While some errors may be inevitable in the service sector, dissatisfied customers are not. This is why some service providers opt to take action in response to service failure by exercising patience, asking the right questions, taking the time to understand their customers’ issues while ensuring a rapid response to restore harmony. In short, going above and beyond to right wrongs and restore customer satisfaction. Show
It is said to cost five times more to replace a customer than it does to retain one, with the expense of marketing weighed up against predicted future spending among existing customers. Surely this is reason enough to ensure everyone in your organization has the skills, motivation and authority to pursue Service Recovery whenever the need arises? Implementing Service Recovery presents your company with many potential benefits.
Benefits of service recovery:· Increase customer satisfactionThanks to the Service Recovery Paradox (SRP), customers may think more highly of your company once you have successfully corrected a service failure, compared to how they would regard it if non-faulty service had been provided. · Generate a loyal customer baseThoughtful Service Recovery measures have the power to emphasize your company’s commitment to Service Excellence. Letting your customers know that their satisfaction is your top priority may well keep them coming back time and again, enabling you to reap the rewards of a higher total customer lifetime value. · Create brand ambassadorsService Recovery is yet another opportunity for your company to showcase its values and present your brand in its best light. If you succeed in surpassing your customers’ expectations in this regard, they may feel compelled to spread the word, polishing your reputation. · Avoid losing potential customersIn the absence of appropriate Service Recovery, disgruntled customers often share their experiences with their nearest and dearest, posting negative comments on social media or leaving bad reviews on ratings sites. With 94% of ReviewTrackers survey respondents reported to have been convinced to avoid a business by bad online reviews, curbing these is crucial. · Side-step profit lossesThe profits lost when a customer is left unhappy are often underestimated and therefore under managed. A solid, company-wide Service Recovery strategy can help circumvent this source of profit losses. · Trouble-shoot service failuresService Recovery efforts may highlight recurring customer service process issues. Tracking problems may reveal hotspots for service failure, granting you the opportunity to remedy any process friction. Complex processes with many moving parts and interdependent timelines are particularly prone to service failure, as is the timeframe allocated to the introduction of new services or products.
Customer service is about managing customer expectations to give them what they want, when they want it, in the best possible way to meet those expectations. If your business provides good customer service, you have a greater chance of keeping and increasing your customer base. On this page
The level of customer service you and your team provide contributes to the way your customers see your business. It may also influence their purchasing decisions. For example, excellent customer service can lead to:
Establish a culture of excellent customer service in your business by planning, developing and sustaining a customer service program. Good customer service is important for however you deal with customers—face-to-face, over the phone or online. Principles of good customer serviceListening, understanding your customer's needs, thanking the customer and promoting a positive, helpful and friendly environment will ensure they leave with a great impression. A happy customer will return often and is likely to spend more. They may also refer other people to your business. Consider these elements of good customer service.
To build customer relationships:
A customer service culture can be created by:
As a business owner, lead by example and make sure you're always providing excellent customer service.
Always listen to complaints from your customers and let them know that you appreciate their feedback. Listen to what the customer is objecting about—often price, merchandise or time. Confirm the validity of each concern and offer a solution. Make sure you regularly monitor your communication channels for complaints or other feedback and respond in a timely manner. This could include your social media, email and online reviews. Customer complaints and feedback can be an opportunity to learn something about your product or service. Find out more about managing customer complaints.
Know your products, including where they're located in your store, brand names, place of manufacture and price. The more you know, the more confidence you can build in the customer. Recognise product features and turn these features into benefits for the customer. Ensure your staff are trained and can tell customers about these features and benefits. Find out more about knowing your products and services in improving your sales skills. Tips for great customer service
To provide good customer service, understand who your customers are and what they want, need and expect. Know your customersGather as much information about your customers as possible. Try to find out what your customers are buying, and why, and the frequency of their purchases. Find out details such as their lifestyle, occupation and interests. This includes potential customers who have made enquiries about your product or service. Understand your customers' needsEach customer has a different perception of what customer service means to them. To provide good customer service, you'll need to know the needs of the customer and how to fulfil those needs. Find out how your customers expect you to meet their needs. The expected level of service may vary between consumer groups, industries and marketplaces. Research your marketplace and your target markets to find out what your customers expect of your business in your location. Tailor your level of service to suit your customers' needs. Some businesses work well providing a 'no frills' or basic level of service, while others go beyond customer expectations to achieve a level of service to impress their customers. In each case, the business communicates to create and manage customer expectations about the service it provides. Failing to meet or manage expectationsCustomer expectations come from many places, including interactions with staff, promises and claims from advertising, in-store signage and your branding. When a business fails to meet or manage these customer expectations, customers may be disappointed or dissatisfied. For example, if you promote a product or service as 'high quality' or you've made an offer to a customer, this becomes a promise that they expect you to follow through on. Failing to honour that promise can lead to complaints, lost sales or limited repeat business. Poor customer service, and the perceived indifference of staff and management, is often where customer expectations are not met. Customer complaints can alert you if your business is failing to meet customer expectations. Learn more about managing customer complaints. To improve your customer service:
Create a service delivery flowchartA service delivery flowchart will help you to examine the links between what your customers expect (e.g. service delivered by trained staff), and how successfully the service met customer expectations. It can help you identify gaps in your customer service, and how to improve. Create a set of maps and figures that describe:
Consider including these 4 actions in your service delivery flowchart.
Learn what customers expect by:
Establish service quality values and standards by:
Develop good customer service skills in your business by:
Ensure your service matches the promises you make by:
Measuring customer serviceIdentify areas of your customer service that are measurable, and regularly check that these meet your expectations. There are many ways to measure the success of your customer service. Mystery shoppersMystery shoppers can provide your business with objective third party feedback on your customer service. To get started with mystery shopping, you can:
Surveys and feedback formsCustomer feedback can be a good measure of your service. Make sure you review any feedback regularly and track recurring issues, which will help you improve your customer service. Share customer feedback with your staff so they understand what customers are saying. To collect information on customer satisfaction, you can:
You may like to invite customers to provide their name and contact details so you can get in touch with them to discuss their feedback in more detail. Make sure you are correctly collecting and storing customer information. Business websiteInclude a feedback page or section on your website (this could be with your contact information) with a statement that you appreciate, value and assess all feedback. Find out more about building and managing your website. Business social mediaMonitor both negative and positive comments posted by customers across social media platforms your business is featured on. These can include Google reviews, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and TripAdvisor. Find out more about managing online communication and customer reviews. Business recordsYou can also measure aspects of your operations that have numerical values, such as:
Over time, these numbers provide a benchmark for performance. Changes in these numbers over time can provide insight into aspects of your customer service. Create a customer service programA customer service program formalises the level of customer service you aim to provide, and what practical things you will do to achieve this and improve customer loyalty and retention. Customer loyalty and retentionCustomer retention relies on building customers' product loyalty and satisfaction. It is often more expensive to find a new customer than to retain a current customer. Satisfied customers are more likely to be loyal customers. Loyal customers:
Steps for creating an effective customer service programA successful customer service program involves planning, development and implementation. You and your staff must be committed to sustain it for a period of time so you can evaluate the results. To create your customer service program:
If your program is working well, your customers will be satisfied and more likely to be loyal to your business, which, in turn, means higher profits for you. Working with staffEncourage staff to work together to put the needs of the customer first. Ask staff to treat customers as individuals and listen to their comments, complaints and requests. Thank customers to ensure that they feel valued, important and needed. These small things add up to a great customer service attitude. Strive to have your team understand that customers are not an interruption or distraction to completing other tasks—customers are the reason for being in business. As the first point of contact for your customers, recognise that you and your team must:
Customer service systems and processesReview the ways your customers buy from you and if this can be improved. If customers find the buying experience frustrating or difficult, they may not bother to complete their first purchase, or any future purchases. 10 tips to improve your customer service
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