Let’s explore what it’s like to create an extraordinary experience for your customers.
Let’s face it, we are all in the customer service business at some point in our lives. I don’t just mean our external customers; I mean anyone we serve at any time during the day. If you’re a leader, it may be your executive team or your board of directors. If you’re a manager, it may be one of your supervisors or team members. Maybe it’s someone else within your organization that you’re on a video call with, or an outside vendor. From one angle, we’re all in the sales and service business and everyone external to us is a customer sooner or later. The ultimate goal is to surpass the customer’s expectations so that they feel that they are your most important customer of the day. Here are some tips for creating an extraordinary experience:
Know your customer. Take the time to know who they are and what’s important to them by actively listening, engaging and responding.
Be convenient to do business with. You can have the best service in the world but if your customer isn’t getting what they need, it doesn’t mean anything. Make sure you’re accessible.
Reinforce everyone in your organization who is customer focused. It’s a lot more fun to do this together as a team.
Don’t forget to train and perform with an emphasis on quality.
Here are some quality tips:
* Set the right tone
* Be alert to behavioral style tendencies
* Demonstrate necessary empathy
* Act like a consultant not an order taker (ask inquiring questions)
* Demonstrate genuine courtesy and friendliness
* Utilize proper problem resolution practices to find win/win solutions
* Be efficient in delivering on promises
* Always close on a positive note – enthusiasm is remembered
The best customer experience is not just about what gets achieved but about the experience the customer had while it was happening.
Kathleen