Customer service is the support you offer your customers both before and after they buy and use your products or services, that helps them have an easy and enjoyable experience with you. Offering amazing customer service is important if you want to retain customers and grow your business.
Customer, they say is the ‘lifeblood’ of every organization.
Benefits of good customer service
- Increase Business revenue.
- There would be a lot of referrals from your customers using word of mouth Marketing.
- Improves brand loyalty and reputation.
- It helps innovation and growth.
- Customers becomes willing to pay more for excellent service.
- There would be employee’s retention and satisfaction.
- It is how you win your competitors.
Customer service is not:
- A single person’s responsibility.
- The act of solving problem only.
- A series of steps.
- Is not a department.
- Smiling and being friendly even when you are unable to help.
Types of customers
- Internal customers: Employees.
- External customers: Buyers.
- Corporate customers: Stakeholders, agencies etc.
EXPECTATIONS
Expectations refers to how customers think and feel they should be treated when they come to you with their needs.
Key expectations that drive customer satisfaction
- Reliability: Doing what you said you will do, how you said you will do it and when you said you will do it. The key to reliability is to always under promise and over deliver.
- Professionalism: The appearance of your physical facilities, equipment and that of your staff/Employees, helps you create a good first impression.
- Competency: Your ability to convey trust and confidence by being knowledgeable about the product and service you offer.
- Flexibility: This is the ability to recognize the individuality of each customer and offer creative solutions to meet each need.
- Responsiveness: This is the willingness to help and provide customers with prompt service and ability to respond to problem on time.
- Empathy: Ability to share someone else’s feeling or experience by imagining what it will be like to be in the person’s situation.
- Responsible: Take responsibility for your decisions and actions even when they go bad. Takes responsibility for your mistakes.
Ensure that you define your company’s standard of Service; transparent and honest. Build emotional connection with your customer.
CUSTOMER’S COMPLAINTS/ SERVICE DELIVERY GAP
Customer complaints are often a sign that there’s a disconnect between what customers expected and what you delivered.
Customer’s complaints can
- Improve your business.
- Improve your process.
- Improve your policy.
Causes of Service delivery gap
- Customer’s expectations being more than what a company can deliver.
- When organizations promise more than they can deliver.
- Team failure to follow service process.
Steps to handle complaints
- Listen (Pay attention, be calm and repeat the complaint): Give the customer assurance, apologize and don’t be defensive.
- Find out what was wrong.
- Emphasize with the customer.
- Take action Immediately.
- Restore customers relationship.
- Fix all that needs to be fixed.
To get testimonials from your customers:
- Give them value for their money.
- Always go above and beyond their expectations.
- Make them an offer.