CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE CULTURE
While you are executing your plans for 2010, consider making customer service a priority in your organization. Rid your workplace of old employees' poor customer service habits and train new employees in an effective way that will not only make your present customers happy but eager to refer their friends and associates as well.
With the current economy and workforce demographic shift, learning programs must be aligned with business goals and challenges. Customer service should be one of those goals.
In a Harris Interactive Study of 2,049 U.S. adults, 80 percent of respondents indicated that they have decided never to return to a company after a bad customer service experience. Customer care is a defining issue for businesses, and to grow, organizations must attract new customers and retain their current customers.
Frustrations with customer care have come into focus during the past 10 years, according to researchers at the University of Iowa. Dozens of studies confirm that today's organizations have less committed workers, have made cuts to customer service operations and have reduced hiring and training. To remain competitive, organizations cannot survive on pricing; they must offer outstanding customer service.
The technology revolution has brought new tools and software for customer relationship management, profiles, trends and customer history. But technology can't solve the fundamental need for trained employees to deliver the following:
• Increased consistency in creating positive memorable customer service experiences
• Increased customer retention
• Expanded business relationships
• Increased customer referrals
How They Do It
American Family Insurance recently turned to its education division to revamp internal training to provide a better customer experience. Agents are now required to attend a thorough training program that prepares them to help customers achieve financial security. The new training focused on performance-based learning, multiple learning styles, interactive hands-on learning and measurement. This has brought positive outcomes, including increased efficiencies and cross-divisional work.
The Walt Disney Company is well known for its superb customer advocacy and service recovery principles. "Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends," said Walt Disney. One of Disney's methods is to solicit knowledge of mistakes and rectify them so the situation becomes better than if no mistake occurred.
Aside from a focus on good merchandise at a reasonable profit, L.L.Bean, Inc., focuses on customer expectations, treating customers like neighbors and, thereby, changing the dynamic of the interaction. L.L. Bean said, "Self practical, tested merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings and they will always come back."
Put Strategy Into Motion With Training
Giving customers what they want isn't enough; you must anticipate their needs, resolve their complaints and provide service that electrifies them. Preference for products and services goes beyond selection of the product. You want to rid your organization of poor service and become a company of preference by winning customer loyalty. Permanence in the personal relationships that your service employees create brings long-term commitment from your customers. At this point, customers recognize your value proposition.
Creating this sustainable differentiation involves training employees and communicating with them. Your employees must understand that customers are the center of your business.
Communication Strategy provides training tools to assist organizations with their resolution to eliminate poor customer service. Winning Through Customer Service is a program designed to help employees to understand their role as a professional within the organization and promotes a problem-solving culture. Employees will learn essential communication skills and behavioral styles that will help them adapt their personal style. In addition, they will identify and utilize a structured process/model for conducting customer service transactions while at the same time mastering strategies for dealing with difficult customers.
STAR Service is another program designed to improve customer care. It presents four key areas of learning:
S: Sync-up with the customer
T: Target to determine customer needs
A: Assist to meet the customer's needs
R: Reaffirm assistance and the relationship
Loyal For Life is yet another learning program we offer to assist you in building a Customer Service Culture in your organization. This learning process addresses what to do when something has gone wrong and " service recovery " is needed to , well in essence , solve the problem in a way that keeps customers loyal for life.
Communication Strategy offers classroom, online and blended learning options that are easily customizable to fit your training strategies. When your employees understand their role and play their part in the customer value proposition, your customers will come back.
If you would like to learn more about how we might be able to assist you in creating a customer service culture for your organization contact us by telephone at 212 362 5215 or via e mail : info@communicationstrat.com
Communication Strategy is a New York City based consulting firm with affiliates through out the United States . We assist our clients in such areas as Leadership , Team Building , Employee Engagement , Meeting Facilitation as well as Meeting and Performance Management and of course Customer Service Excellence.
Contact: David Hellman (info@communicationstrat.com)
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