Topic Outline Introduction Customers, and Customer Service What exactly do we mean by Great Customer Service? Customer Relationship Management Adding Value to the Customer Service Experience
Customers are the reason for work, not an interruption of work.
What is a Customer? Anyone who interacts with us or the service we provide, either directly or indirectly, or is affected by the quality of the service, whether they are paying for it or not, either indirectly or directly. They may be external or internal to the organisation.
Exercise 1 When you hear the words customer service what does it make you think of?
Some Terms Associated with Customer Service Customer focused Delighting the customer Satisfying the customer Meeting the customer s need Exceeding the customer s need. Giving the customer what they want, not what we think they want.
Customer Service Makes the Difference Once price, delivery times, quality of product are similar then customer service makes the difference as to whether a customer comes to you, stays with you, or goes elsewhere.
Internal Customers Staff who work within your organisation are internal customers of each other. You are all customers yourselves. Staff at other branches/depots/offices/sites
What do we mean by the term Customer Service? It is the set of behaviours which an organisation undertakes during its interaction with its customers and how customers perceive the behaviours.
Discussion Point It s not what you do, nor the way that you do it, but how your customers perceive what you do and how you do it that determines the quality of your customer service. To what extent do you think that the above statement is true or false?
Getting it Right The Overall Package Customers often see the range of products and services that a firm offers as a single thing. They view this as The Overall Package of the Firm In this case it only takes one bad customer service experience for the whole Package to be judged poorly.
Exercise 2 What types of things, services or attributes are customers likely to consider as being part of an Accountancy firm s Overall Package?
Customers will typically consider all the following as being part of the package Product or service reliability. Consistency. Speed and timeliness of delivery. Accuracy of paperwork. Courtesy of telephone answering. The value of information you give e.g. accuracy and usability of any instructions on how to use it. The attitude of staff - can do or not my job
The Two Dimensions of Quality 1 Procedural Dimension Systems, procedures and processes - the way how things get done formal & organised. The mechanisms by which customers needs may be met. 2 Personal Dimension Customer Service The human or interpersonal side.
Exercise 3 Customer Service Skills Audit Part 1 Develop a self review of your own skills, for your own personal and professional development. Simply write down in a list: Part 1 All the skills that you have that you use now Rate them from 1-10
SKILLS AUDIT PART 1 Skills you already have Rate How good you feel they are 1-10 Rate how good they need to be 1-10 For any 10s ask what evidence is there? E.g. telephone skills 6 9 Computer word processing 3 5 as you rarely use a computer
Customer Service Skills Audit Part 2 Part 2 All the skills that feel you will need to develop fantastic service (include those from the previous list if you rated them low).
Customer Service Skills Audit Part 2 Skills you need to develop now for the future Negotiating with customers Better telephone skills Presentation skills Why are they important? Important to be able to negotiate Very important for good customer service I ve been asked to explain a new product to potential customers Where and how are you going to learn these skills? Learn from colleagues, shadow them and ask them to explain Attend training course Training course plus watch others learn how they do it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy4lydn1gz4
Exercise 4 What are the Characteristics of Great Customer Service?
What are the Characteristics of Great Customer Service? Reliability Competence Responsiveness Courtesy Credibility Consistency
Poor Customer Service Examples http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btbhwnxcgai
Exercise 5 Excellent and Poor Customer Service Think of two examples which you regard as being excellent customer service; Think of two examples which you regard as being poor customer service; For each example identify: The key factors that contributed to the experience, Your feelings and reactions at the time, Your feelings and reactions now.
Typical Factors for Excellent Customer Service Knowledgeable and friendly staff Professional manner of staff Staff listened to me They did what they said they would do They seemed to care They responded to me promptly They seemed genuinely concerned They smiled They treated me as a real human being; not a distraction They seemed proud of what they did and of the organisation Courteous, friendly and efficient service
Typical Factors for Poor Customer Service Nobody seemed to have a clue what they were doing Nobody explained I was kept waiting They ignored me They treated me as though it was my fault They never got back to me; I had to chase them They blamed it on the system, managers, computers, their suppliers, They fobbed me off Busy doing something else & I was an interruption and a distraction from their main work
How long has your reaction to the poor Service lasted? Hours Days Weeks Months Years A lifetime And how many people have you told about the poor service?
Why don t we know if we are meeting our Customer Needs? It s often a problem. There are a number of reasons for this: only really believe the positive things often don t want to hear the negative things Ignore difficult customers views Ignore new customers views A lack of complaints - so all is well! Minor complaints are not dealt with Little or no effective Customer Research
Customer Relationship Management The use of information-enabled systems for enhancing individual customer relationships to ensure long-term customer loyalty and retention
Customer Relationship Management Manages, tracks, and measures the customer relationship from lead to sale to close to customer relationship. Allows you to provide a personal, unique experience for every customer CRM usually relates to software
What does CRM include? Customer contact information (business and personal) Recent customer activity Customer support issues, cases, and notes Commitments made to the customer
What does CRM include? Status of current orders and/or sales history History of products purchased Log of phone calls, emails, meetings, etc. Any other personal information that can strengthen the relationship
The Benefits of CRM Gather and manage all critical customer data Creates standardised processes. Status is available up to the minute Greater knowledge about customers
Exercise 6 How can you add value to the Customer Service Experience? What if you can t afford a CRM System? What can the organisation do to add value? Ideas and suggestions from you.
Factors that may Add Value to the Customer Service Experience staff displaying appropriate body language staff being friendly on the phone callers not being placed on musical hold staff actually know what they are talking about appropriate opening hours one-stop shop
Factors that may Add Value to the Customer Service Experience approachable staff user-friendly service prompt service or reason for delay is explained. Friendly and helpful staff Staff with ability to listen
Factors that may Add Value to the Customer Service Experience Appropriate tone, pitch and pace of voice How staff greet the customer Understanding the customer s needs Staff with good soft skills
What did the previous 3 Slides have in Common? They are all virtually zero cost.
Annual Customer Profit WHY LOYAL CUSTOMERS ARE PROFITABLE Price Premium Referrals Cost Savings Revenue Growth Base Profit Acquisition Cost Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Topic Summary Introduction: Customers, and Customer Service What exactly do we mean by Great Customer Service? Customer Relationship Management Adding Value to the Customer Service Experience Next Week Appropriate Workplace Behaviours your Rights and Responsibilities Workplace Health and Safety
Thank You