The Gold Standard Of Customer Relations

The process of continuous learning is vital to personal and professional growth.

Being on par in terms of price and quality only gets you into the game. Service wins the game.

~Tony Allesandra

One of the least recognized factors in not only gaining customers but retaining customers is how they are treated before, during, and after the purchase. Many companies place all of their training and focus on product knowledge and sale techniques, only to have issues when customers need support or problems fixed after the sale is completed.

Boosting staff understanding of the importance of customer service in building and maintaining a customer base is critical. All employees, regardless of how often they interact directly with customers, should be focused on customer service and care. To help instill these types of ethics into any workplace, consider adding these golden rules of customer service.

Everyone Is In Customer Service

Often there is a designated customer service department in an organization, but everyone should be focused on providing the best possible experience for the customer. This can include answering the phones and addressing customer questions or concerns, as well as having everyone in the company focused on greeting customers and ensuring they are directed to whom they need to talk to.

We Have a Branding Message

Part of your branding message should be the exceptional customer service you provide. When the message is clear and consistent, it is part of how your company is seen by the consumer and the public.

When the staff embodies that message, this branding becomes the company reputation. Consumers today are more focused on customer service than ever before, and so this is an essential component for any business to integrate.

Top Down Support

Leaders in any organization need to be effective role models in focusing in on customer service. This means they ask about customer satisfaction and also take the lead when customers need to talk to someone at an upper level in the company. Modeling customer service is not just crucial for the business; it also sends a clear message to customers.

Hire the Best Staff

Hiring practices based on past experience, expertise, and degrees will only get a business so far. Look for people in an organization that focus on people, building in an empathetic, structured, and customer-focused message for the business.

Make sure shift managers and supervisors have a target of 100% customer satisfaction and reward these professionals for a job well done.

Empower Employees

It is vital to ensure that employees have top-level knowledge about the products and service your business offers. They should also have a clear understanding of what they can do to offer customer service and support. By giving employees the freedom to address specific types of issues, and managerial support for more complex decisions, the customer always feels as if their issue is being addressed in a timely and proactive way.

The more your business focuses on customer service at all levels, the more you will be effective at expanding and retaining your customer base.