Can you afford to give exceptional customer service in tough economic times?Okay, perhaps the better question is “Can you afford not to?”
Recently, J.D. Power and Associates reported that exceptional service satisfaction enhances automotive dealer and manufacturer profitability by improving customer retention even as sales decline.
I have one comment on their finding. “Duh!”
OK, seriously, they are absolutely correct. NO business can afford to NOT provide exceptional service 100 % of the time.
You have experienced it yourself. You walk into a business, whether it is your physician’s office, a fast food franchise, a department store or the offices of a large corporation, and you are welcomed like a valued guest. The greeting you receive is warm, sincere and immediate. The rest of your experience is made better by this simple act. But, you have also experienced the completely opposite experience—probably more often. You walk in and you are treated badly or maybe worse—totally ignored. No matter how positive the rest of your experience with this business may be, you are much less likely to be a satisfied customer.
Great customer service has always been important. But, in these tough economic times, businesses can’t afford not to get their customer service absolutely right. And yet, more often than not, this best practice eludes most service providers.
An online survey showed that 77 percent of customers will never return to a business simply because of how they were greeted. Most of them leave without ever saying why. With that huge of a loss in business, it’s clear all businesses need to greet their customers properly.
Today, create goodwill and great experiences at your business by providing exceptional customer service. Write and share what you did.
Other articles you might like:
- Is Your Business Ready for More Customers?
- Customer Service Quote for September 9, 2009
- Bad manners are bad for business
- Practice What You Preach
- How to reduce customer complaints
