|
Home / Business / Customer Service
Generating Customer Loyalty
By:Pj Germain
Becoming and staying customer-intimate requires more than building client knowledge and having expertise in re-engineering our customers business processes. We must offer more than just service. We need to maintain a broad product line that can be configured to the specific needs of a customer. It is important to know that an average product tailored to a customers very specific need is often better than the more advanced, but inflexible, product. Many times organizations are not obsessed by the leading edge; rather they embrace solid, tested products that can be tailored to fit their needs like a glove. It is important for us to produce unmatched value for our customers who do not necessarily want the very latest product - just the best result and help in obtaining it.
1. It is necessary to understand the importance of empowerment and the critical role of individual initiative. It can be summed up in a one-word motto = THINK. It is important for us to be disciplined in order to live out this motto everyday in our interactions with customers.
2. Client by client, we need to set targets for penetration, development, and growth. We need to use specific, detailed, and integrated customer data.
3. A challenge is to assemble, integrate, and retain talented people who can stay at the forefront of new paradigms and techniques that affect our customers business. Good ideas today are a dime a dozen. Brilliant concepts and practices are disseminated with stunning speed. Competitive benchmarking and best-practice studies have become standard elements in most organizations. But what is still in short supply, is the ability to effect change, to get things implemented, to make things happen. That is the value provided by being a customer- intimate company. Proof of our value is found only in results. The most cherished reward is a prize from a customer recognizing that our company has played an instrumental part in their success.
Stories abound in various companies about employees who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for their customers. An example is a story about the Four Seasons Hotel doorman who found the briefcase of a guest who had already checked out. Assuming that it contained important papers, the doorman rushed to the airport, caught the next air shuttle, and delivered the briefcase to the forgetful fellow. Heroic? Well, yes. More important, though, the story adds to the mythology that typifies the way the hotel runs. The doorman is now an icon, not just an isolated character in a crazy story. The message to employees: Four Seasons Hotel customers deserve nothing less than service that dazzles, that awes. The point is that this mythology supports a strong culture, one that tells employees: Do whatever it takes to please the customer!
Ways of Showing Customers Our Loyalty:
1. Be a Communicator
Establish an ongoing customer information system that acknowledges the need to obtain and distribute information. Explain services available to them in language they can understand.
2. Be Reliable
Take full responsibility for customer satisfaction and for the quality of the product or service provided. Be consistent and dependable.
3. Be Responsive
Show your willingness and ability to provide prompt service.
4. Be Credible
Be trustworthy. Fulfill on promises and meet every requirement. Keep confidential all critical information shared.
5. Be Accessible
Provide ease for contacting. Be available and flexible when changes are necessary.
6. Be Competent
Know and understand the customers requirements and expectations. Ask questions.
7. Be Courteous
Show respect and friendliness at all times. Be appreciative - thank them for their business, for thorough instructions about a project, for a properly prepared disk, etc. Use various means to communicate your appreciation - a verbal acknowledgment, a card or note, a small token of
thanks, etc.
8. Be Proactive
As an advocate for the customer, act as a partner and walk in their shoes. Identify potential problems and be innovative in creating options and solutions.
9. Be Professional
Appearance of physical facilities and personnel is critical as customer perceptions are easily influenced.
10. Be Committed
Our customers are our business! Be committed to their success. Treat customers like assets. Do everything possible to retain them and increase their lifetime value.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: customer loyalty, knowledge, customer service
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Pj Germain
Software Escrow Resources - FREE
South Beach Diet Recipes
Stress Management Resources
|
|
| Top Customer Service Articles |
- 1). The Top Ten Client Feedback Questions By : Alvah Parker
As program chairperson of my SCORE * chapter I am always looking for new presenters to address the group. I frequently ask my fellow business counselors to give me some ideas for topics of interest to them.
In August one member approached me with an idea. He suggested inviting some of the clients that the counselors had worked with this year to one of our meetings to give us some feedback on our counseling techniques -both the highs and the lows.
|
- 2). Customer Service Strategies on eBay By : Michael Hehn
Copyright © Michael Hehn, Online-Profit-4-You
Customer service is important on eBay. Buyers rate their satisfaction with sellers, and your rating can make a difference on whether potential customers are willing to buy from you.
Customer service strategies on eBay start by providing an accurate product description. Displaying clear pictures and describing any imperfection shows the buyer what to expect.
|
- 3). When Customers Complain By : James Calvin
You probably won't have been in business too long before you get your first complaint. It just can't help but happen: low-end customers pay nothing and expect the Earth, while high-end ones pay a lot but expect an inhuman effort in return. You just can't please all of the people all of the time, even if you run yourself ragged trying -- there will always be someone who's not happy with what you've done.
|
- 4). Why Do Your Customers Complain and What Can You Do About It? By : Robert Warlow
As the Internet becomes an increasing part of our lives there are a growing number of web sites which are run for dissatisfied customers to publicly air their complaints about bad service. See your name posted on these sites or get contacted by them and you know you have a problem!
How can you prevent your business from becoming ‘feature of the week’? Of all the skills small business owners need these days, the one least practiced is the ability to step back and look at your business from the customer’s perspective.
|
- 5). Customer Service - A Lost Art? By : Craig Binkley
Copyright 2006 Craig Binkley
Is customer service a lost art? Before you answer that question, take a moment and think about the last few times you have gone shopping or out to dinner. Okay, now that you have really thought about it, is your answer any different?
Why is it that when we actually DO receive excellent customer service that it makes such.
|
- 6). Angry customers - what can we do with them By : Dijana Dimitrovska
"You are the worst company I have bought from!" - writes the client. Oops, bossss! What should I write back?
It is very hard to select words when some of your customers is angry and complains about your company. Read more for an insight into it.
All is well when it ends well. And until it ends be sure not to panic; no matter how bad it looks. Your customers only want you to do your best when they complain.
|
- 7). Customer Loyalty – The Key to Business Success By : Robert Warlow
Talk to many business people about how they approach customer service and the majority of them will say that they are aiming to have ‘satisfied’ customers. No! What we all should be seeking is to have loyal customers.
Research has shown that 65% of customers say they are loyal. You may be happy with this but you shouldn’t! Satisfied customers are in a state of nothing – they are neither issatisfied or happy; they are in between.
|
- 8). The 5 W's of World Class Customer Service Training By : Rosanne D'Ausilio,Ph.D
The preamble to the United States Constitution begins, ‘we, the people.’ I feel strongly that we, the people, are what make the difference in life, both personally and professionally.
The interaction anyone has at any level with your employees, including you, gives a customer-- whether current, potential, internal or external--an opportunity to make a judgment about you, your company, all companies like yours.
|
- 9). Over Delivering Provides Big Results By : Alicia Smith
Over promising is a problem only when you under deliver. There are a number of ways that you can overdeliver to your customers or prospects, and as a result create a win-win situation for you both. They will be provided with some additional value, while you will be upgrading your learning around a particular issue, adding another product or service to your business, or even increasing the mastery level of your craft.
|
|
|
| New Customer Service Articles |
|
|
- 2). Customer Advice With Autoresponders By : David Hill
Client assistance with autoresponders is quite simple. When an order is place, an autoresponder can send out the receipt for the sale, the information for accessing the product, and a thank you email. This happens whether you are logged in to your computer or on vacation in an exotic setting!
|
- 3). Why you need an Answering Service? By : Vipul Gupta
The integral role played by the telephone as a business communication tool accounts for the growing importance of answering service businesses. All businesses, whether a physician's private practice, a small construction company, or a conglomerate, rely on the telephone as one of the fastest and most reliable communication tool in their businesses.
Anyone with a busy schedule and a telephone needs an answering service! Answering service can be a real lifesaver to a small business.
|
- 4). Top 7 Phrases to Use With Unhappy Customers By : Myra Golden
The next time you come in contact with an unhappy customer, try one of these phrases. They are highly effective in helping to restore customer confidence and facilitating diplomatic problem solving.
“The problem you experienced is no more acceptable to us than it was to you.”
“I understand your concern. What do you think would be fair?”
“Although you might not agree with my decision, I’d like to explain it so you can at least understand.
|
- 5). Computer Consulting: Excellent Customer Service Inspires Growth By : Joshua Feinberg
From a customer service perspective, what can you do to sell more monitoring and managed services? What would it be worth to a computer consulting client if you could predict and prevent a major problem before it occurred?
For example, if someone incurred $1,700 in billing last quarter due to some virus-related problems, is there something that you.
|
- 6). Answering Service By : Seth Miller
Just about everyone these days has some sort of answering service, whether automated, like an answering machine, or live. When you call someone without a service, often it can get very annoying. This is especially true when it comes to businesses. However, customers do not usually want to call a business and get just an answering machine or voicemail.
|
- 7). Seven Behaviors That Cause Problems With Angry Customers By : Myra Golden
Here are 7 common mistakes well-intentioned professionals make when it comes to dealing with unhappy customers. Learn exactly what not to do so that you're well positioned to completely regain the goodwill of unhappy customers after any service mishap.
1. Telling the customer he or she is wrong. You will be smart to NEVER tell a customer they are wrong or mistaken.
|
- 8). Customer Service Tips That Generate Referrals By : Hartley Pinn
How do you define good customer service? Does that simply mean the satisfactory marketing and sale of a product or service to a customer or does it mean something else? Is providing good customer service, good enough?
In these days of below average customer service, you may think providing good service will set you apart from the pack. Well, I am here to tell you that nothing less than exemplary service will help you succeed.
|
- 9). The Internet The World's Greatest Telephone for the Success of Your Business By : Shaun Stevens
Business owners of companies both large and small can achieve rich improvements in their operations if they start to ask themselves regularly, "I have just been handed a powerful new tool. It essentially lets me costless communicate with anyone on the planet. How can I best use it to my advantage?"
To focus, business owners must first ask themselves.
|
- 10). Internet Answering Service By : Seth Miller
Though most people are now turning to wireless, DSL, and broadband connections for their Internet access, those with dial-up modems still know how, occasionally, you can miss a call from someone important while surfing the web. That’s where an Internet answering service comes in.
An Internet answering service more or less screens phone calls for subscribers, allowing them to decide whether or not they want to take the phone call immediately as it is received or to have it transferred to an answering machine/voicemail.
|
|
|
