Customer service is simple really, but we make it soooo complex.
What does customer service look like? Well it’s different for every business owner, worker, manager, executive or board member. It shouldn’t be but it is, because we all come from differing backgrounds, personally and professionally, so the marketplace standard is irregular at best. My personal take on customer service is treating the customer the way you’d expect to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot. Put even simpler, it’s about prioritising the human being, or the need, before the sale.
So why bother explaining that? From time to time we all get busy and forget that our customers should come first. Why should we put them on such a pedestal you ask? Because without a customer willing to buy our products or service, continually year in and year out, we lose momentum and sales, soon after our cash flow is impacted, then our debts increase and before we know it we’re considering downsizing or even closure.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Creating a business standard for customer service is definitely the best option. This standard should be a strategy, then a policy, most definitely a few procedures and it would be smart to balance that strategy with a clear measurement process. This way we’re able to manage and review our performance in a transparent and honest way so that it becomes a firm standard in our business, not pushed and pulled by us (or our workers) depending on our (or their) mood.
All healthy businesses are grounded by a challenging and exciting customer service approach. Challenging because we always need to chase after excellence, otherwise we risk falling behind our competitors, and exciting because if we’re not… well our customers have no reason to continue buying from us. One simple and clear method that can be used to ensure your customers know they’re valued, and can approach you if they feel something isn’t to their own liking, is a business Satisfaction Guarantee.
This isn’t a lofty undefined idea where we get to manipulate the outcomes. It’s a clearly articulated standard for all to access, read and understand – even our competitors! What? Our competitors you say?!… Yes. The reality is that if YOU set the standard in your industry for customer service, YOU will win the majority of your market long term. Competitors can try to copy you, but they’d only be doing it to compete, not because they believe in it. Let them try, unless they genuinely absorb the concept, treating the customer they way they should be treated, they’ll eventually drop the act because it takes too much effort and commitment.
So what should you include in your Satisfaction Guarantee and where should you put it? Here’s our Satisfaction Guarantee, it’s obviously written considering our business model of consulting to small business owner’s but it’ll give you some ideas how to create your own. We used to just talk about our Guarantee with our customers at the sale but that’s kind of useless, as it doesn’t really show authenticity, it just feels like a sale tactic. Recently we loaded it onto our website and made it available to the world, that way we can talk about it and refer to it in any situation.
I bet some reading this are thinking, “I want to know how many times Upright has actually applied their Satisfaction Guarantee?”, well here you go. Since starting in Jan 2015 we’ve offered this twice (two separate customers), because we failed to deliver upon two promised deadlines. Those two customers were surprised when we recognised our own poor performance and apologised for it. We think the apology would have been enough, but we went the extra mile, identified where we failed, and offered the work free of charge. Both customer’s were surprised and excited and neither left our service afterwards. We believe this action deposited an element of trust, fortifying our customer relationships.
The hard lessons, of possibly losing a customer to poor performance or working for free, drives us to excel – or at least these should. Hence having a Satisfaction Guarantee brings a level of accountability and transparency that sets you apart. I believe business as a whole should always ‘under promise and over deliver’ in all circumstances, not the other way which seems to be the common standard in business today. When customers see you’re genuine about authentic customer service you win because they win.
Want to know more or need help with customer service in yours business? Get in touch and we’ll review you’re current approach in view to helping you build a solid strategy in building trust based relationships and retaining your customers long term.
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