Outstanding customer service is what makes the difference between savvy business pros who see it as part of marketing and amateurs who don’t. Which are you?
Many marketing professionals consider customer service as part of the “sales cycle.” After the sale support influences future buying decisions. Providing exceptional customer service after the sale is a sound business decision that pays dividends long after the original sale. You cannot reach your sales potential without it.
Much of the money you spend to attract new customers through marketing and public relations programs is wasted if you can’t satisfy them after the sale.
Your current customers are your greatest asset. It is much easier to continue to sell to existing customers than it is to attract new ones. In addition, word of mouth advertising attracts new customers as well. How many customers do you get by referrals?
In today’s online social media world, customer service is even more important. Social networking and review sites spread users’ comments about positive and negative issues with brands at Internet speeds. The word-of-mouth advertising through positive endorsements from satisfied consumers is your most important advertising/marketing strategy.
I’ve written previously on the trust that consumers give to people they know and to other online consumers. The bottom line is that consumers trust other consumers (especially people they know) over other traditional advertising and marketing tactics.
Consider these numbers:
- 6 to 7: number of times more costly to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one
- 50%: amount customer attrition rates could reach if left dormant over a 5 year period
- 5 to 95%: amount of increased profits that can come from boosting customer retention rates by as little as 5 percent.
Costs associated with new customers:
- Cost of advertising/promotion
- New customer price sensitivity
- Personal selling
- Setting up new accounts
- Time and money in explaining business to new customers
- Cost associated with the inefficient dealing with new customers
- Other, e.g., in apartments, the costs of vacancies, cleaning and making ready an apartment for new resident
Profits generated from satisfied customers:
- Reduced price sensitivity
- Reduced switching to competitors
- Increased referrals
- Increased repeat purchase
Published by Flowtown
Keeping your customers happy is not rocket science. Exceed their expectations! It’s as simple as that. Part of exceeding their expectations is managing their expectations in the first place. If you set their expectations to begin with, then it is much easier for you to beat them.
Be Positive and Respectful: When dealing with your customers, be positive and respectful. A positive attitude is infectious. Treat clients with respect and use their names when you speak to them.
Go the extra mile: Identify and rectify issues before they become a problem. Use a “proactive” approach rather than a “reactive” approach to solving customer support and service issues.
Empower Employees: Empower employees to solve customer problems without having to take it to management for an answer. Solving the issue while the customer is there or on the phone results in greater customer loyalty. Management needs to back employees’ efforts to solve problems even if they would have done something differently. The key is empowering front line staff to be proactive when it comes to customer service.
Build trust: When you make a commitment to a customer, keep it. If something happens beyond your control, call the customer and explain the issue and what you are doing to rectify it. Failure to deliver on a commitment results in loss of trust and an unhappy consumer. Remember to under promise and over deliver.
Customer Service in Action
Let me give you a real life example of an organization with a strong commitment to customer service.
I’m speaking about a large integrated medical practice modeled after the Mayo Clinic. It is highly rated for quality and customer satisfaction. One of the services it provides is a pharmacy. Like most pharmacies it has a call in feature to renew your prescriptions. After a year of using the services as part of a Medicare Advantage Plan, I noticed that the pharmacy had changed its prescription renewal phone system. It no longer told me when my prescription would be ready. It also now asked for my telephone number.
That created an expectation in my mind. Remember there are always “expectations” Either you manage them or you let the customer create them for themselves. My expectation was that they would call when the medicine was ready. No calls!
On two occasions, I went to the pharmacy after what I thought was more than a reasonable amount of time, only to find that there was a problem and my medicine wasn’t ready. Needles to say, my opinion of the pharmacy and the organization as a whole dropped.
So I decided to speak up and mentioned my concern to my doctor. The same day I got a call from the pharmacy director for the Medicare Advantage Plan to which I belonged. I explained the issue and the topic of managing customer expectations. Shortly later, I got call a call from the Director of Pharmacies for the whole organization and their 35 clinics. This person, not only listened to my concerns, but explained to me that this issue would be remedied. She apologized for any inconvenience to me and gave me her personal number if any other issues arose.
I was a little skeptical that a large organization with 400,000 patients and 350 physicians would act on my initiative. Lo and behold, they changed the pharmacy telephone system. They took all my suggestions and set a higher customer expectation than they had previously before the negative change. They now provide the customer the option of getting their prescription the same day or the following day.
Needless to say, I was impressed that one person could make a difference. The response from everyone involved was respectful, positive and they kept their commitment. The end result exceeded my expectation. This customer service response created a loyal patient. My testimonial here is proof of the trust they created between us by their response.
The end result is that I am renewing my subscription to their Medicare Plan and have provided glowing testimonials (word-of-mouth advertising) to others about the quality and service they provide.
That’s why I continue to say that customer service is part of marketing.
