Is customer service still a major key to business success?
GENERALLY, we’ve found that consumers that have experienced poor customer service tend to have a poor perception of the company providing that service. We’ve found this to be true even in cases where the service provider exceeded other customer expectations such as providing reasonable pricing for their products and services.
In other words, in the eyes of customers, having a competitive pricing policy is no excuse for providing poor customer service.
There are a number of ways in which companies can improve the levels of customer service across the organisation.
An important first step is for companies to proactively launch initiatives that help them to truly understand their customers’ service expectations, preferences and pain joints. Many customer service professionals refer to this as understanding the voice of the customer.
Depending on the size of the company and the industry in which it operates, companies can use initiatives such as face-to-face interviews, focus groups, surveys, mystery shopper programmes and information technology solutions to better evaluate their levels of customer service.
The options for listening to your customers are limitless and can be both qualitative and quantitative.
Another important step is to demonstrate to customers that the organisation is serious about customer service. If your initiatives reveal that customers have a legitimate customer service concern, acknowledge it and fix it.
Once you’ve made a commitment to fixing the challenge, be sure to follow through. If you reassure the customer that you will improve the situation, but then do nothing, your brand reputation will take an even worse hit.
I also believe that it is also very important for companies to benchmark and emulate global organisations that are known for consistently delivering amazing customer service. You can simply run a Google search for “best customer service stories” and you’re sure to find some heartwarming and inspiring stories from some of the global leaders in customer service.
Brands with customers who are unhappy and feel trapped should pay close attention to their customer service activities.
Simply because they feel trapped, some consumers may become very critical of the company as they discuss the brand with their friends, family members or colleagues and may be able to influence their purchasing decisions.
This can have a severe impact on the reputation of the brand. With companies which have monopoly status, there is also the possibility of a mass exodus of customers if the market eventually opens up.
There may also be another group of “trapped” consumers who simply throw their hands in the air in acceptance of their situation.
This group may believe that since they are already locked in a long term contract, their service provider may not feel the need to improve service to them and that their voices won’t have any impact. In this scenario, it may be more difficult for a business to improve its customer service if it is not receiving any upfront, honest feedback.
Both of the groups mentioned above can impact a brand’s development and the success of its customer service efforts.
Organisations with customers who may feel trapped should be sure to embark in a number of proactive activities that would engage their customers and assist the brand in gathering the information relevant to improving customer service experiences.
Ron Johnson’s comments were made in the context of the findings of a new customer service survey published by his company and another Barbados entity Antilles Economics.
Ron Johnson is managingdirector of Blueprint Creative Inc.
