Deliver Great Customer Service
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1. Great Customer Service Begins With You. - Simply put, the most inspiring leadership is by example.
If you show indifference to your customers, your employees will mimic it. If you are enthusiastic and courteous, your troops are more likely to be so as well.
2. A Culture of Customer Service Must Be Codified. - Start by hanging on the wall a set of core values, 10 or fewer principles that include customer service ideals, suggests Susan McCartney, Maggiotto's colleague at the Buffalo SBDC. "Share them during the training, have employees sign them, and evaluate employees based on the values," she says. "But don't call them rules."
3. Employees Are Customers, Too. - Companies renowned for their customer service the online shoe retailer Zappos, for example treat employees as they would have their employees treat their customers. "Employees take on more responsibility because they know they are appreciated and an important part of the team," says the University of Missouri's Proffer. "People who don't feel like they're part of the bigger picture, who feel like a small cog in a big machine, are not willing to go the extra mile."
4. Emphasize the Long Term. - Short-term sales incentives can sometimes undermine long-term customer satisfaction. Prevent that by building short-term programs atop an ongoing program that rewards broader improvements, says Paula Godar, brands strategy director for Maritz, a sales and marketing consulting firm based in St. Louis. Moreover, winner-take-all incentives "can drive a lot of unhealthy competition and disengage the rest of the sales force," says Godar. "We've improved sales performance by much greater percentages when we've improved the performance of the large group in the middle of the bell curve."
5. Build Trust. - Use your customer's name whenever you can. And sometimes you have to give to get. In his book The Knack, Inc. columnist Norm Brodsky relates how he won a sale against long odds by venturing his time and expertise to help a prospect cut costs. "I was showing him not only that we could help him save money but that we cared about saving him money," writes Brodsky.
6. Listen. - "The best salespeople spend 80 percent of their time listening, not talking," says Marc Willson, a retail and restaurant consultant for the Virginia SBDC network. Ask open-ended questions to elicit a customer's needs and wants. "Once they've identified what they're looking for, use their words throughout the process," suggests Proffer. "That way, they've sold it for you."
7. Sometimes It's the Little Things That Matter. - Small gestures that anticipate customers' needs or attend to their comforts such as offering a cold glass of water on a hot day or a children's area with toys go a long way toward winning them over.
8. If You Can't Help a Customer, Point to an Establishment That Can. - And saying "You might try Smith's, on Main Street" won't make nearly as strong an impression as confirming that Smith's has the item in question and giving directions to Main Street. "This is the ultimate in customer service," says Tom Maydew, regional director of the SBDC in Pocatello, Idaho. "That customer will be back."
9. Show Your Appreciation. - One important element of retaining customers is communication. Willson suggests a personalized thank-you note after a deal or sale "If Nordstrom's can do it, everybody can do it" and even a follow-up phone call a month or so later. In a retail business, loyalty programs or rewards cards drive repeat business (as well as help you collect information about what your customers are buying). Many businesses send out birthday and holiday cards; Proffer prefers marking the anniversary of a client's or customer's first purchase.
10. Treat Your Best Customers Better. - If your company relies on a relatively small number of clients to provide a disproportionately large share of revenue, it makes sense to devote a disproportionate amount of time and energy to serving them. (Think of airlines and the escalating benefits in their frequent-flier programs.)
Source: inc
Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.
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