As I work with companies to help them improve their customer service, some things stand out. These are things a lot of organizations don’t do consistently. Yet if they did they’d find the quality of their customer service would improve and their customer loyalty would increase. 1. Know what your customers want. The first thing is to make sure you really know what your customers want. I know this sounds too basic to even talk about. But I’m continually amazed at how many organizations make assumptions about what their customers want without asking them. An example of this is when [...]
culture
In most organizations there is at least one person who believes in the importance of delivering Amazing customer service. But for it to work, it takes a whole team. So a customer service champion needs to get others on the team to make it a priority. There are a couple ways to do this. The two I like best are fundamental, not overly complicated. I call the first one: “Show me the money!” This goal here is simple. Connect better service to return on investment (ROI). Show people how improving service to customers can lead to better retention, increased repeat [...]
When I was a kid, a local car dealer had long-running advertising campaign centered on the tagline: “A better car deal – we wrote the book!” Recently, another Minnesota car dealer made a good start writing a different kind of book. This one might be called: “How to drive customers away by the busload.” This article in the StarTribune would make a good first chapter. It tells how this car dealer has dealt with a customer over what appears to be the car dealer’s mistake. (According to the article, they undercharged her by $7000.) One of their tactics was to [...]
Sometimes people who focus on improving customer service forget that the lessons apply to everyone. This includes when we are customers. Here’s what I mean. Remember, the three requirements of an Amazing customer experience are: 1. Treat me well 2. Help me accomplish what I want 3. Offer me value As a customer if you routinely violate the first rule then you’re part of the problem. Being a customer does not give you permission to be rude, discourteous or less than civil. No matter who you are, the same standard applies to everyone: Treat everyone well. I see this in [...]
Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service: Don’t let automatic customers become invisible customers And here are some additional thoughts on this topic… At some point we are all automatic customers. Whether it’s a fitness club membership, an insurance policy, a banking relationship or a cell phone account, we all have companies that expect us to show up every month. Whether by contract or inertia, we continue to do business with them every month until we take action to stop. It’s easy to let automatic customers become invisible customers. Because the customer has to take action to leave, it’s [...]
“Anything that we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job…Life is for service.” -Fred Rogers
Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service: Use honest language. And here are some additional thoughts on this topic… I keep seeing companies use language I find offensive. It’s not vulgar or even indecent. But it’s inappropriate in how it’s used. It’s manipulative. It’s intended to produce a certain emotional responses based on a situation or relationship that does not exist. For example, at Target, I’m no longer a customer. I’m a “guest”. This is supposed to make me feel more welcome. Maybe they hope I’ll stay longer. But, we all know I’m not their guest. If I was [...]
If you’ve been paying attention, you know things have changed in the world of business. As customers, we are smarter than ever. We know we have more options. We know we deserve to do business with companies that help us accomplish our goals. And we understand it’s okay to expect companies that will work WITH us as partners rather than adversaries. Companies that ignore this will end up just like “Mr. Advertising” in this video: alone and wondering what happened.
