The Basics of Customer Service

Rule #1: Keep your customers!

In today’s economy—local and national—demand is going down and competing for customers is getting harder.

The most efficient and cost-effective action you can take is to retain the customers you have, and make them so happy with you that they will refer others to you. Reducing customer attrition (loss) “by 5 to 10 percent can increase annual profits by as much as 75 percent, according to a study by The Wharton School.” (The Wharton School is one of the best business institutions in the country, if not the world.)

Customer satisfaction starts when you offer both a trouble-free shopping experience and a smooth business transaction. But you also have to anticipate and meet your customers' wants, not just needs. People often want more than they need, and will not be happy if only their needs are satisfied and not their wants.

Your customers are interested in benefits, not features.

Although you may have the occasional customer who wants to know the details of your new machine or chemistry of your product, most of them are happy if you focus just on what you can do for them. They want to know that their premises will be spotless or that your products, repairs or designs will be guaranteed, not how you will make this happen. The story about your business may be useful as backup to build confidence, but they really want to know the answer to this question: What can you do for me to make my life / business / home better? When a customer doesn’t know and trust you, cost is a major consideration. When a customer truly believes you will deliver the desired benefits, cost is less important—especially if you’ve shown how you will save them money in the long run. (See examples in paragraph #4 at the end of today's post.)

Keep accurate and timely records and review them regularly. Every time you have an interaction with a customer—on the phone, in person, via email—write down the key points about their home or business, their personalities and what they want and need. Really listen! Many businesses lose customers because they don’t listen to their customers. Keep it in a file where you can easily find it, either on your computer or on paper.

• What did the customer ask for?
• What was the customer’s attitude?
• What did you say and do?
• What could you have done better?
• What do you need to do to follow up?
• When?
• Did you ask for a sale or a referral?
• What ideas do you have for offering more services or products to this customer?

The more you increase your customer knowledge and centralize it into customer profiles, the better positioned you'll be to deliver a satisfying customer experience each time you interact with a customer, be it on the Web, face to face, by e-mail or telephone.

Make this customer data easily available to you and to your employees. You can do this by putting it on a paper worksheet that you design, with blank space for notes.

• You can also put it on a website. Employees can input, update and view information about your customers. Mobile workers can stay connected to customers and customer data, no matter where they are. When customers call, you'll know who they are. You can set up your system so that you can see vital customer details right away. You'll save time for your customers and employees and make a better impression. You'll be able to easily collaborate with customers more effectively.

You will reduce costs and improve the bottom line (profits). By offering a better customer experience, you'll be able to retain the customers you have and attract new ones. The end result: You'll reduce costs associated with attracting new customers and boost revenues.


Things to Consider: How to Plan for Better Customer Service

1. What do your customers want? While it may be tempting to buy equipment or products that seem good to you, you may be throwing away your money if these don’t solve your company’s particular customer service problems. How do you find out what these problems are?

• Ask them. Talk to them. Send out surveys asking what improvements they’d like to see.
• Talk to others in your industry to see what’s working and what’s not.
• Ask your employees.

2. Make your employees feel valued and improve morale. Employees who feel good about themselves and the work they do perform better. They excel when they have the tools and training necessary to do the job correctly. Improved employee morale is reflected in every customer contact made.

The people who work with your customers every day have a good idea of what’s working and what’s not. Involve them from the very beginning in creating solutions designed to meet everyone’s needs. Treat them with respect so they won’t be afraid to tell you the truth. Don’t immediately say yes or no to their ideas. Think about them and thank them for sharing their thoughts with you, whether you later implement them or not. Reward them appropriately and let other employees know about it, so they too will be encouraged to go beyond the limits of their daily tasks and use their minds to help you improve your business. Always prepare them beforehand for a significant change in your business and work with them during a transition. Be flexible.

3. Get help from the organizations that offer it. These include business groups you can find in our resource list such as MBD, the Chambers of Commerce and the Small Business Development Association. There are free talks every week in the community about different aspects of business. You don't have to go it alone.


Down the Road: Even More Ways to Serve Your Customers Better

In today's interconnected and knowledge-based economy, your business's survival depends on how quickly and securely you can respond to customer needs. To do this, you need to collect, organize, analyze, and disseminate information about customers to your employees, including purchases and returns, buying habits, past inquiries, and service contracts. As soon as you can afford it, do this with a computer. Numerous studies have shown that appropriate technology boosts your business to a new level and increases profits.

Some people say there is an 80/20 rule: 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers. You need to track performance of services and employees to help make your business more effective at handling customers profitably. You want to know how much time and money a customer costs you and focus most of your efforts on the most profitable customers.

• You want to know the average call duration, i.e., how long do you spend setting up a new client on the phone or during site visits?

• When are the peak and low times of calls? Of services? How often are problems resolved with one call or one visit?

• Knowing what your customers want and need enables you to better focus your production and service efforts. Understanding which customers have the most sales potential enables you to focus on them. You can also determine which customers are the least profitable. You'll also be able to easily identify which customers are your strongest advocates and are willing to serve as references or new product or service testers.

• Continually modify and customize your customer service efforts. Every company regardless of size, must track the performance of people, processes and workflows to determine how well they are delivering a satisfying customer experience. Continually modify your policies, processes and operations to enhance customer interactions, from first contact to most recent.

Prepare for success. Is your company growing rapidly? Expanding locations? You may eventually need software that allows you to easily and cost-effectively extend your operations as business conditions change. Keep in mind that growth includes indirect costs such as new technology and equipment, maintenance, training, support, additional staff (if needed) and other factors. Research firm Gartner estimates such indirect costs account for up to 60% of an organization's total technology expenditures. Your business will be better positioned to stay a step ahead of competitors and offer new services to customers—both of which will help you continue to grow.


Top 5 Questions To Answer for Your Customers

Here are five key questions your customers may have about you.

1. Do you specialize in working with people or businesses like them? Do you understand the challenges they face and the goals they have in mind? What are your qualifications? What training do you provide to your employees? What support do you give your employees? Do you stay up to date on the latest developments in your industry in terms of working smarter and improving your products? How?

2. What type of service and support do you offer after the sale? For example: Do you offer after-hours or emergency support? If so, during what hours is that support available?

3. How will your services integrate into their existing environment? Are you flexible in accommodating their schedule, or do they have to adapt to your schedule and methods? Is your business growing so that you can meet their needs not only today, but as their needs grow over time, and fit within their budget requirements?

4. How will your services help them save money and control their costs? If they can count on you for all related services, it is easier for them than having to deal with multiple vendors. Examples:

• If you are offering maintenance or food services, customers have more time to earn money from their own jobs.
• Realtors have statistics on how attractive landscaping or a remodeled kitchen increases the value of a home.
• If you are providing preventive auto maintenance, you will save them from expensive repairs later.
• If you are teaching Spanish, you may help them to expand their own customer base and to develop another marketable skill.
• Architectural drawings help builders avoid costly errors.

5. What do your customers need to do to prepare so they can make the best use of your products or services? Before you arrive, what do they need to do to make your work go as smoothly as possible? Who is providing materials? Does anything need to be moved? How do you expect to be paid?


Some of the above information was adapted for this class from the following website:
http://www.cisco.com/web/solutions/smb/need_to/
serve_customer_better_primer.html