Good customer service attracts and retains customers

Outstanding service is important to getting and keeping customers.

Upholstery Journal | June 2008

by Michael Guld

Today’s business environment is complex and competitive due to globalization, new technology, increasing product proliferation, brand erosion, market segmentation, consumer skepticism and time poverty.

These factors render traditional business plans obsolete.

Consumers are overwhelmed by the choices available for just about every product and service. So how can your business stand out from a sea of competitors that promote similar offerings? Become known as the company in your field that provides world–class service.

World-class service is the talk of many companies but the reality of few. When a company provides a customer with world–class service, the customer shares the experience as free publicity-that can never be bought. Typically, companies that have a reputation for providing world-class service are not the places that have the lowest prices. They do not have to because their value is created by elevating the customer experience to a point where paying a premium is not an issue.

Businesses need to understand the difference between the product (the commodity or service being delivered) and the process (the method by which the product is delivered). Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle became famous for this differentiation. The business’ product is fish, but its fame was created by the process in which the product is delivered (by throwing fish). A doctor’s product is clinical expertise, but the process by which that product is delivered (bedside manner) may be just as important. Because realtors do not have exclusives on the homes they show and sell, their sole value is created by the service they provide. Here’s the point: Your business’ reputation is built as much on the customer experience you deliver than on the product or service you sell.

There are six simple actions that will determine, from the customers& perspective, your level of service. When a realistic and objective assessment is made, coupled with strategies to improve, the result can be an immediate and transformational change in your business.

1. How well you listen

   Do you clearly understand the needs of your customers? You do not need to start out offering all the answers. Begin by asking all the right questions. What do your customers really want, and how can you better serve them?

2. What you say

   How well do you answer questions, provide information, guidance and direction? Helping your customers understand the range of offerings available, their pros and cons, and what best fits their unique needs will build loyalty. Helping them all along the way and being available for service after the sale will build customers for life.

3. How you say it

   Have you evaluated your non-verbal communication, such as body language, tone and inflection? Dr. Albert Merhabian reports in his book “Silent Messages” that communication is 57 percent non verbal, 38 percent voice quality and only seven percent the words you say. Yet most people focus time, energy and training on their words.

4. What you do

   Do you consider your actions taken or not taken? The only thing worse than doing nothing is saying you are going to do something and don’t. It creates disappointment and a loss of trust. Taking the time up front to address your customers’ every needs, wants and desires will keep them coming back.

5. How you do it

   Are you there to please or appease? Are you simply going through the motions, or do you take pride in the business, the work, and truly care about the well-being of your customers? Making customers feel special and appreciated creates an emotional bond that is not easily broken.

6. When you do it

   Do you consider your response times? Immediate response times that exceed expectations create a positive perception, while long wait and response times create frustrations, which can lead to negative perceptions. We are living in a “ drive-thru” world, where prompt communication expectations are greater than ever before.

Most service experiences are unremarkable. Consumers tend to remember only those experiences on the extreme. Poor customer service tends to leave consumers frustrated and disappointed. It is important to create a world–class service culture because not only are the products and services in most categories being commoditized by your competitors-where the lowest price wins-but the service component is playing a greater role in your customers’ buying decisions. For example, if you look in a phone book under “ Automobile Repair and Service,” you’ll find pages of ads with every company communicating basically the same message. Since most people don’t truly understand what is being done underneath the hood, their loyalties lie with the way they are greeted and the way they are treated.

World–class service all comes down to people. When asked why everyone working at Disney seemed so happy, CEO Michael Eisner replied, “We don’t hire grumpy people.” Robert Spector, author of “The Nordstrom Way” relays that Bruce Nordstrom’s hiring philosophy was to “hire the smile and train the skill,” noting that he could teach anyone to sell shoes, but he couldn’t teach everyone to smile. When you look at the organizations that provide world–class service, you’ll usually find that they hire the best people and then provide a supportive culture where those employees can flourish. There is no better time than now to provide the service that will create customers for life.

Michael Guld is an author, speaker, entrepreneur and radio commentator whose business development expertise lies in increasing sales performance, marketing exposure, employee productivity and creating a world–class service experience. He is the president of The Guld Resource Group, and creator of “Talking Business with Michael Guld,” airing on Central Virginia’s Public Radio. He can be reached at +1 804 360 3122 or by e-mail.

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