Creating a Customer Experience
There is an obvious implication in your reading this book from chapter to chapter. You will note that I’m creating emphasis on relationships and customer interaction. That is because in years past, the structure of most organizations was concerned with the “what’s in it for me,” approach. However, today’s customer is concerned with the “what’s in it for me” approach and those that make the transition from organization to customer focus will be more successful. There are several reasons for this. First, every organization has got to be concerned about the number one asset—the customer. It is the customer that decides what products and services are to be sold by the selling professional. Selfish selling professionals will not sell anything if customer service is poor. Second, and perhaps most important, with the use of technology customers speak to each other. Technology today especially with the use of social media will impact marketing and future sales if your customer service lacks— customers can speak badly about you. You have to develop the notion that one poor customer service report will appear on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapshot, YouTube, Vimeo, and many other social media platforms. Providing good customer service is a proper thing to do. The more customer representatives act as advocates from the initial conversation, the more potential clients you will attract, the more you will convert and the more you’ll keep.
In contemporary world, we are witnessing increasing symbiotic relationship between the world of customer service and sales professionals. Customers are realizing that those representatives who pay heed to customer service are more successful individually, while also bringing more revenue into the organization. Additionally, organizations find that when customer service is superb, their advertising costs decrease. This is because great customer service helps to develop avatars who continually speak well about your company. When others speak well about you, they will tell the world. This loyalty will create not only a terrific base who continually returns to buy, but tells others about it too.
What is required today in most organizations is the vital need for customer service. You have probably heard that there is much banter about the focus for items such as customer satisfaction, customer service, customer loyalty, and even customer centricity. Yet, these are simply words on a piece of paper or in a television advertisement unless someone does something about it: the reason being that at the end of the day marketing and sales are all about relationships.
One of the biggest aspects about customer relationship management is simply the ideology of creating consumers who can become brand loyalists simply due to their passion for the intimate relationships they have with organizations. For example, how many great stories have been heard on the Internet, the news, or in social media dialogues about organizations such as Starbucks, Zappos, or the Ritz Carlton? None of these companies would exist without great customer centricity. It is because the organizations have become so immersed with teaching selling professionals the value of customers that each of these organizations has customers that are brand loyalists as well as evangelists. This is exactly what selling professionals need to do; they need to become ambassadors or brokers so that customers become so overwhelmingly desirous of not only products and services, but how they are treated.
Here are some simple facts to explain why the customer experience is so important. Poor customer experiences result in an estimated $83 billion loss by U.S. enterprises each year because of defections and abandoned purchases (source: Parature Customer Service Blog) and 89 percent of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience (source: RightNow Customer Experience Impact Report 2011). That’s a huge statistic!
There are also several other pragmatic reasons why organizations desire to have better relationships with their consumers: (a) customers talk to other customers, thereby decreasing marketing costs and creating more buzz and (b) because of the fact that so many people utilize e-mail and other forms of electronic exchange such as social media, one keystroke can either increase or quickly decrease business. Therefore, it is extremely important today to ensure the fact that the customers are happy. Good talk will help us, and bad talk will kill us.
Customers provide the focus for the organization. Customers provide your company’s success or failure. Customers can make or break an organization. The reason is if they are unhappy they will tell others and then they will leave your company to a competitor.
The key is to listen to the customer to ensure the organization’s offering meets the customer’s requirements. You need to think in terms of the customer. Here is an example using an acronym:
C = Have concern for the asset
U = Always attempt to discover their unique needs and expectations
S = Set expectations with customer
T = Treat them equally and with pride
O = Orient yourself and your team to customer outcomes
M = Make getting and keeping customers the goal
E = Engage the customer in relationship
R = Remember to evaluate all conversations to become better
In the following pages of this book, my plan is to describe for you several ideas to assist selling professionals, sales managers, and even small organizations without selling professionals how to get into the mind of the customer so that they can service them better, build better relationships, and gain the perspective of brand loyalists.
Get into the Mind-Set of Your Customers—What Do Customers Really Expect?
Customers today are much smarter than we think. Consumers today are most specifically concerned about value and trust. With many parties to choose from and access to websites, it is hard to distinguish one vendor from another. The key differentiator today is customer service.
Consumers want to ensure that they are treated right from the moment that they are serviced. This requires that organizations develop a customer culture. This means that everyone from the front desk to the executive suite cater to the needs of the customer. In fact, what customers really expect is that they are treated as the purpose of business and not an interruption to it.
When working with customers, there are four very specific things to be considered to help your organization become more customer service savvy. These include people, support, trust, and finally relationship.
People—The people you hire must provide a satisfactory service to the customer. This means smiling upon entry and even engaging the customer with great conversation that illustrates a peer relationship. Getting to know them and becoming genuinely interested in their business is very helpful to building good relationships. Examples here include Zappos and Southwest Airlines. Zappos, for instance, will have a conversation with customers and not be too concerned with others on hold. At that moment in time, you are the most important. In fact, their longest customer service call is six hours! Make certain your team does not rush callers off the phone but takes quality time to build relationships.
Support—When they call to get service, customers expect a real person to answer the phone. They don’t expect to be placed on indefinite hold where circulating maze of voice operated options. Customers become very angry by the number of prompts they must provide in order to get the assistance needed. How many times do you call some companies and get press “one” for English, “two” for another language, then press “one” for sales, “two” for service, now enter your account number, then hit “three” if you know your child’s first name. Many utility companies use these systems, but they are lengthy, confusing, too annoying, and most importantly not service savvy. I suggest that you have either live people answer the phone to make the customer feel more welcome or if you have to have a calling tree, make it friendlier with either less prompts, less repetition, or easier ways to reach a live person. And if you do use a tree, call it and see if you can discriminate it like a customer and implement changes you feel would make it easier.
Trust—The customer wants to know how you can help them as a trusted advisor. Customers are seeking solutions to problems, and there is expectancy that you could offer help based on previous experience. Give easier advice or help people find things on websites to help build the trust factor.
Relationship—Customers want to be treated as part of the business not as a barrier of entry. This includes being a part of product announcements, new product enhancements, repairs and maintenance, and perhaps even insight into new products. As an example, Procter & Gamble, the large consumer products company, operates several websites, focus groups, and even live laboratories that allow customers to provide feedback for new products and services. Such feedback has provided for new developments such as the Tide and Clorox sticks. You can also use new methods such as Facebook and Twitter to build relationships like some hospitals that use Twitter for emergency wait times and Facebook page for coupon announcements.
When you make your customers a part of the business and create partnerships, there is a better relationship and more trust. As the trust builds, they tell others of your honesty, helping to create more business for you and less attrition in the customer ranks. Customers want to stay with you; you just need to show them a bit more love!
What I’m going to do to assist you as a selling professional is divide certain areas of customer service into very detailed pragmatic sections with some action steps in each of the sections so that you understand the importance of customer service in each and you can make subtle changes so that you become a highly skilled and successful customer service agent in your competitive industry.
Discover What Customer Service Excellence Really Means—To You and To Your Customers
When was the last time that you were “Wowed”? When was the last time that you attended an event, visited a restaurant, or were serviced by someone where you were absolutely blown away? When we talk about the customer service experience, we really mean a consistent and relentless pursuit of ongoing customer service. You know when you arrive, and it is customer service no matter the time, the location, or the personnel. It seems to run rampant in the company. For example, when you visit certain restaurants, hotels, or department stores and the staff is always welcoming, friendly, and cannot wait to help.
Every single contact your organization has with its customers either cultivates or corrodes your relationship. That includes every letter you send, every ad you run, and every phone call you make. This includes contact from the first person to the senior officer. And by the way, since customer service is an internal function, this means that interdepartmentally people must service each other.
If you think about it, your business is only as good as your worst employee. When you think of how poorly you treat your employees, this actually becomes a domino effect to your overall asset—your customers. This is sobering simply because customer service is as much an internal function as it is externally. Imagine entering a store and hearing the screaming or sarcasm among two or more employees—or you hear employees speak poorly about a former customer. Would you return?
For example, I recently refinanced the mortgage on my home. There was an issue with some paperwork while finalizing the title. A woman named Holly helped me for the better part of five weeks in researching the information and actually placing phone calls for me so that the title would close in a timely manner. Holly lessened my labor by conducting research and making the calls for me, which is something that is not normally done by title companies. She was so client and so professional that I actually wrote a letter of commendation to her supervisor. She and her boss where interested in one thing—getting me the loan and making me happy.
Have you really walked through your own customer service strategy? What does it look like at the other end? Can you see yourself as your own client? Your only tools to ensure that customers are treated properly are to either (a) “mystery shop” the business so that you see whether customers are treated by your employees the way that you want them to be treated and (b) to empower your employees to make decisions so that they can execute in a timely fashion.
What is mystery shopping? If you are not familiar with this, all one needs for it is arrange for a “stranger” to shop your establishment the way a customer would. Have them call in or visit and take notes of all they experience.
Empowerment—Simply put, one of the goals of customer service training is to allow representatives feel as much a part of the business as you. Encourage your employees to see situations from an owner’s point of view. I understand that many might be concerned about offering too many discounts or giving things away for free, but when employees can make certain good quick decisions to make customers happy without your involvement and without going through management layers, there is less aggravation for the customer.
Craig was having issues installing a component on his personal computer. After almost three hours of aggravation, he gave in and called his computer manufacturer’s customer service center. It was a Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. EST. After several moments of waiting, he was eventually transferred to Kenny. It appeared endless and both men were getting frustrated attempting to install this part. It was 72 minutes into the call when Kenny said, “Oh My.” Craig said, “What is the problem—the computer?” “No,” said Kenny, “they are shutting down the lights must be closing time.” Craig said, “No worries, go ahead and leave I will take care of this on Monday.” He was blown away at the next statement—PAUSE.
“No that is okay, you are a customer and I will do what I can to get this installed. If it takes all night,” said Kenny.
Craig has since purchased four other computers from this organization.
In another situation, a customer was having a software issue. The problem was not resolved immediately but the customer service representative over the course of the next 10 days e-mailed the customer possible resolutions—on his own time and from his personal e-mail account. What works best is allowing your employees to make the important decisions so that your customers are happy, things are resolved sooner, and internally and externally all feel like they have made a difference.
There is not enough money in advertising and promotion to supplement these stories. Research proves it is 81 percent more effective to keep a happy, satisfied client than acquire a new one. Do all you can to see the business from your customer’s eyes so that you can lessen barriers to customer aggravation.
Tips for Dealing with Difficult Customers
Sometimes it’s important to understand that it is not the representative’s fault but merely an unruly customer. Many organizations have unruly customers. It is helpful to know two things: (1) some customers do expect the world and for you to bend over backward for them no matter what and (2) some people sometimes are just rude or aggressive to others— including family so never take it personally. So let’s discuss some tips about dealing with difficult clients.
First, there are issues when it comes to personality. It’s important to understand that some people based upon personality and some behavioral issues will always be somewhat difficult. Take for example any of the gate agents, pilots, or even baggage handlers for any airline. In most instances, their main purpose is to get people to their destination in a safe manner. They don’t control the weather, they don’t control air traffic, and they don’t control the many hiccups that occur. However, there are those passengers who seem to think that airlines are built for them and for no others. They get very unruly no matter what, sometimes particularly vacationers not used to delays. Simply know what you are dealing with and move on. Never take their personality personally.
Second, there are issues when conflict occurs. This is because there is a lack of information or someone has the wrong information. For example, I recently was charged $50 to have my medical records copied to a new sales professional. All I received was an invoice, no one told me; so, naturally I was ticked. Once explained, I was better.
Third, never allow issues to get personal. Customers sometimes need to vent and that is okay as long as personal feelings are not involved. Always tell your staff to never get unprofessional and if the customer is then either get help or call a time out. There is no reason for insults during a professional conversation.
Fourth, be willing to negotiate—sometimes customer service is a negotiation. Everything in life is. It is helpful to understand the art and science of negotiation. Do not worry about winning and other ideas, only that when the customer feels satisfied the issue is instantly resolved. Have your representatives ask the customer what would be an amicable settlement. Ask them what they want to receive.
Fifth, realize that customers have certain standards and no matter the rules, the customers have a perceived expectation. For example, Federal Express thrives to get packages to your door overnight. Yet, some individuals will complain when the package is not there first thing in the morning or at noon. This might be the shippers fault or bad weather, yet the customer wants it on their terms. As they say in the movies “Whata gunna do?”
Should you or your organization find that you are handling too many difficult customers and difficult situations, you might consider divorcing your clients. This may seem extreme but there are times when certain customers always complain, always want an exception, or always want a credit. At some point, this is costing more time and more money than you have. There is no reason to bow down to every request.
Just like there are bad products, bad employees, and bad companies, there are unhappy customers. It is part of business. The comedian Steve Martin in a skit once sang, “Be courteous, kind and considerate, be gentle and loving each day ...” When your team is the constant professional, there is less concern about the unruly folks.
Responding Successfully to Specific Customer Expectations
If you are a lover of music as I am, then you will know the Aretha Franklin song of respect. The fact is that many customers are much more responsive and they would feel they are respected. This means that you respect their opinions, their suggestions, and even just their conversations.
Customers do not enjoy being treated differently because they have been with you for a while versus someone that is new. So in working with customers in order to help set expectations, I suggest that you show them a little bit more respect. Respect is an acronym, and I will show you how it works most effectively so that you can respond successfully.
R—Recognize repeat customers by name, or at least by face. One of the things that always boggles my mind is when vendors I have done business with for quite some time either don’t remember my name or get it wrong. Drew is not a very difficult name to pronounce or remember, however, sometimes my name is Bruce or sometimes my last name is spelt with a pH. I have a friend who can walk into a room and remember almost 98 first names. So, I suggest that your staff work on techniques to remember names and qualities. You can write the names down and quiz staff, you can use software products that allow you to write personal information like birthdays and dogs’ names so that staff remember. You can run contests. But do something to make it warm and personal.
E—Engage customers as soon as they enter or call. My rule of thumb about customer calls is twofold. First, always answer calls on the second or third ring. Use your first name and the department and ask how to help the client. And, respond to all calls within 90 minutes. Customers want a quick response and waiting too long in today’s fast-paced world allows them to quickly log onto the Internet and keypunch or call your competitor.
S—Smile, even if you do business by phone. Constantly smile. One of my favorite books of all time is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. Fact number 1 is to always smile. There is no app for that. Simply smile before, during, and after your calls. Believe it or not, you can actually hear the smile because staff is more open and friendly.
P—Provide what they are looking for (whether you have it or not). Try not to make working with you so hard. To express my point, I was recently in a grocery store in my local area and asked the general manager where I could find a can of beans for a soup recipe that I was creating. He walked me through the store, down the aisle, and then asked what color I was looking for the recipe. He made suggestions but more importantly, he took me to the exact location. He made it very easy for me to find. Sometimes going out of your way to provide customers what they’re looking for is exactly what is needed to create the proper customer experience. Have staff ask questions or have staff walk customers through the issue so that it is easily understood. In fact, there are software products today such as Logmein that allow you to control a client’s desktop and actually show them how to control the software.
E—Enquire to find out customers’ needs. One of the least used communication methods in today’s society because of its quick pace is proper questioning skills. Have staff prepare questions in advance that are standard and help to quickly discover information or issues. Have them ask more than needed so that they get to the heart of the issue. You might conduct some role-play and team meetings to determine what works, what questions work best, and how to direct the customer better.
C—Check for customer satisfaction. From time to time, it is always proper to ask the customer how you were doing. There is no reason why you should be embarrassed or shy about asking the customer whether or not you are providing proper customer service. The Chase Plaza in St. Louis as well as the Ritz Carlton constantly asks their clientele whether they have done a proper job and if there is anything else they can do to make their experience happier. Even AT&T with their mobility or U-verse services constantly their calls with the simple question have I taken care of all of your needs today? What a great way to respond to the customer.
T—Thank them for choosing to do business with you. The easiest, but perhaps the most often overlooked is a simple thank you. If you want the customer to respond better to you, you must be more responsive to the customer. By that I mean thank them for being a customer, thank them for their patronage, and thank them for trusting you with their money and with their trust.
When you work from the eyes of the customer, you quickly seek loopholes and areas of correction to make each experience the best possible.
How to Make Customers Feel Valued and Tips for Turning One-Time Buyers into Lifetime Customers
Marriott, the hotel company, revolutionized the way employees, from desk clerks to chief financial officers, are evaluated based on guestsatisfaction scores. The result is a culture where uncommon acts of concern—such as a bellhop lending his shoes to a guest—become not so uncommon. The founders of the companies that make up Marriott’s 19 brands really believe that if you take great care of your associates, they’d take great care of your customers. And when associates take care of each other, customer service goes through the roof.
Believe it or not, it is the simple things that will allow customers to return. As they say, people do judge a book by its cover. Therefore, it is important to always make a positive first impression. How do you do this? Well as an example your front desk is the first thing that speaks to and see a customer. Your front desk must answer phones, address e-mails, and have chats in a warm friendly and meaningful way. This does not mean people always have to be bubbly and charming, but they do need to show their willingness to build relationships and just care for their customers. And internally this means that all employees treat each other with professionalism and respect.
So what are some things that can make a strong impression and make customers feel valued?
Be concerned, be personal, be willing: When you walk into Walgreens, Rosie is there to greet all by first name and when she does not see you for a week or so she will call or remember the very last conversation. My recommendation is for your staff to really get to know their clients, their hobbies, and their interests so they can have a good conversation about anything. Your customers will like the warmer approach.
Connectivity: While we are in the electronic age, there is a need to constantly connect to customers. After all they do. Phone calls, thank you cards, and other devices are helpful in remaining in constant contact. I have a young man at a client site sending thank you cards after appointments and during some customer service issues. The great thing about this is that customers take the cards and hang them up or place them in their office showing their appreciation for your concern.
Delight: Remember when you were a kid and you ate Cracker Jacks? The prize has surprised us all but today customers desire more sizzle. Customers today want to be “blown away.” I was visiting Starbuck’s recently and I frequently visit one particular shop. As I approached the counter, there was a Venti coffee at the register. My barista saw me coming from the parking lot, as I entered we exchanged hellos. He told me my coffee was waiting. And there was no charge. Now that is Blown Away. Have your staff do something out of the ordinary and treat your top clients from time to time with something special such as a free coupon, a discount on service, something free like a bottle of wine, anything that is meant to surprise.
Discovering other ways to delight and help: “Become a trusted person.” Nordstrom used to do this when they were first expanding. Visit Nordstrom and ask for a specific tie, shoes, or cufflinks. If unavailable, the sales representative will indicate not only the closest store, but also a competitor. Sometimes when you provide something of value that can help the customer, but it does not require them buying from you actually increases customer service. The best way to do this is to keep up with customer trends in the newspapers or from service such as Mashable so that you can service them when they least expect it.
Addressing issues immediately: The best advice I can provide here is to be decisive and get answers to questions quickly. Place clients on hold and get someone with the expertise needed or ask if you can research it and call back in a few moments. But no matter what, clients today like quick resolution to issues, especially when they believe they can find it with a quick Google search.
Return messages quickly: Customers do not want to wait. They want answers as quickly as possible. Even Radio Shack, the electronics retailer, uses the mantra, “You have questions we have answers.” Return all calls or e-mails in 24 hours. I have a policy of 90 minutes. There is a story floating around about the author and entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, who was sent an e-mail by a potential client at 10 p.m.; he returned it 10 minutes later.
It costs eight to ten times more to gain a new client than to keep one. Providing exceptional customer service is what clients want and what they come to expect. Being customer savvy and customer exceptional is simply just good business.
Develop Service Delivery Standards for Your Employees
I travel frequently for business. One parking facility I use personally greets me, and informs me of the exact row that I can use. I do not have to search for an open space, and if I am in their frequent parker program, they valet park me when their lot is full. I get a shuttle bus at the empty parking space. The driver helps me get my luggage out of my car and onto the bus. There is no waiting in one of those plastic shelters.
Once it was raining, and the driver met me with one of those big golf umbrellas. Most importantly—they know my first name!
One family staying at the Ritz Carlton, Bali, had carried specialized eggs and milk for their son who suffered from food allergies. Upon arrival, they saw that the eggs had broken and the milk had soured. The Ritz Carlton manager and dining staff searched the town but could not find the appropriate items. But the executive chef at this particular resort remembered a store in Singapore that sold them. He contacted his mother-in-law, and asked that she buy the products and fly to Bali to deliver them, which she agreed to do. Of course the family was delighted.
After doing some research, I have discovered that the key to effective customer service is practicing it. I have found over the course of time that physicians practice, lawyers practice; musicians practice; and even athletes practice. Each of them goes about their day practicing to ensure success toward an end result. Business people therefore must practice too.
I developed a proprietary formula known as PRACTICE to assist you with some simple practice standards.
PRACTICE starts with a P-Positive first impression ... Insist on a Positive First Impression—you must be genuinely interested in assisting others. Passion and empathy separates the athletes from the spectators. These include warm greetings on the telephone or direct. Being positive gets things moving in the proper direction. The Four Seasons ensures that every guest is greeted enthusiastically with each and every interaction.
The R in PRACTICE is rapport ... Develop Rapport—98 percent of every interaction involves trust and respect. Ensure you establish rapport with every client. Your call center is only as good as your back-end operation. If a representative tells a customer that a package will be shipped in two days, make sure your distribution center fulfills that promise. Check with distribution and call the client to ensure it has arrived.
A in PRACTICE Assesses the Issue—Ask the proper questions to totally understand the issue. One of the things noticeable on many chat calls or customer service centers is that service representatives actually ask the client to replicate and explain the issue. So if the television stopped working, ask the clients what they were doing before, during, and after the issue occurred. Reproduce so you can diagnose.
C in PRACTICE Communicate fully and thoroughly with Communication—The best communicators listen first and speak second. Athletes know when to ask and when to tell. We all like to diagnose issues and begin explaining information. But when it comes to service representatives, they need to speak less and listen more. First your customers want to vent and express their concern. Second, THEY want to tell you about the issue and then THEY want to tell you when they want it fixed. Tell staff to settle back and listen and do not rush the call.
T in PRACTICE is Time ... Manage time effectively is Time Management—Customer Service representatives are trained to expeditiously respond to issues but can you do this qualitatively too? I know of one client that uses e-mail to express client issues, however, they use no welcoming message and no conclusion and they also do not use an action step. Ensure that staff use proper e-mail protocols such as an opening line, a summary of the issue, the steps to resolve the issue, and the action steps needed along with a conclusion. Phone calls must be similar. Use a template to ensure that customers do not feel rushed.
I in PRACTICE is interest ... Take an Interest—Taking interest means building rapport and have a nice pleasant conversation with each customer. It means attempting to build trust internally and externally. Two ways to do this are first internally—get to know others in other departments that you need to work with daily, whether it is accounts receivable, sales, shipping, the help desk, finance who-ever. Now I recognize this might be difficult in today’s virtual organization, but simply visiting another person in another department or picking up the phone and making an introduction is all that is needed to be more internally service savvy. Externally, it means not only going the extra mile to build a relationship, but also actually showing concern for the issue. For example, there was a time I checked into a hotel in Dallas and it was completely sold out. I had a reservation but the hotel was double booked. Worse yet, it was 1 a.m. in the morning and my flight was delayed. You will not believe what happened next, the hotel clerk called another hotel that he thought might have a reservation and then ordered a bellhop to walk me five blocks with my baggage to the other hotel. Every time I visit Dallas, I stay at the original hotel because of their supreme concern of taking an interest.
C in PRACTICE ... Close on a Positive Note—Always close your calls on the positive side seeking to address any open issues and questions. And ask the customer if you have resolved the issue.
And E in PRACTICE ... Evaluate what’s going on ... Ensure you evaluate every customer interaction—Customer service requires conviction and passion to aid others. Once complete with your calls, ensure you also evaluate to carry these themes from call to call. I recommend weekly call report meetings to look for trends, see what the gaps in service were, and how quickly information was resolved. Try to resolve repeated issues and do not worry about too many anomalies.
Measure and Assess How Well Customer Service Standards Are Being Achieved
Data are vital to every customer service program. It is necessary to deal in data, analyze them, and then use them to become better. Research is always necessary to help understand the data points for customer service.
The one problem, however, with most organizations is that data tend to sit in a database. It is then necessary that senior management, owners, and all personnel become involved in not only gathering data, but also analyzing them.
Fact-finding is a large part of what the Girl Scouts do on a day-to-day basis. Even the Society of Human Resource Management routinely conducts leadership and advertising surveys, member needs assessment, and other surveys to better understand the issues of its members. After all, the association is run by its members.
So the question then is how do you measure customer service? This can be done in several ways.
First, it is easy to measure service by reviewing the level of customer service calls. As customer service issues are resolved, representatives are handling less troublesome calls. Use a spreadsheet or software to determine how many calls you handle and where there are repeated service issues.
Second, develop customer focus groups. Customer focus groups are investigative research events where up to 10 customers meet under the guidance of an expert facilitator to discuss their service experiences, their views, feelings, and opinions in an open forum.
Customer focus groups are a useful way of establishing a comprehensive range of opinions on customer values, assumptions, and beliefs about the service you provide as well as looking at future service offerings and improvements. They are particularly helpful among consumer markets and can also be used in business-to-business environments. What is necessary is inviting your clients to a small meeting with a fixed agenda and where they can meet some members of senior staff to voice trends, provide issues, and illustrate concerns in your organization’s processes. You need to offer a personal invitation on a voluntary basis and also provide follow-ups after the meeting to resolve open issues.
Fourth, surveys are very good with getting insight about customer service. Do not just look at numbers and statistics, but also qualitative feedback and what is being mentioned by consumers. I recommend the use of Likert Surveys, which are those one to five choices that not only ask about your average, above average, or below average performance, but also enable the customer to supply qualitative information so you can “hear” the meaning of the numbers.
Finally, every customer evaluates his or her experience buying a product or service. A tool used to measure the quality of that experience is mystery shopping. Hired as independent contractors, mystery shoppers are “posers” operating in stealth-like fashion to assess your business operations. They are charged with specific tasks such as taking photographs, purchasing a product or service, returning a product, registering complaints, asking questions of sales representatives, and behaving in other ways. Mystery shopping can be applied in any industry, although the more common venues are retail stores, restaurants, banks, hotels, car dealerships, and health-care facilities. But any company that has a customer can benefit from having a mystery shopping program.
Mystery shoppers check service, layout, ambience, adherence to guidelines, and store or restaurant displays during their visit. Prepare a checklist of the items upon which you need to report. Store the checklist on your smartphone, in your pocket, or purse to ensure you get proper credit for your mystery shopping work.
For example, during the mystery shopping visit, you typically need to note the number of staff, the items on display, whether a particular item is highlighted, and how quickly after entry you are greeted and helped. Glance at your watch or phone when you enter and check it again after you’re asked if you need assistance. When conducting a restaurant visit, timing is particularly important. You need to note the appearance of the restaurant, track the time you are seated, when your server arrives, how quickly an order is taken, and the time lapse between ordering and receiving the components of the meal: appetizer, main course, and dessert, if ordered.
Great service is not just about speed and accuracy, but also about warmth and personalization. Service is important with all aspects of your company so you must get them involved.
Ironically, customer service is part of every organization, product, and service including the government. Yes yours truly has even been sent to the United States Postal Service to aid in their customer service efforts. As much as selling affects every organization, customer service has an even more profound impact. Unfortunately, many organizations are chastised and condemned for poor customer service. Yet with every bad story there are also numerous grand stories.
The simplest thing about customer service is that if you treat customers with professionalism and empathy they will continually return. They will tell others. Customer service is the key to your marketing and profitability success factors. It lowers attrition in organization and it heightens productivity.
What is now required is simply to start building those relationships. As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, which is easier for you: (a) chipping away at 50 or 60 cold calls every day in getting a high degree of negativity in zero return or (b)simply picking up the phone and say hello, this is_________________, how may I assist you today? Best practices in action steps are as follows:
Return of calls, text messages, and e-mails within 90 minutes of receipt. I utilize this in my practice and I cannot tell you how many times people call or e-mail and tell me I have 89 minutes and they’re waiting. Potential consumers want to challenge salespeople to illustrate whether they are responsive or not.
Use handwritten notes to say thank you from meeting individuals or for the order. Believe it or not, in today’s electronic age, a handwritten note will last forever. Don’t believe me? Visit your next client and look on the credenza with a desk and see whether or not your competitors have conducted this vital exercise.
Hire a friend or colleague to review your sales interactions. Or, record some of your sales calls on video or audio utilizing your smartphone. What items would you change during your interaction? What questions might you ask that you didn’t? What things might you have done to create better service your perspective client?
When possible make decisive decisions. Don’t tell people that you are going to get back to your manager or you need to check on something. Inform the client that you’re going to take care of it personally. You need to feel empowered to create better customer service.
Look at the processes that you have in place when it comes to your interactions with clients. What one or two things might you be able to do to create a more streamlined process? Think in terms of the local Subway restaurant or even Jimmy John’s. Both organizations make ordering a sandwich exceedingly easy. What can you do to streamline the operations of your business?
Use your existing customer relationship management software or purchase one, so that you can make notes of your clients and recall names, historical events, or any other item necessary in creating a better relationship with your client.
Just a quick word before you turn the page. In this particular chapter, we talked about customer service but the implication was about relationships. Building those relationships will be key to every selling professional’s success. And, one of the most terrific methods building relationships is networking. Networking is nothing more than meeting new people who might be able to provide referrals or perhaps become new clients. The more you engage in this notion of building relationships, the better you will be and extending your reach to individuals who will become interested in the products and services that you have. So let’s read on and show you how to build a network of individuals to become instantly attracted to you like a spider in a net. When you have developed this formulaic approach, you’ll never have to make another cold call again!