Customer service excellence defined
Nothing impresses the customer more than competence – so before introducing marketing gimmicks or special promotions ensure that in common sense terms all operations that are dealing with the customer are in place and functioning
Customer service model – customers usually call a business when they need a solution to a problem and secondly when they want to feel special in some way.
The seven most important factors that make a customer feel special has been listed below:
1. Speed and time – Delivery time is in most cases one of the important ways that your business can create competitive advantage. Some customers are prepared to pay a premium price if quality products are delivery at exceptionally quick time.
2. Personal interaction with a customer – the minor things regarding a customer such as likes and dislikes, hobbies and interests does make a difference since this adds new dimensions and richness to the relationship. This risk of defection is considerably reduced due to the truly personalized service.
3. Expectations – customer expectations can differ from customer to customer. Therefore it is important to discover what the customer’s expectations really are. Also a truly exceptional company will be able to mould customer expectations if the company is operating more than on par with industry standards. Therefore it is very important to make promises only when you can deliver. Based on the company’s ability to meet customer’s expectations there will be three different categories of customers; they are delighted customers, satisfied customers and dissatisfied customers.
4. Courtesy and competence – these two factors go hand in hand for example customer might be more inclined to be served by a enthusiastic amateur than an indifferent expert.
5. Information and keeping the customer informed – One of the most important ways of making a customer feel special is to keep them informed of all changes taking place. For example keep the customer informed of the delivery of a product and the status of a product if it is being manufactured. Also if the customer is awaiting some information or change always keep them upto date on the status of their request. Always keep the client in the loop and ensure more sales and greater customer satisfaction.
6. Attitude and customer liaison – this is something that cannot be defined easily but what is means is that customer service personnel are helpful, enthusiastic and positive in meeting customer’s requests.
7. Long-term relationships – this is the final and clincher in the customer relationship management process. A customer will feel special if he/she is rewarded for maintaining a long-term relationship with your business. Studies have shown that many people who have got used to a certain way of being served by a company will not defect to a competitor since the human mind looks to maintaining the same patterns over longer period of time. This explains why some very poor companies continue in business even with very poor service levels.