“Go the extra mile.” It’s a
well-used customer service mantra, but not one that is always upheld. While every business knows that customers are key, how
do you make sure you continually offer the very best customer service and
always put your customers first?
Frea
O’Brien, general manager of Customer First offers her tips to help you
on your way to achieving those aims:
Deliver Customer Experiences
You and your employees are the living embodiment of
your brand, so you need to bring the values of the company to life and deliver
directly them to customers. Design the customer experience by starting with the
emotions that you want your customers to experience. Eliminate any
processes or structures that are too rigid and complicated to work, and
establish your company as one that is “easy to do business with”.
Communicate Clearly and Effectively
Your customers will appreciate being talked to clearly,
concisely and honestly. For your employees, communication is key too - ‘Your
Chatter Matters’ - so you can highlight the expectations you have and the
behaviour you expect to see.
Monitor the Competition
Every business should keep close tabs on their competition.
Your goal for the customer service you provide should at least be the same as
your competition. Let’s think for a moment: if we delivered the best service
amongst all our competitors would that be a differentiator that we could use to
strengthen our offer?
Treat Employees
Well
If you have employees, customer service should not
just be an external process. Make sure you see your employees as your internal
customers — the quality of your customer service will never exceed the quality
of the people that provide it. In other words, the way you treat your employees
is how they will treat your customers.
Identify and Anticipate Your Customer’s Needs
Remember, customers don't buy products or services;
they buy good feelings and solutions to problems. Most customers are looking
for you to fulfill their needs emotionally rather than logically. By
identifying and anticipating their needs you are more likely to give your
customers exactly what they are looking for.
Measure Service Quality and Feedback
At times you might find it
uncomfortable or even painful but you must listen to feedback from customers. This enables you to
measure the impact of the services you deliver. Measuring the service quality
that you provide should be a fundamental part of your business. It should go
without saying that you measure feedback in order to improve the structures and
processes that you have in place. The act of and measuring is not enough! The
listening and the measuring must lead to change and if we get it right then the
measures improve. If they don’t improve we try something else!
Remember, if you’re not willing
to take care of your customers, then your competition will be very willing
to take care of them for you.
I hope this helps your
business be outstanding.
One more thing before
you go......I would like you to do one important thing for me - spread the word
about this article.
That is all -
David
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