GREAT Customer Service SolutionsTo Service your Customers is to “KNOW”

your customers

Customer Service In TODAY’s Business Environment

• What is Customer Service?

- In today’s business environment, a great company is defined by the products and service that it gives to the average customer.

- A company that provides the best support, to their customers, compared to it’s competition (Kirk).

- Excellent customer service is the ability of an organization to consistently exceed the customer's expectations (AboutCustomerService.info).

When?• When is a good time for a company to provide

great customer service to it’s customers?

• Before• During• And After EACH and EVERY sell or encounter!

• Just because a “customer” doesn’t buy something doesn’t mean he/she is not a customer!

• Treat everyone as a potential customers – whether it be now or later.

Introducing the G R E A T way to have a SUPERIOR customer service team…

• Greet all customers & make them feel comfortable

• Respect cultural & other personal differences

• Evaluate how your customers want to be served

• Adjust your approach to match your customer's needs

• Thank your customers for their business (QMR).

Positive Attributes

• Friendly – smile, be warm and caring• Accurate – do it right the first time• Accountable – resolve problems fast or follow-up

if needed• Simplicity – make it easy for the customer• Respect – be grateful for their business, lookout

for their interest

(Siegel).

Commonly Quoted Customer Service Statistics

• Only 4% of customer bother to tell companies something is wrong. A business hears from only about 4% of its dissatisfied customers — 96% goes away … and 91% will never come back (WaiterBell).

• One dissatisfied customer will tell 9-15 people.  Approximately 13% of dissatisfied customers will tell more than 20 people about their problem (WaiterBell).

• It costs 6 to 10 times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one (WaiterBell).

• Long term customers are usually more profitable.  A 5% increase in customers retention can boost profit by 25% to 125% (WaiterBell).

• The impact customer service has on a business is significant (WaiterBell).

Get to know your Customers!

• Put yourself in theirs shoes

• Understand their perspective.

• Their perception is reality.

• Know their needs and expectations

Don't just meet them - exceed them

Knowing your Customers

To know your customers you have to know the 6C’s of customer service:

Competition

Communication

Competence

Care

Complaints

Checks and Balances (BB).

Competition

• Know who else is out there competing for your customer's business.

• Know their strengths and weaknesses.

• Know how you measure up against them and where you out perform them.

Communication • Effective communication

• strong greetings and handshakes • good eye contact,• asking questions • listening actively.

• Two-thirds of all dissatisfied customers are unhappy because of poor communication.

• Never assume your customer understands.• A confused customer is a unsatisfied customer.

Competence• Demonstrate that you're competent.

• Show that you've got what it takes. Customers put their trust in people they believe can do the job.

• Take ownership when a problem occurs, even if it's not your fault. • It's not important that you didn't cause the problem.

What's important is how you'll solve it.

CareCustomers don't care how much you know

until you show how much you care.

• Be friendly

• Be courteous,

• Go out of your way! • Explain what you are doing• Take pride in your work

Complaints• Do not only accept complaints; welcome them.

• It’s a great tool in finding out what areas need improvement.

• Make it easy for customers to complain. • Online complain forms• Complaint cards in common areas• Publicized phone number for complaints

Checks and Balances

o Are you as good as you think you are? o Constantly check up on yourself.

oMeasure against the competition.

o Survey your customers.

o Research your industry trends.

o Evaluate yourself continually.

GREAT Customer Service

• A man is traveling and wants to send a package to his home. He speaks to the hotel concierge...

...here are two scenarios:

Excellent Customer Service

• Concierge #1: “The post office is around the corner. I estimate it will cost you $11.00.”

• Concierge #2: “I’ll be happy to package them up and drop them off at the carrier of your choice. Since you have additional travel, I will send them out in 3 days to ensure you are home to receive them. Now, let’s pick a carrier…”

Excellent Customer Service

• Would you agree that Concierge #2 displayed GREAT Customer Service?

• Concierge #2: “I will be happy to package them up and drop them off at the carrier of your choice. Since you have additional travel, I will send them out in 3 days to ensure you are home to receive them. Now, let’s select a carrier…”

ReferencesBlanchard, P., & Thacker, J. (2007). Effective Training: Systems, strategies, and

practices . Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall

Business Balls (BB). Retrieved on 2010OCT8. Retrieved from: http://www.businessballs.com/customer_service.htm

Kirk, Katie. CMS: Customer Service in Today’s Business Environment. Retrieved on 2010OCT10.Retrieved from: http://www.customerservicemanager.com/customer-service-in-todays-business-environment.htm

Quality Media Resources (QMR). Retrieved on 2010OCT15. Retrieved from:http://www.qmr.com/products/customer_service/

Siegel, Donna . Sales skills, knowledge and tools for sales Professionals. Retrieved on 2010OCT15. Retrieved from: http://www.salesmba.com/articles1/csgn08.htm.

Waiter Bell Blog: In the Restaurant Customer Service Business. Research: Commonly quoted customer

service statistics. Retrieved on 2010OCT18. Retrieved from: http://waiterbell.wordpress.com/2006/04/06/research-commonly-quoted-customer-service-statistics/