| |
| |
|
Customer Service Information |
|
|
|
Customer Service and Marketing that Works
Go into many businesses today and try and get service, its sometimes impossible! The customer service officer is on the phone talking about personal issues, there is not enough staff, and they are disinterested and distracted. The old days of customer service is where you the customer were viewed as valuable and important and you received service from a person and not a machine. With an emphasis on shareholder wealth and increased profits the shift has been slowly eroding the service ethos of many businesses. This has not gone unnoticed! Many employees in these businesses become disenchanted with the 'ivory tower' mentality of management as they issue edicts from afar without employee consultation and finding out what really happens at the shop front. Off course (sic) looking at the glossy brochures you would see that the business is a committed believer in service excellence but the fact remains it's not forthcoming. By way of example take the banks that are closing down branches and steadily increasing fees for services that you were once told were free. For the ordinary consumer we cop it on the chin, complain to ourselves and our neighbors or put up with it and say nothing. This mediocrity in service mentality thrives because we are silent and the banks and other businesses know this. It a bit like politicians who leak policy to the media, weather the storm and then know the general populace will get used to it. The malaise of apathy ensures that they win! But you can respond and you should. People power has enormous effect if it is sustained and enough people complain - or compliment. What can you do! 1. When someone delivers a shoddy product or service approach the business politely and firmly and ask that the issue be addressed. 2. Don't take NO for an answer! Sometimes it takes persistence to get heard or in other words the 'squeaky wheel gets the oil'. 3. Reward good service. If your bank manager or service clerk gives good services compliment them. This is very important. 4. If you are given excellent service write a letter to their manager and say 'thank you' 5. If you own a business reward good customer service. Rewards do not have to be expensive. 6. Lead by example if you are a manager. Take the following example of excellence in service; An Audiometrist who sold hearing aids to 8 clients a day used to ring 2 of their clients the next day to see how the new hearing aids were working. This business grew a solid reputation for service and new potential customers would often ring up and ask to see this Audiometrist by name. By taking the time to ensure that their customers were looked after the business was able to outsell other hearing aid suppliers because people were treated with respect. This subsequently cut down the advertising and marketing costs of the business ensuring that the business had a steady stream of referrals and business and could focus on customer service. It had the effect that because of trust people would purchase more expensive hearing aids because they trusted the business and its service ethos. Business isn't difficult if you know your market and take the time to care for people! For other practical articles visit www.biz-momentum.com today. Collect a free employee performance appraisal and/or a free simple job description when subscribing to our free monthly newsletter. Philip Lye is the founder of Biz Momentum providing strategic human resource management advice to help your business grow. Philip is a author and educator who trains management and employees to work together to achieve tangible results. Philip has had considerable international experience. Visit http://www.biz-momentum.com for other helpful articles and free performance appraisal and job description.
MORE RESOURCES:
customer service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Astonish your Customers With These Customer Service Tips Customer service today is getting worse. Win customers over and you build your business for life. 5 Golden Online/Offline Business Rules To LIVE Or DIE By Whether online or off, if you plan on running or maintaining any type of credibility within your business, there are some guidelines that are safe to say any existing or potential customer expects if they are to do immediate or future business with you.As an online entrepreneur for over 3 years I have found that even though I don't have the pleasure of meeting face-to-face with my customers, ones perception of you and your business can be viewed as good or bad all depending on the way you handle questions or comments posted by people interested in your product. I Wont Tell My Lawyer but I Will Tell You A general counsel of a large international consulting firm told us about his experience talking to an interviewer who had called to discuss his satisfaction level with his outside law firm. He had been using the services of a "high end, expensive" law firm out of New York. 3 Special Benefits Every Customer Wants Every customer looks for 3 special benefits when they do business with you. They may not specifically ask for these benefits. Modern Call Center Solutions - Keeping in Touch is the Key Call center solutions solve a range of age-old problems. As far back as ancient times, the success of a business has always depended on how well that business can communicate with clients and meet their needs. Turning Customer Mistakes Into Raving Fans When you make a mistake with a customer, should you write them off as lost -- never to return again?Nope. There have been numerous studies which show that a customer who has had a problem and gotten it resolved in a timely manner and to their satisfaction is a more loyal customer than one who has never had a problem. Got A Consumer Problem? Millions of people, just like you, end up with a consumer problem that they just can't seem to get resolved. No matter what they do. Clients... and 38 ways to communicate with them As Alan Weiss (guru to the savvy consultant) says: "It is actually difficult to contact clients too much. It is easy to fail to contact them frequently enough. What Do They Want Anyway? You want customers. I want customers. Customer Satisfaction Is Your Business Regardless of what business you are in - you are really in the business of satisfying customers. The degree of customer satisfaction you deliver determines the level of long-term success you will achieve in business. It's Customer Service Stupid: Delivering Customer Service Training That Sticks "Society is always taken by surprise at any new example of common sense."This Ralph Waldo Emerson quote opens one of the most impressive works on customer service: Michael LeBoeuf's book How To Win Customers and Keep Them For Life. Why Cant Microsoft Make Soft Packaging? Why is it that Microsoft wants you to buy its product but does not want you to open the plastic case that is welded around the cardboard box? I believe that such packaging along with cockroaches will survive atomic disasters!Good luck finding any clue as to an easy way to open this fused bit of skin-tearing packaging. I split my scissors trying to pry open the ends. Learn to Anticipate Your Customers Needs This morning I was having breakfast with my good friend Diane at one of my favorite breakfast nooks. I enjoy the atmosphere there although I've been less than pleased with the customer service so far. The Nine Principles of Customer Service for the Travel Industry© If you want to learn how to get your clients to do your selling for you through excpetional customer service, read on. Learn customer service secrets from tourism professionals, apply them to your business and prosper. Mastering Challenging Service Situations During the course of everyday business, many of you encounter unsatisfied customers. How you and your staff handle these situations, will shape your service image and ultimately your bottom line. When a Customer Has Done Everything to Get Your Goat You try to make your customers happy. You sincerely WANT them to be pleased with your products and service. Dealing with Disgruntled Customers No matter how hard you try, in business you simply can't please everyone. You could have a highly trained customer service squadron and an award-winning product, but still you'd have some buyers who just weren't happy. Do You Want More Profits? - Follow The Golden Rules Of Providing Good Customer Service Last night I was at my computer and a Skype chat window opened up with a link in it from a stranger. I clicked the link and was taken to one of those "You would have to be crazy to pass up this business opportunity" sites. A White Paper: Profiting with Kindness In 2002, there wasn't much interest for Kindness in business, and some business people would question, "What does kindness have to do with business, anyway?" Is this a for real question or just to prove a point? Or perhaps they couldn't figure out what being kind really had to do with business. Or perhaps the word was a jargon word, an unfamiliar language. Are You A Coward? I Was Over the last month, I have come to hate emails and answerphones; not because I get 100 emails every day but because emails and answerphones are fast becoming the tool of the coward. At Beyond Philosophy we worked with a client a while ago whose account managers and sales teams never used to speak to anyone! They just used to send emails.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |
