| Every business owner and organization knows
if they want to attract and retain more loyal customers, they need to provide high-quality
customer service. That's why organizations today focus heavily on communicating how
valuable their customers are to the organization. Now, the question is. How much do they
truly value their customers?
Most of you probably had the experience of being a
"valued" customer, yet you didn't feel valued at all! For example, you call a
company for either customer service or to order one of their products and you enter into
the electronic triage system only to be put on hold. You're told: please stay on the line,
your call is important to us. Sometimes we dutifully follow the electronic request, and we
wait, and even wait longer. Other times we hang up in pure frustration.
Or, have you been asked to complete a customer satisfaction
questionnaire? Again, you are told that your comments are "very important to
us". Really?
How maddening it is when you have taken the time to
complete such surveys after receiving poor service, spelling out in detail what the issue
was and why you were dissatisfied, only to receive no acknowledgement of your issue or
concern?
Perception, as we have heard endless times, is reality. The
reality here is that you won't go back or use them in the future. And likely, you will
tell your friends!
We believe that providing excellent customer service should
be an obsession.
Here Are Our Growth without Sabotage Tips That Will Help
Your Organization Differentiate Your Customer Service
- Have a real, live person answer all of your calls. If you
cannot have someone answer all your calls, subscribe to a voice message service and
include a message that you will return all calls within one business day - and do it If it
is late in the day, it can acceptable to wait till the next business morning. Remember,
the message and perception in timing/promptness is, "you count"-- you are
important and a priority to me.
- Return emails within one business day (two days maximum)
- Learn to be comfortable introducing yourself by your full
name. When meeting in person, look at people directly in the eye, especially when you
first meet them and insure you know how to give and reciprocate a firm handshake.
- Insure you clearly understand the customer or prospects need
and priorities. Do this by listening sincerely and asking clarifying questions. Listen
FIRST and actively listen more than you talk. Ask questions to clarify your understanding
of your prospect's motivation to buy - but do so respectfully and carefully.
- Keep agreements you make to the prospect or the customer.
When you say you will do something, do it when you said you would do it. Emergencies
should be the only exception.
- Eliminate negative surprises for the customer. If there is a
problem, acknowledge it quickly, apologize if appropriate and do your best to fix the
problem to the customer's satisfaction.
- Always have your clients' and prospects' best interest in
mind. Think of ways you can help them improve their needs to be in the forefront.
- Think of the long term sale. That means go slow, don't push
now to sell or attempt to up-sell. Think of the longer-term relationship and resulting
opportunities forthcoming.
- Warming - Flirting and fawning are forms of overselling (as
well as demeaning) yourself. Realize how unprofessional and damaging these behaviors are
with your customers and prospects.
- Warning - Don't expect the customer to understand that you
are busy or short staffed. They won't and they shouldn't have to.
You may be thinking that this is obvious. Yes, indeed, it
is not rocket science. While it may be obvious, the truth is that it is also frequently
not practiced. And because it is not done well or consistently, it represents a key
differentiator.
You need to capture the attention of your future customers
and keep your current customers. Without consistent excellent customer care, customer
loyalty is improbable, especially in this economy where buyers are more cautious. Now more
than ever in business, we need to find ways to differentiate ourselves. We find that
customer service is a simple yet powerful differentiating strategy. |
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