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When it comes to customer service, how do we rate against each other? Which industries really get our goat? 1. financial services 2. healthcare 3. telecom 4. retail 5. travel
Chapter #2 | Understanding your customer
Where we go to resolve questions before calling someone: 1. company website 2. live chat 3. social network 4. mobile app 5. none of the above – always call first
Our preferred customer service channels (in order of preference): 1. email 2. mobile phone 3. landline 4. in person
The world continues to evolve at a fast pace, and with it our expectations of service. If we look back at times gone by, we were extremely limited when we had a complaint or question to ask of a business. Not any more. We’re connected and connecting. Check out some of these examples of us; the modern day consumer.
You might have great processes, but how well are you emotionally engaging your customers? Every organisation has an emotional signature – the level of emotional engagement with their customers. Emotions are central to each touch point of the customer’s experience. Like it or not, each action has a reaction – and it’s not always a good one. The aim is to create positive reactions that drive advocacy for your business, not destruction against it. This can be explored as a ‘stimulus, response and effect’.
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Stimulus: The things your organisation does for your customers, at each touch point. Response: The customers’ feelings triggered by the stimulus. These could be positive, negative or neutral. Effect: How the emotions create a perception, and in turn, how these affect your organisation. Or in other words, what the customer does as a result of how they feel about you or the situation.
As with every other aspect of business, the advancement of technology has increased the complexity of customer needs and expectations. Therefore, we need to shift our thinking around what actually keeps our customers with us longer. Consider the following ideas – some will be intrinsically linked to your online presence.
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8% become more brand loyal
23% ask for the same rep next time
Sharing experiences After a positive customer experience:
(Source: 2013 Genesys survey)
12% post about it on social media
49% tell friends personally about their experience
48% tell friends personally about their experience
19% post about it on social media
8% curse them quietly
Sharing experiences After a negative customer service experience:
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18% take their business elsewhere
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My, how things have changed – the 70’s vs today    How we were served in the 70’s: face to face and telephone    How we are being served today: multi-channel Complaints: 70’s = small window of opportunity. Only way of complaining was through letter, telephone call or in person. Now = 24/7 support with social media playing a massive role in consumer behaviour. 41% Increase in out of hours calls reported across business. (Source: AllDayPA survey) “Clients are now starting to care less about checking opening hours and just presume that if they are working, then others should be too. Traditional 9-5 Monday to Friday office hours are now a myth.” Sue Ratcliffe of AllDayPA
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81% go online to verify purchase recommendations 60% regularly interact with companies on a social media site 55% read user reviews 43% search ratings on web sites 43% say companies should use social networks to help customers Conclusion: By creating a customer centric vision for the future, you can continue to track what is working for your customers and what isn’t. Experiences are evolving rapidly today. Keep up or get left behind.
The social in the service A survey of American consumers found:
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Imagine hearing these words from a customer describing your business: “This restores my faith in humanity and shows that being customer service oriented pays off. ALL businesses should use this as an example for dealing with the customer.” Well, that’s exactly what happened when a Netflix service representative, Michael (aka Captain Mike), went the extra mile on a live service chat with ‘Lieutenant Norm’, a customer in need of some help. What could have been a frustrating call to fix a problem turned into a great example of meeting a customer’s needs in the most human of ways. So happy with the service was Norm, that he posted it on social media and it went viral! Check out their conversation and the buzz it created!
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Identifying their needs As customers, there are six basic needs we want met. They are: 1. Friendliness. We want to feel welcome, not like an intruder. 2. Understanding. Empathy over judgement wins hands down. 3. Fairness. No one wants to feel second best. 4. Control. We like to have an impact over the way things turn out, not like we have to follow someone else’s rules. 5. Options. If I can’t have this, can I have something else? Offering alternatives and different avenues is better than a flat out ‘no’. 6. Information. The more educated and informed, the better. Managing their expectations You don’t always have to exceed expectations. In most cases, it is enough just to meet them. Whether you are aiming high or trying to just get it right, in most cases, good communication can be the key. How do people know things if we don’t tell them? Sometimes it can be as simple as just talking openly and creating understanding on both sides that makes all the difference. Pay attention, be responsive and you will reap the rewards.
We didn’t just make this stuff up - real people told us about their needs here. Check them out here
Why are sales declining? Customers have been left feeling unsatisfied with the service lately. You know this because they have been complaining a lot. Why are the customers complaining? The team has not been managing expectations. Customers are feeling like they are paying too much for too little. Why is the team not managing the customers’ expectations? The team just isn’t motivated by the product. They don’t seem to believe in it and are just ‘going through the motions’. They’re selling based on price to meet their quota. Why isn’t the team motivated? The product has changed recently and the team doesn’t understand why. They were happy and comfortable with the way it was and don’t see any benefits in the new bits or the cost increase that came a long with it. They feel under-resourced and under-trained in relation to the new product. Why do they not have what they need? Leaders assumed the team would just be able to roll out the change without you needing to do too much. There was a lot of time, money and effort putting together stuff for the customer but not enough focus on the team’s needs as well.
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How much time do you spend thinking about your customer? Do you consider your internal customer? Internal customers are team members in your organisation who contribute to the service provided to the external customer. This means that their contribution can make or break you. As Richard Branson said: "If you look after your internal customers you don’t have to worry about the external customers”. Let’s have a look at what can happen if we lose focus on their needs:
Result - What is the primary need of the customer? For example, if I wanted to host a dinner party, the primary need may vary for each person; it may be to eat good food, share the company of friends, drink wine or celebrate a special occasion. This shows the need to truly understand what outcome or outcomes your customer is looking for when assessing their perception of value. Process -  What is the best way of achieving the result? There may be many ways to get from here to France but what is going to streamline the process for the customer? How many steps does it take to experience the delivery of your service? Price - Price is what you pay for the service. Is the price your customers are paying competitive and aligned – would you be willing to pay the same? Effort -  If the option was easy versus hard, which would you choose? In most cases, it would depend on what you pay. Effort is all about how much the customer has to put into the experience the delivery of a service. If you have to do more, you expect to pay less, and vice versa.
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Creating motivation means considering both job context and job content. Job context relates to your external conditions – wages, fringe benefits and physical conditions. Context merely prevents demotivation. Obviously, if there are unsatisfactory physical conditions, it would prevent team members staying with your organisation long-term. The determining factor for motivation and team member satisfaction is job content. When we connect and contribute to something meaningful, it gives us a high degree of motivation. For example, an acknowledgement from managers and leaders, independent decision making, opportunities for self-development, and trust are important in ensuring you have not only satisfied team members but motivated ones.
How many of your team members would you choose again if you got the chance? Building a dream team includes the following:Careful selection of team members. Emphasise organisational values and seek to align these with each candidate’s personal values. High quality training. The minute your team stop learning, they’re going backwards. Well designed support systems. Information and facilities should support the team’s endeavours to meet the needs of the customer. Latitude to meet customer needs. Give your team the freedom to provide the results your customers are asking for. Clear limits and expectations. Make sure your team knows the objectives and their role in achieving them. Measure satisfaction. They’re the ones driving your business, not you, so emphasise the importance of your team’s needs too. Appropriate rewards and frequent recognition. Give positive feedback and celebrate team successes. Focus on what is working, not just the mistakes. Team members’ recommendations. Encourage team members to recommend new candidates. If the team works, they’ll only bring in those who can support it.
What impact does internal service quality have on your profit? For your organisation to achieve sustainable profit growth, superior customer service needs to be second nature – not only externally but internally as well. To represent this visually, the service-profit chain establishes relationships between ‘profitability and customer loyalty’ and ‘employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity’. The links in the chain show the relationship between focus, outcome, and therefore, output. It just goes to show, what you give is really what you get!
Define your value proposition Evaluate your service profit chain Describe the link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction Identify the modern-day customer’s needs and strategies to deliver on these needs
Think about the last time you were hungry and knew exactly what you wanted to eat. Did you have it at home? If so, I can only assume you got up, went to your pantry or refrigerator and fulfilled your hunger. How did you feel afterwards? Satisfied I bet. Great – that’s what your customers are looking for from you. Every time. Now imagine you didn’t have what you wanted and instead settled for something else. Something that was just average. Something that was only satisfying your hunger, but not your other needs. Maybe it wasn’t the flavour you were really after. That’s what you want to avoid giving your customers. Every time. And just like favourites of anything, our tastes differ depending on who we are. So, let’s figure that bit out. Because knowing what people want is probably a good step towards giving it to them. At the end of this chapter you’ll be able to:
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Internal quality ensures team members are motivated and includes the following: Workplace design Job design Employee selection and development Employee recognition and reward Tools to serve customers Click here to check out more on employee selection and design
All the hard work you do improving the quality of service for your internal customers – your team – will show in how satisfied they are. Satisfaction leads to motivation and, in turn, will drive loyalty, productivity and retention. Consider a team who knows their goals and wants to achieve them. It’s like dropping a pebble in a pond – the ripple effect will be obvious. Next time your team doesn’t seem satisfied, or you can’t see productivity and retention, ask yourself: Why is my team not satisfied? What is the quality of the service they are provided? Are our efforts balanced? Click here to check out more on employee satisfaction
You can’t achieve customer satisfaction without providing them value. Value refers to the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. What people see as value is very personal and can change from person to person. Think of it this way: if a customer has the choice of two products that are exactly the same and cost almost the same amount, what’s going to make the difference when they decide to buy? Let’s look at value as an equation to illustrate our point:
When you have designed and delivered your service to meet the needs of the customer, you will have customer satisfaction. When they see the value in your products and services, you will have customer satisfaction. When you ask a person about service they experienced that was truly satisfying, it’s never just about the facts. No one ever only mentions the product features and price, there is always a human element in satisfaction.
Customer loyalty propels you towards growth and profit. Loyal customers spread the word to friends and family members about the satisfaction they experienced. Loyalty creates retention of customers, related sales, referrals and greater funds for future innovation and service strategies.
Offer multi-channel continuity  Whether offline or online, on a mobile device or a desktop, deliver on your customer experience and they are less likely to stray. This can link to how they return a product, when they have an enquiry, or be as simple as when they have placed some items into a basket on a desktop site – it is still there when they use a mobile device?
Offer useful apps/utilities  Making customers' lives easier is a great way to improve retention and increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). For example, mobile banking apps free customers from the need to call into branches or use the telephone for the most common transactions. It saves them time, and thus enhances their lives in a small way.
Personalisation  Personalisation for the customer should be a key focus both online and offline. Amazon is a prime example of how to personalise the web experience with product recommendations. It’s unlikely that any two people will see the same Amazon homepage as the content is tailored, based on previous purchase behaviour.
Social customer service  Customers will find you wherever your brand has a channel, and if your brand doesn't operate on your customers preferred channel, it’s frustrating. Twitter is becoming more crucial as a personal and quick way to respond and offer a solution. Twitter allows you to have a personality, engage regularly and stay at the forefront of your customers’ minds.
Be incredible at returns  If a customer buys an item online, they should be able to return it at a high street store. Give your customers free online returns. Of course, there are costs involved if you allow free returns, but these costs need to be weighed against the extra conversions it brings, and the potential boost to retention rates. Zappos, the online shoe company, discovered that people who regularly returned items were often their best customers. Their most profitable customers, buying their most expensive shoes, had a 50% return rate.
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Take a look at the following link discussing five major brands that exceed customer expectations.
Check out how Starbucks turn customer complaints into opportunities for great customer service.
Congrats on getting through your unit to this point! So what have you done in this chapter? Well, you’ve:Defined your value proposition Evaluated your service profit chain Described the link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction Identified the modern days customers needs and strategies to deliver on these needsSo what now? We recommend you put into practice some of the new skills, techniques and principles you’ve just learned. This is the best way we know, to ensure you know what you need to be successful on your journey – know what we mean? Now, let’s get into the next chapter!
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