Managing the "Customer Experience" Can Drive Sales and Profits
MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — All too often, customer service is not a priority for retailers. That is a critical mistake, says John Tschohl, President of Service Quality Institute, www.ServiceQualityInstitute.com.
"Instead of focusing on their customers they focus on numbers," said Tschohl, an internationally recognized service strategist, who has been described by Time Magazine and USA Today as a "customer service guru."
"What management doesn't realize is that, if they would pay attention to their customers' needs and do whatever they can to meet those needs, the numbers will follow," said Tschohl, who presents keynote speeches and training seminars on customer service issues. In order to increase sales and profits, retailers must provide the type of service that will gain—and retain—customers. That doesn't mean advertising that "the customer is king," or that "the customer is always right."
"Customers will know immediately whether or not you operate with those words as your guide and do everything possible to ensure a great customer experience," says Tschohl, who has developed more than 26 customer-service training programs that have been distributed throughout the world. "You must act, not profess. You must do whatever it takes to provide your customers with what they want and to do so quickly, enthusiastically, and accurately."
To ensure that service becomes a driving force in your organization, you must develop a plan, much as you would for any other goal, personal or professional, in your life. "Just as importantly, you must follow that plan," Tschohl says.
To get started on developing a Customer Service Plan, take these steps:
- Understand what your business is. Regardless of what you are selling—whether it's life insurance, automobiles, or printing—you are in the customer service business. You must build everything you do around the customer experience.
- Identify the elements of good customer service and eliminate the obstacles that prevent you from providing it. How can you make it easy for people to do business with you? Are your hours convenient? Are your employees well trained?
- Identify your customers' needs and wants. If you don't know who it is you are trying to satisfy and what their needs are, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to meet them.
- Compare your organization and how you operate to role models outside your industry. Look at the best of the best and model your behavior after those businesses. What do they do that you aren't doing?
- Put your money where your mouth is. Create a service guarantee that gives customers peace of mind. Northeast Delta Dental did just that by guaranteeing that it will provide its customers with certain services within certain time frames. For example, if it does not send a member identity card within 15 calendar days after the enrollment form is completed, it will pay that member $50.
- Track your progress. Use mystery shoppers and surveys to evaluate how you are doing and to assess the impact of your focus on customer service. Look at your sales and market share before you implemented the plan and compare it with where you are every six months afterwards.
- Drive the program. Provide continuous training that will instill in all employees an enthusiasm for—and commitment to—customer service. Reinforce the focus on service by rewarding high-performing employees and enforcing and reinforcing service standards.
- Make a commitment. Creating a customer service culture takes time. If you aren't committed, you will fail.
"When organizations know what is important to their customers, and when they realize the shortcomings of their current service, they are ready to write a Customer Service Plan that focuses on providing the best customer experience possible," says Tschohl. "Planning, drafting, and implementing that plan requires management commitment, a long-term strategy, and continual effort to improve service. It will take some work, but the rewards will be well worth the effort."
About John Tschohl
John Tschohl, internationally recognized service strategist, is founder and president of the Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Dynamic, hard-hitting, and inspirational, Tschohl has been featured on ABC, CNBC, and PBS and in articles in newspapers and magazines in almost every corner of the world. He creates an emotional buy-in, using measurable data that CEOs respond to and that results in improved productivity and customer service.
About Service Quality Institute
Service Quality Institute is the global leader in helping organizations attract and keep customers, build market share, improve the performance of the entire workforce, and create a culture of delivering superior customer service.
For more information, go to http://www.servicequalityinstitute.com