and most hyped promotions of a company’s products / brand would not have the kind of effect that positive word of mouth advertising from happy customers would. An increasing number of prospective customers are prone to reading existing customer comments and reviews before deciding in favour of a company. The more such comments a company’s products would have, the higher the likelihood of being able to influence a larger audience. By providing good customer service all the time, a company can build ‘an army’ of raving brand ambassadors from within its customer base, making it a lot easier to gain success and more business. With time, companies offering good customer service would become successful, and as a result would be able to attract the brightest talent available in the market, investors, and other groups of people who would serve as ‘partners’ in their success. Successful companies also understand that it is imperative to treat their employees well. In turn, employees would remain happy and proud to be part of the company, and would pay careful attention to the kind of service they provide to customers.
Treating customers well, and affording them good customer service at all times proves to be a sure shot method for success. It opens avenues for new partnerships and business – news of how well (or not) a company treats its existing customers spreads fast. Those who do a swell job of customer service are more likely to gain favour, even within their competitors. Caring for customers today is essential, and a company intent on providing good customer service to all its customers would be sure to pave a way for strong partnerships, robust collaborations, hiring top class employees, and gaining all kinds of fruitful opportunities. Would you say that your company provides consistently good customer service?
