The customer service dilemma

The customer service dilemma  

 

 

 

I think we would all agree that customer service is important to the support of a winning sales program. After all, happy customers are likely to feel better about our company and are more likely to continue to do business with us and recommend us to friends and associates. Superior customer service is the backbone to a solid referral program.

 

So why are customer service surveys increasingly showing a general decline in customer satisfaction?

 

We all experience this in our own lives.  We see an advertisement or a television commercial that highlights that a particular company as being 'customer-centered', only to find that once we begin the business relationship and have a problem, the company doesn't seem to care less.

 

In some cases this is the result of cultural issues with the company - the external message has no connection with the reality. Often, however, it is more a problem of management developing a positioning statement - high-level customer service - but not providing their staff with the training or resources to support the position.

 

It is a strange reality that everyone sells on price but in fact almost nobody buys on price.

 

Sure, there are cases when we hold our noses to deal with a vendor we dislike to get a great deal but that is the exception.

 

The city of Vancouver is filled with thriving retailers and businesses that do not sell on price.

 

Holt Renfrew

 

Meinhardts

 

Urban Fair

 

Pottery Barn

 

Restoration Hardware

 

The list goes on and on! Discount is not what drives success, it's service! When we feel a company understand our needs, we become loyal to it.

 

Businesses that don't understand customer service must constantly be fighting to gain new customers to replace the stream of dissatisfied customers that leave everyday - and that's hard work!

 

 

 

Quality customer service is not an easy thing to achieve. It is a process that takes an enormous amount of work to instill and constant investment to maintain.

 

Customer service is not easy and those doing the work need to be trained to provide the correct level of customer service.

 

For most customers, there is a level of service that is expected from your business. In today's competitive market place, businesses that exceed the expected level of service build a roster of loyal customers. Market research has proven that loyal customers or repeat customers represent 80% of our business. Put another way, loyalty equals growth and profitability for your business. Also, customers whose problems are resolved to their satisfaction are significantly more loyal than those never experiencing a problem in the first place.

 

Many businesses work towards reducing or eliminating customer service complaints. As a growing and prosperous business, you should welcome this kind of information! It is from such feedback that you can focus your time and resources on rebuilding the customer relationship.

 

Why don't more dissatisfied customers complain?

Firstly, it is psychologically hard to complain. Secondly, customers often don't know how to complain or can't find a venue to give feedback. Most businesses do not proactively encourage complaining and actually conspire to make it difficult to complain.

It is important for complaining customers to talk to the business owner, not others. Talking gives the business owner the chance to return the customer to a state of satisfaction so they will be more likely to visit the business again and make important purchases.

Businesses that offer a rational explanation and demonstrate sensitivity and concern, will find the complaining customer responds accordingly.

How can complaints/feedback be encouraged?
 
Promote organizational "caring and empathy".

 

Let the customer know you want to hear from them, make it clear that you want honest feedback, and show them you can deal with feedback.
 
Access is always an important component of quality service. The customer must perceive easy and welcome access.
 
Provide and market alternative complaint channels, for example, comment cards, e-mail, and telephone.

Help managers and staff encourage complaints. This includes providing them education on observation, active listening and problem solving.
 
Enable and encourage front line staff to solve problems. They are there to protect the business from angry customers.

 

Make it worth the customer's time to complain - resolve the complaint and notify the customer of the action taken.

Eighty-two to ninety-five percent of customers will come back if their complaint is resolved satisfactorily, and they will tell on average five other people. This is an important factor when you consider that it costs five times as much to get a new customer than maintain an existing customer. Welcoming and addressing complaints, therefore, represent another common sense approach to building your customer base and loyalty. 

Customer loyalty is all about relationship building. Your business cannot be all things to all people, so focus on a niche of people that you know will consistently come to you with their needs. 

A good relationship with your loyal customers involves knowing as much as you can about them. Businesses should never make assumptions regarding customer needs and expectations. Delivering exceptional customer service is an evolving process, a journey that involves re-inventing your product or service on a continual basis in order to continually 'wow' your customers.

Common Principles in Delivering Exceptional Customer Service:

Build a customer focused business and sales will follow.

Understand customer needs and exceed their expectations.

Build a loyal customer base - a wise business investment.

Welcome customer complaints and resolve them with integrity and efficiency.

Consistently study your customer and evaluate your service.