For years I have believed that customer relations mirrors employee relations. And I have spent a great deal of time living, observing and thinking about what it takes to create a positive “happy” work environment where employees thrive. So I decided to devote some time to considering what it takes to provide exceptional customer service. For some statistics regarding customer service, see my recent blog post.
I just finished reading a fantastic book, called Exceptional Service – Exceptional Profit. It is written by Leonardo Inghilleri and Micah Solomon. Inghilleri is a recognized expert on exceptional service and has worked closely with the Ritz Carlton Group, Bvlgari, the Walt Disney Company, among others, in creating stellar customer service. Solomon is a successful entrepreneur who took a company that he built from a one-room operation to a leader in the entertainment and technology industries. Solomon has a website called “College of the Customer,” as well as a blog, where he regularly shares tips and strategies for improving customer service. The book provides a tried-and-true formula for making exceptional customer relations a reality, even if you are a small business owner. Regardless of the size of your business, the concepts provided in the book can enhance your customer relations expertise.
Whether you communicate “face-to-face” with your customer or have an on-line business, consider creating long-term enduring relationships with each individual customer. This is not rocket-science. But if used consistently and sincerely, these customer service concepts can expand your business rapidly.
Inghilleri and Solomon claim there are 4 elements of customer satisfaction that need to be present in order to build customer loyalty. I have added a a 5th one that I think is critical, and some editorial comments regarding each one of the elements.
Have a perfect product: Make certain that the defects have been worked out of your products and services. Anticipate and plan for any shortcomings. Consider any “what if’s” and hypothetical scenarios BEFORE rolling out the product.
Deliver the product using friendly, caring people: When hiring employees, ensure that you have an interviewing process that “weeds out” applicants who are not customer-service focused. Consider creating hypothetical situations for them to resolve when being interviewed; situations that have a customer-service focus. When reference-checking job applicants, be sure to ask about their customer relations skills. One great way to gauge a prospective employee’s customer relations skills is to take them to lunch or dinner, and observe how they treat the restaurant staff.
Deliver the product in a timely fashion: This is what I love about Zappos and Amazon. The lapse time between ordering and delivering is minimal. On top of that, you’re kept apprised of your order status via e-mail.
In this era of on-line communication, it also means responding to client requests for information in a timely fashion. If you don’t know the answer to a question e-mailed to you by a (potential) customer, respond to them IMMEDIATELY, letting them know that you need to research it, and give them a date by which you will have the information to them.
Have an effective problem-resolution process: At some point there may be a service breakdown. Don’t avoid it or ignore it when it happens. Don’t make lame excuses. Acknowledge the error, and be proactive in taking appropriate measures to resolve it as quickly as possible. Then ask the customer if the problem has been resolved to their satisfaction, and if there is anythingelse you need to do to rectify it.
Regularly ask for customer feedback: Once again, Zappos and Amazon do a great job of asking customers for feedback once a sales transaction has been completed. They listen to that feedback, and have been known to make changes to offerings and processes because of it.
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Exceptional Service – Exceptional Profit
Hi, my name is Sheila and I am a Human Resources geek. I am passionate about sharing HR best practices, resources and tools for small business owners to use.