An Often Overlooked Initiative

publication date: May 23, 2008

 | 

author/source: Carolyn C. Finney

Customer service initiatives should be right up there at the top when planning strategies and setting goals for your company. Too often looking at customer service is not thought of as necessary, rather, it is thought of as something to be done at a later date, like when you're successful. Providing excellent customer service is the key to becoming successful; not providing it is very often the reason for a company's demise.

You can have everything in place for the goods or service your company provides. Marketing is top notch, sales are climbing, contracts are flying in the door, and you think you are on your way. That's when it hits you; customers are not returning, even new customers are falling off. What could be the problem? We are the masters in our field. We have cutting edge equipment, a terrific product or service. Where are our customers? What is going on?

Chances are your customers, have moved on to where they feel valued and appreciated. Customers will move on and even pay more for less if they are made to feel valued. Customer loyalty is not always built on providing the best for less, or even providing the best for the most. No, customer loyalty is governed by what companies we feel we connect with. That connection begins with making the customer feel that they are the ones driving the bus.

At one time or another we have all had that sales call that offers what seems like a better deal than we currently have, but we're not interested. The salesperson questions why you will pay more or get less, when they are presenting a more attractive scenario. Sometimes, we can't begin to explain the reasoning. We'll mumble something about doing business with so-and-so for years, or that Stan or Mary is such a nice person. The truth is that we feel connected to that current vendor and it will take more than a quick sales call to shatter that loyalty.

So let's examine this closer. What is that company doing to warrant such strong loyalty? It could be that when you walk in there is always a smiling person to greet you. It could be that if you ever have a problem that it is handled to your satisfaction without any hassle. It could be that you are comfortable with the taste, smell or feel of the product. Or that the service staff goes above and beyond what is expected. The point is that this company is customer focused first and foremost. Above all else, they want their customers to be content, happy, satisfied - loyal. They will bend over backwards, stand on their heads and whistle a tune until you are satisfied. That means that they have planned, trained and then monitored how they treat their customers. This company knows what works and what doesn't. They know what their customers think about them and why. They know this because they hired a company to tell them.

When you leave an establishment feeling calm and in control after spending your hard earned money it's probably because the customer service is exceptional. That office, store or restaurant where you know you will feel better coming out than you did going in is no accident. It happens when you are tuned into what customers expect, and what annoys them.

Knowing the level of customer service that your company provides is not an accident. It has to start at the top and encompass the entire company. It begins with a corporate commitment that the customer will be treated with the utmost respect. Then you put policies and procedures in place to make this happen. You hire and train staff to make it happen. But the only way to truly know if it's working is to test it. The only way to know if your plan is correct is to look at it through independent eyes. You need to hire a monitoring company to test your customer service. You can not accurately monitor your own customer service. It just doesn't give you're an honest answer. You can sometimes depend on your customers to let you know if something is not right. But wouldn't you rather fix it before it affects the customer? The best way to find out how you really treat your customers is to hire a company to pose as a customer and report the experience. That way you are finding out how you really treat your customers without losing them in the process.

Evaluating your customer service is not something to put off until you are successful. It is what you do to become successful. It is what you do to stay successful. It should be what every company is committed to doing.