|
Attract Your Dream Customer
Have you clearly defined your target audience? These are the prime buyers of your products or services. It is the people or organizations you are pursuing actively as customers. You don't need every customer in the world! You need the ones who...
Customer Service - Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle
Relationships... Money... Health..The Past...Failure..Mental and Spiritual Battles..Time Constraints...Professional pressures.. At any given moment you, your clients, and employees are dealing with one or the other of these challenges in life. No...
Five Secrets to Showing Your Customers You Really Care
Five Secrets to Showing Your Customers You Really Care Copyright © Ed Sykes. All rights reserved During our recent online poll, we asked the following question: What upsets you the most when receiving poor customer service? Eighty percent of the...
Good Customer Service is Worth Its Weight in Gold!
From LAND OF ODDS
We at Land of Odds get many questions about what glue to use with rhinestones and other beading and jewelry-making projects. We're craftspersons and silversmiths, and we have a shop where we sell rhinestones, beads,...
What is an Investor Ready Business Plan
What is an Investor Ready Business Plan
A Business Plan, as all good entrepreneurs starting out in life should know is the foundation, or rather a springboard, towards the establishment and growth of a new business. A business plan is an...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Why hasn't customer service improved despite the profusion of databases and technology?
Let's not get confused here.
Databases and technology are tools that we can use in our
businesses. There has been a lot of emphasis on Customer
Relationship Management recently which is very much about using
this technology. But what has this got to do with customer
service? Absolutely nothing. Not unless the people running that
business are motivated and passionate enough to use that
information in the right way.
I see fabulous examples of customer service from all over the
world. And the amazing thing is that, in most cases, it comes
from businesses that have no technology. Little shops and
restaurants, taxi drivers, libraries, one person businesses.
They have found a way to dazzle and delight their customers that
has nothing whatsoever to do with technology.
And yet the larger businesses put so much emphasis on
technology. "Let's profile our customers. Let's monitor their
spending patterns. Let's change the layout of our shop so that
they spend more. Let's give them reward points."
This is not customer service. This is a misguided attempt to
increase sales without understanding that customer service is
about dealing with people. We buy from people we like. We want
to fall in love with the businesses that we buy from. And love
doesn't come from databases.
My research into literally hundreds of businesses has identified
a number of key elements that I believe combine to create a
great service experience. They are like pieces of a jigsaw; the
more that you can assemble the clearer the picture becomes. But
let me tell you about just three of them. The three that I think
are the most important.
The first is communication. How do we communicate with our
customers? And I don't mean email or letter or telephone. What I
mean is, do we really make an effort to get on side with our
customer? Do we look at things from our customers point of view?
Do we understand all the things that our customer is feeling,
seeing, hearing, tasting and smelling? Do we communicate
in ways
that our customer understands? And do we listen? Really listen?
The second is systems. I don't mean computer or technology
systems. Just simple systems. How do we do things? How we treat
our customers? Think about all the businesses that you have ever
worked in. Did any one of them ever say to you on your very
first day, "This is how we treat our customers here"? More
likely they probably said, "This is how you take the money. This
is how you chase up payments. This is how you operate the
computer". Most employees do what they think is expected of them.
The third element is leadership. There is a direct correlation
between strength of leadership and the amount of extra effort
that people put into serving customers. Great leaders understand
their internal customers - their employees. They understand what
motivates them, what inspires them, what pleasure they can get
from giving great service.
Great leaders also understand what huge benefits customer
loyalty brings. The very best customer service businesses don't
need to advertise. They don't lose customers and they get huge
numbers of referrals.
Business leaders in the UK need to wake up to the fact that the
best technology will not replace simple human understanding. The
greatest database will not replace some basic customer service
training. I worry that UK leaders are simply too reserved and
too conservative to ever fully grasp this issue. We dismiss as
"too American" anything that appears to break the rules. "Have a
nice day" might not be for us. But understanding how to make our
customers smile would be a huge step forward.
About the author:
Derek Williams is creator of The WOW! Awards™ an International
Professional Speaker and Chief Executive for the Society of
Consumer Affairs Professionals in Europe.
For more information about Derek Williams visit www.MrWow.co.uk.
For The WOW! Awards (including access to a FREE customer service
newsletter) visit www.TheWowAwards.com
|
|
|
|
|
Customer Service Group: Resources for improved customer service ... |
Newsletters, books, and free online resources for improved customer service, call center and help desk operations including tools for enhancing rep training ... |
www.customerservicegroup.com |
  |
Customer Service Training Customer Service Skills Training Service |
Service Quality Institute is the leader in Customer Service Training with customer service training skills products and consulting with over 34 years ... |
www.customer-service.com |
  |
ICS: Institute of Customer Service |
The Institute of Customer Service is the professional body for customer service whose primary purpose is to lead customer service performance and ... |
www.instituteofcustomerservice.com |
  |
International Customer Service Association |
Promotes the development and awareness of the customer service profession through networking, education and research. Activities, publications ... |
www.icsa.com |
  |
Customer Service Jobs on CareerBuilder.com |
Looking for customer service jobs? Start your job search at CareerBuilder, the leader in job search sites, and access hundreds of thousands of jobs today. |
customer-service.careerbuilder.com |
  |
The New York Times Home Delivery - Subscribe |
Sign up now to save 50% on your first 12 weeks of Home Delivery. Learn more. As part of Home Delivery, you'll also get free access to TimesSelect premium ... |
homedelivery.nytimes.com |
  |
Customer service - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
The modern concept of customer service has its roots in the craftsman economy ... Delivering customer service begins with understanding what customers want. ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
  |
Customer service representatives |
When working in call centers, customer service representatives are likely to be under ... Customer service representatives working outside of a call center ... |
www.bls.gov |
  |
Customer Service Training |
Customer Service Training, Seminars, Coaching, and free articles to improve repeat business, happiness, and professional image. |
www.proedgeskills.com |
  |
Customer Service |
(It may help the reader to notice the role of customer service in the overall ... Additional Resources in the Category of Customer Service and Satisfaction ... |
www.managementhelp.org |
  |
azcentral.com faq - azcentral.com Help - Arizona Republic Customer ... |
azcentral.com faq - Welcome to the azcentral.com help center where you can find answers to azcentral.com and Arizona Republic customer service questions. |
www.azcentral.com |
  |
CafePress.com : Help Desk : Customer Service |
Email Us Send us an email and we will respond to you within 24 hours. Call Us Toll Free 1-877-809-1659 Customer Service Hours ... |
www.cafepress.com |
  |
Customer Service Week - The Celebration Source |
Provides how-to information, gifts and decorations for successful Customer Service Week celebrations. |
www.csweek.com |
  |
Nashville - Tennessean.com - Middle Tennessee Customer Services |
Customer service, advertising or news-related questions or problems (615) 259-8000. ... (615) 242-7253. Email Customer Service customer @tennessean.com. ... |
www.tennessean.com |
  |
Customer Service Institute of Australia - dedicated to Australian ... |
CSIA is a professional, membership-based body dedicated to improving the standards of customer service both at an individual level and at a corporate level ... |
www.csia.com.au |
  |
The Globe and Mail: Home Delivery Customer Care: Home |
The most authoritiative news in Canada featuring articles from The Globe and Mail, breaking news coverage, national news, international news, sports, ... |
https: |
  |
Customer Service from FLORIDA TODAY |
We're here to bring the finest customer service to your doorstep. ... Customer Service Hours Monday - Friday: 6:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET Saturday: ... |
www.floridatoday.com |
  |
magazine customer service |
https://secure.customersvc.com/ servlet/Show?WESPAGE=mo/home.html&MSRSMAG=MO - Similar pages |
|
  |
Customer Service – 8 Rules For Good Customer Service |
Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers ... |
sbinfocanada.about.com |
  |
Help | IndyStar.com |
Customer Service • Terms of Service • Send feedback about IndyStar.com • Subscribe Now • Jobs with us. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the ... |
www.indystar.com |
  |