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Big Customer Service Improvement Starts with Small Changes

by Kevin Stirtz

Big Customer Service Improvement Starts with Small Changes

Last week I read an article about people called “high-milers”. These folks go to great lengths to get amazing fuel efficiency from their cars. Some have high mileage cars like the Toyota Prius. Others don’t. But they all make it their goal to squeeze every last drop of fuel efficiency they can from their autos.

I found the article fascinating because the it talked about specific things these people do to get higher mileage. Most suggestions they offered were low-tech things anyone could do. Like coasting when ever possible or driving the speed limit. They employ a lot of little behavorial changes to produce some remarkable outcomes, like 100 miles per gallon!

What I really like about this article is that it shows us how easy it is to make changes in our lives. It’s not hard to produce a different outcome than what we have in the past. Even better, producing big changes in outcomes does not necessarily require making big changes. Because a lot of small changes can add up to a big difference in outcomes.

The same is true with customer loyalty. You can experience big changes in customer loyalty by making small changes in how you deliver customer service. You do not have to make massive changes to your organization to improve customer service or customer loyalty.

But you do need to be consistent about the changes you make. And you need to keep doing them or you won’t see the outcome you want.

So, take time to discover what you can do better for your customers. Learn this by asking them. Then implement small changes in that direction. Get your employees involved in creating the changes. Teach them what they are accountable for and monitor their behavior. Make these your new customer service standards.

If your employees change their actions according to your new standards and they stay consistent then you’ll start to see improvements in your customer loyalty. It might take awhile but stick with it and you’ll see amazing results.

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This article was written by:

Kevin Stirtz - who has written 595 posts on AmazingServiceGuy.com.

Kevin Stirtz is the Amazing Service Guy, a speaker and trainer who helps organizations of all kinds deliver Amazing Customer Service. His recent book: "More Loyal Customers" has won 5 star reviews at Amazon.com. Kevin lives in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis & St. Paul). More at: author's website.

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