Customer Service Unit 4

Spicing things up a little.

Have you ever waited in a long line to be served or helped at a business, while employees stood around doing nothing? One answer to this problem is cross training. Employees should be taught how to perform other jobs in addition to their own, so that when things get crazy, they can step into action. As an added benefit, they are less likely to get bored with their jobs, which results in happier, more productive employees

Losing control every now and then

Employees are often faced with customer-service dilemmas. For example, a salesperson might be asked to honor a request to match a competitor's price even though the business has no formal policy on the matter. In this situation, the employee could waste valuable time by waiting for the manager to give approval, or s/he could make a decision to please the customer. Of course, for the atter to happen, the manager must be willing to give up a little control to empower the employee to make sales situations run more smoothly.

Hiring right

Smart managers hire friendly people and then teach them how to do their jobs rather than hiring experienced people and then teaching them how to be friendly. They realize that when employees have a sincere desire to help people, they will do whatever it takes to exceed customer expectations. Of course, there needs to be enough of them to go around. The supply of employees should never go down when demand for their services goes up. This is why many stores open all checkout lanes between the hours of five and seven when many people shop on their way home from work. And catering services sometimes hire extra food servers during December, a very busy month for office parties.

Products

When customers fork over their hard-earned cash to watch a movie, they expect to be able to order tickets online, to sit in high-backed, comfortable seats, to experience the latest in sound technology, and to enjoy the film on a giant screen without the interruption of other people talking or texting. On the other hand, they wouldn't expect employees to walk up and down the aisles selling popcorn and cotton candy like employees do at sporting events. It wouldn't make any sense because people couldn't hear the movie. Can you think of other examples of how the types of products a business sells affect the customer service it provides?

Size.

As you already know, the size of a business has an impact on the customer service it provides. If your company is large, you will most likely have more resources to devote to customer service tasks. You may have more money to build your website, to hire customer-service representatives, or to provide extra amenities (such as a salon that offers massages and facials in addition to hair styling and manicures). However, there's a trade-off for having more resources at a large company—the larger you are, the more impersonal or "distant" you may seem to customers. Customers like receiving personal service, especially if they are experiencing problems with their purchases. Larger companies should make the effort to make customer service as personalized as possible. For smaller businesses, giving personalized service is much easier. Due to having fewer resources, their customer-service strategies may have to be smaller in scale, but they can be just as meaningful and memorable. Greeting a customer with a cup of coffee at the door, adding a few free samples to every order, offering VIP customers first look at sale items—all of these are inexpensive ways to provide excellent customer service.

Elements of Customer Service: Competition

Competition = can help you learn what works and what doesn't Your strongest competitors are: Customer focused Technologically savvy Forward thinking

Elements of Customer Service: The Business

Customer-service strategies must consider: Desired image Business size Products

business image

Hollywood isn't the only place where image is everything. Having a clear idea of what you want your business image to be and then developing customer-service strategies around that idea is an important task. It's a task that requires maintenance at times, too. Customer-service problems can occur with even the best companies and, when they do, public relations specialists may need to control the damage. In today's information age, news travels fast about bad customer experiences. Customers post negative information and even video rants on blogs and other websites—this brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "word of mouth." Social media is quickly emerging as a customer-service solution. Although public complaints can damage a company's image, social media also gives those companies the opportunity to provide great customer service and improve their image

Stand out above the competition

How many businesses do exactly what yours does? Let's say you run a public accounting firm, taking care of bookkeeping and taxes for small to medium-sized businesses. How many similar choices do your clients have to meet their needs? There may be 20 similar accounting firms in your city. You may not be able to do much to make your prices or your services unique, but you can offer a level of customer service to position yourself a cut above your competitors. Small actions can add up to a big impact. You could send personal emails to your clients each Friday to remind them to save their receipts for the week. Or, you could hold an annual "client appreciation" cookout.

Keeping the right goals in mind

It's important to establish a customer-service mindset for your employees. As a manager, it's your responsibility to set the tone for this type of environment—where customers are valued and taken special care of on a consistent basis. Recognizing and rewarding employees when they provide "legendary" customer service is a great way to reinforce this goal.

Make a lasting impression

With so many options out there, it's important for a business to make itself memorable to clients. What customer services can you perform to make clients consider you first when they have specific needs and wants? One idea is to do at least one thing totally different from anyone else. It doesn't have to be anything big. You could be the women's clothing store that offers free childcare while moms are trying on clothes in the dressing room. Or, you could be the salon that offers a free 10-minute, neck-and-shoulder massage with each haircut. You can also make a lasting impression by going "the extra mile" with your customer service. Your web business might offer a help line that is open 24/7. You might keep track of customers' birthdays and send coupons in the mail. These are services that customers don't necessarily ask for or expect, but they will certainly be pleased to receive. Going the extra mile doesn't apply just to businesses that deal with end consumers, either. Even a raw-goods producer needs to make customer service a priority. A farm employee can make phone calls to follow up with clients and make sure produce has arrived safely. It might seem like a small gesture, but customers will remember the extra effort.

customer-relationship management software to provide

information, such as which customers make the best prospects, buy the most products, or return the most merchandise. In turn, this information can be used to establish better relationships with customers, especially with those who are most profitable for the business.

Customer service =

vital part of positioning

What Is Customer Service?

• All the activities and benefits a business provides to create customer goodwill and customer satisfaction • Means different things to different people (. To many, it means not having to wait in line or on the telephone and being able to return unwanted or defective items without a hassle. To others, it means the little "extras" that some businesses provide, such as free delivery, gift wrapping, room service, online order tracking, flexible credit terms, etc.) • Can be provided by any business, large or small

Elements of Customer Service: Cost

• Cost = weigh against possible income • Typical approach = pass along to customers

Excellent customer service allows your business to:

• Stand out among the competition • Make a lasting impression

Technology and Customer Service

• Technology = not a customer service in itself • A tool for supporting and serving customers • Can also be used to obtain information and manage customer relationships

Elements of Customer Service: Customers

• The heart of every organization • Get to know who they are and what they expect with: Comment boxes Surveys Market research

Elements of Customer Service: Employees

To build excellent internal customer service, managers must: Encourage cooperation Hire the right people Cross train Give appropriate authority Establish customer-service mindset

Some other ideas for controlling customer-service costs include:

Training employees through computer courses rather than hiring professional trainers • Publishing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) web page to minimize the number of calls to the customer-service center • Communicating with customers through email rather than postal mail