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Welcome to the The Marketing Source e-newsletter! Our goal is to provide
you with real-world marketing tips.If you have any ideas for articles,
please send them along.
Winning Customer Service Boosters
We're guessing you didn't wake upand say "Hey, let's
give really bad service today!" but you might as well if
you aren't actively working each and every day to
surpass your customers' expectations.
Too
often
organizations - large and small -- forget that their front
line customer service determines whether customers
tell two friends how bad - or good - they perform in
critical moments. Great service will turn your
customers into evangelists. Bad service will do
the same thing times ten!
Bad service is not just annoying, it
costs you money in the form of disgruntled customers
who share their bad experience with all their friends
(and on the Internet)
and take their business somewhere else. And no
amount of marketing will get a customer back who
have not had a problem resolved in an acceptable and
timely manner.
The economy is taking a
roller coaster ride for 2008. Our best marketing tip,
take care of your customers. It's the best promotion
you can do for your business and should be your #1
priority.
To get you started, here's 5 customer service
boosters to help you deliver stellar service.
Make it easy for customers to complete
transactions
Put yourself in your customers' shoes. Don't just
assume that their experience goes
smoothly. Instead, climb down from your ivory tower
(a.k.a. your office) to play mystery shopper, make a
call, apply on line, request service. Better yet, spend a
week on the front line yourself. What's happening
between customers and service people? It's your
chance to re-engineer and smooth the process by
empowering the front line to make decisions and
delight your customers.
Respond quickly to questions and
problems
It's hard to beat an immediate call back or email. An
ASAP response shows that you care. In this high-tech
world, your customers expect you to answer their
questions and
concerns at lightening speed. We know it's hard, but
it's critical that you whittle down your response time.
What's at risk is losing business.
Go high tech and high touch
Automated service systems like help via email,
automated phone systems and online FAQs are
terrific. But technology alone is not enough.
Customers need a way to see their transaction
completed, their problems resolved. Nothing is more
infuriating than to send an email request for help, and
get one of those automated answers with no way to
follow up. Or to get in an endless phone loop of
pushbutton options that don't help you. Bottom line: In
every service option you have (buying or donating
online, asking a question via email, accessing your
info through the phone system), give customers a
clear door to a real live person or real-time email/chat
who can address questions one-on-one if needed -
and who can do it quickly.
Empower service people
"I don't know. "
"I have to get a manager."
"We can't do that."
Imagine a world where all the front line service people
had the power to make things right. They would know
the answers, or know how to find them. They would be
able to give you a refund, complete your transaction,
solve your problem, connect you with the right person.
If you don't expect the people on your firing line to take
initiative and get things done - and train them to do
that - you miss your biggest service opportunity. Our
airlines are the biggest culprits of not empowering
front line workers. You might find the gate agent
infuriating when your flight is delayed or cancelled, but
she can't give you the information that you are looking
for because she has not been given that power by the
airline.
Don't lose sight of the forest for the trees.
It's one thing to effectively handle complaints and
make sure your systems for transactions and are up
and running effectively. It's another to pay attention to
the bigger picture. Too many people quitting midway
through the online donation process? Multiple
complaints about your phone system or products?
Lots of grumbling about how hard it is to find product
or service information on your web site? Keep an eye
out for what comes up over and over in your service
process - then get busy enhancing your products,
services, communications and processes to address
those concerns.
More resources
Check out 50 do's and don'ts on The E-Commerce
Customer Service Checklist.
Inc.com's guide includes articles and
case studies with tons of ideas for improving service.
Need more help? Looking for a service fix? The
Marketing Source can help.
Recommend this site
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