Anyone owning a business or in management should know great customer service skills and teach them to all employees with customer service positions, which is anyone who comes in contact with a customer in any way. If you treat your current clients with excellence and great customer service, they are 10 times more likely to spend more money with you than a brand new customer. Let me make it very clear that the nice, fluffy, altruistic reasons for providing great customer service are simply not enough. Providing great customer service is one of the only shortcuts to building a great company. The best way to build a good reputation is by word of mouth, and great customer service is the best way to get people to spread the word.
To provide this elevated customer service however, you need to go steps further; you must set the high bar, demand, mandate, and inspect your employees. Great customer service is one of the few ways companies can distinguish themselves these days. The key to great customer service is the speed and quality of your response and how well we react to the needs of the client.
Here are a few tips.
Great customer service comes from the heart. In reality, the specific needs for great customer service agents are rather unique. Empower and encourage your staff to give feedback about the systems and policies within which you expect them to work and deliver. Feedback can be submitted via suggestion box, surveys, intranet or websites
A company that takes responsibility for its shortcomings is more likely to provide the best customer service for two reasons: first, it is acknowledged that it is the companies fault and the companies responsibility to fix, and what customers are often hungry for may sound like little things and common courtesies that certainly would not be considered rocket science but combined together provide a strong foundation. On average, a study found that American's are willing to spend approximately 9.7% more for this type of customer service.
If you can honestly say that you have these skills, you are well on your way to long term success. An employee who displays these extraordinary skills will go far in almost any industry.
Blaming the customer first is not great customer service. Before you unearth these indiscreet secrets, it is best to address this head on by un-cracking the codes that can help build a great customer service. So no matter if you are Business-to-business or business-to-consumer, set the bar high.
