Weaking your Brand

A JT Blog

http://jeffersontruitt.blogspot.com

Though it is true that customer service is an extremely vital focus for your business, there are ways that customer service can make your business successful, as well as ways that may simply weaken the chances for achieving your goals.  Customer service is only beneficial when it is done correctly.  Otherwise it might work in the opposite way.

Consider your own business.  What does your customer service program achieve, and in what ways is it taking away from your successes?  By answering this question, you will find yourself much more capable of determining the ways your company can be improved and refined.  Of course, this is a very large question which takes in a substantial number of other factors.  This article seeks to examine this question and its many elements in order to help your business achieve its desired goals. 

There are 7 main elements that make up the answer to the main question about your customer service program’s impact on the successes and failures within your business.  They are:

1. How does your company view customer service?  – Surprisingly enough, many companies are unable to come up with an immediate answer to this question.  This is a problem, because you cannot effectively implement a strategy if it has not been properly defined. 
2. Have you looked at both extremes?  – Who among your employees is going much too far, and who is letting things go slack?  In what way are your employees helping or damaging your customer service goals?  Are they providing a level of customer service that is actually bad for business?  This includes not providing enough customer service, as well as overwhelming your customers, or providing a level of customer service that is much too costly and time consuming to be affordable – especially if it is for a single purchase.  It must be remembered that while customer service is among the top goals of your company, without profits, your business simply will not survive.
3. What is the company’s customer service level goal?  – It is important to define your customer service goals, strategies, and policies, and to make certain that all of your employees are equally trained in these processes.  It makes all the difference in making sure that the customer service that you wish to employ is indeed customer service being practiced
4. Do you and your employees know how to deliver consistent customer service that remains profitable?  – Your employees must know how to deal with any given situation within the boundaries of your business’s definition and level of customer service.  This means that the service will be great, but not so high that you are unable to achieve a profit.  Make sure that everyone knows what you can and cannot provide, but have them also recognize that there are many different ways to look at any issue, and that it’s better to create a one-time-only customer, than a bad customer experience.
5. Is customer service universal among your team members?  – Even if there are employees who do not work directly with customers, make sure that everyone in your business understands the customer service goals and procedures, so that the teams can work together toward common goals, instead of conflicting ones.
6. Can your employees listen?  – How much training have you provided your employees?  Often, the answer to this question is very inconsistent, or rather low.  The fact is, no matter how much experience and education your employees have, if they have not been trained in the right techniques for listening to a customer, they will not be able to properly provide the level of service that your customers expect.  Listening well results in an easier evaluation of the customer’s needs, better conflict resolution, and a higher overall feeling among your customers of being cared for.
7. Do you aim to spread satisfaction among your customers and employees? -  One of the best ways to ensure that your customers remain happy is by keeping your employees happy as well.  Show your employees that they are appreciated for their efforts. Share letters of praise received from customers.  When an employee feels wanted and recognized, there will be a much higher tendency to provide better customer service.  The feeling of satisfaction is a very contagious one, and it will certainly spread from the employees to the customers.

Remember, the first step is identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your customer service program.  Once you have done this, you’ll be able to fine-tune it and make it much more effective so it will lead your business to successes, rather than weaknesses and failures.