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Check out these informative articles by Andrew Porter, on the Customer Service Boot Camp blog.
Customer Service Facts:
- 93% of customers indicated that quality customer service was vital to maintaining brand loyalty.
Source: Creative Strategies - Companies that make customer service a high priority see twelve times the return on sales than those companies with a low emphasis on service.
Source: International Customer Service Association - Only 1 out of 25 dissatisfied customers will express dissatisfaction.
Source - Business e-coach - 68% of customers stop doing business with a company because of poor service. Yet 95% of dissatisfied customers would continue to do business with a company if their problem was solved quickly and satisfactorily.
Source: International Customer Service Association - Reducing customer defections can boost profits by 25-85%. In 73% of cases, the business made no attempt to persuade dissatisfied customers to stay; even though 35% said that a simple apology would have prevented them from moving to the competition.
Source: NOP - 70% of customers left because of a lack of attention from front-line employees.
Source - International Customer Service Association - Two-thirds (or 66%) of customers do not feel valued by those serving them.
Source - Business e-coach
When Your Customer Service Drops:
You LOSE clients.
You LOSE referrals.
You LOSE repeat business.
Your Competition WINS.
There are 2 ways to handle this.
Extensive advertising to make up for all the business your staff are driving away or superlative customer service.
Advertising is expensive.
Superior customer service is not expensive.
Advertising will create a peak and valley scenario for your business, as your hard earned cash drives in new business and your staff unwittingly drives it out.
Excellent customer service will create a steady increase in business as people well treated, will share their experiences with others, and bring in new business by word of mouth. Your staff will be happier and thus more productive, when they know that they can competently handle any customer, no matter how unruly or disruptive they might be.
Superlative customer service is not expensive to achieve and maintain.
Improving your customer service will do the following for your business:
- Your existing clients will be happy with your service.
- They will refer new clients to your business.
- Your existing clients will buy more services or products from you more often.
- Your company will be able to retain more qualified, well trained and satisfied staff who will further the above cycle.
Customer Service Basics
Who are your customer service staff?
Anyone who has ANY contact with the customers. Accounting, billing, accounts receivable. Anyone in marketing or sales. The staff in shipping. Anyone who send or receives any verbal or written communication or item to customers is in customer service. Every time someone has any contact with your company an impression is made. This impression or perception means everything.
Take a minute to look over your own experiences along this line.
If you are calling a company to obtain their services and no one answers the phone what do you do?
Do you leave a message on their machine?
What if you are put on hold right away?
How long are you willing to wait for service in a restaurant before you start to get irritated?
How about in a doctors or dentists office?
When was the last time you were on the phone with a less-than-friendly receptionist?
When was the last time you had any billing or account issues with some company?
How do you respond when you call a “big” company and you have to say or enter your name, account number, phone number, zip code, last 4 numbers of your social, your mothers maiden name FIVE times before they can figure out who you are and what to do with you?
When one of your clients gets bad customer service, they will start looking for your replacement. There is no customer loyalty when you have lousy customer service. Conversely, when your clients receive top notch customer service they will stick with your company and be reluctant to go anywhere else. Clients perceive more overall value in your service or product when they receive great customer care. When that happens they are also willing to pay more.
Internal customer Service
By far the biggest cause of customer complaints is lack of coordination between employees, departments of parts of a company.
A customer calls in with any sort of request and the details are not forwarded to the right person. The message or request is only partially understood
What is the answer to all of this?
CUSTOMER SERVICE BOOTCAMP
What is this and how does it work?
The First Step
A full day workshop for ALL owners, managers and supervisors covering the following:
- How to improve your customers perception of value of your services.
- What is the relationship between client perception of value and gross income
- How does a customer decide if they got good value
- How to make loyal customers
- How can I create an atmosphere of teamwork with all of my customer service staff
- What is the perception of value delivered by your competitors
- What can you do so that your clients perceive more value in your products and/or services
- How do I recognize and handle the staff who turn clients away
- How can I train staff to deliver friendly and effective customer service
- How to recognize customer service staff burnout and what to do about it.
We will provide a detailed step by step customer service program for your business.
The second step
Welcome Team Training for ALL employees.
The Third Step
Your business will expand as far as it has great customer service. If you have anything less then you are really letting your clients down.
So, call today and get started.
Call Andy Porter at 360-809-0661.