Customer Service Excellence:5 Magic Mantras

The times are changing very fast. The economic scene, the political environment, galloping unemployment and changing social values would make any individual or organization to explore for options to cut costs, expect value for money and the best performance.

As our economy continues its crests and troughs, reducing costs and optimizing service quality from the service providers and vendors is increasingly becoming the priority number one for each one of our customers. It is imperative to be sensitive to these changes in our business environment and add to the delight of our customers every time they interface with us.

The most obvious course of action is to go back to ‘ABC’ of customer service and do whatever is needed to make a positive difference to the customers’ experience with us. The basic steps – an ear to listen, not just to hear, an appreciation, an acknowledge, a quick reply to a request on status (you may not have hourly or daily updates – the act of reaching out to them to ‘keep them informed’ would reassure them that you are addressing their problem) and a genuine smile are all you need to do to be different.

The art of delighting customers can be very profitable, but it takes some amount of dedicated effort. In order to succeed, you need to be genuinely committed to customer care without focusing on pay offs (which will follow in any case) before anything else. And it should be audible and visible loud and clear that you care for them.Of course being humans, customers may not be right all the times and it is okay for them to be  unreasonable once in a while. Treat everyone with respect, care and sensitivity. This is simply because, our business is more about the people who buy and hire our products and services than anything else. This factor is all the more relevant in view of today’s turbulent times.Here are 5 magic mantras that can help you move up your customer service  to the next higher level.

Magic Mantra 1: Understand them better

Each customer is a unique bundle of needs, wants, desires, expectations, qualities, values and sensitivities. It is of utmost importance to understand them like the back of your hand right from the basics to expectations, concerns and compulsions and everything around them. This understanding of your customer will help you communicate with them better and convey that you care. And that is what  will go a long way to build a strong bond of trust between you and them..

Magic Mantra 2: Design a customer action plan

Organisations devote a lot of time, efforts and energy towards developing their strategies for their business, towards deployment of technology, operational issues, manpower retention, but don’t care to put in place a customer strategy. Working out a well thought out plan to add more to your customers’ experience will help you identify the gaps in your service and bridge them. At the same time it will help you move up further, where you are already doing well. Having done that, go a step further and design a specific strategy for each customer and business partner based on your knowledge about them. You can begin with your top 20 percent customers, who contribute 80 percent of your business.
This way you will institute a systematic approach and philosophy that will be easily followed by all in the company.

Magic Mantra 3: Keep your word

Customers hired your services on the basis of what you promised to them. Always ensure that you stick to your word and remain trustworthy. No one wants to do business with dishonest individuals and the organizations they represent. Honesty and reliability are the keys to lasting relationships.

Magic Mantra 4: Always over deliver

These days every one talks about providing customer service. So customer service is passé. It is the bare minimum required to survive in the market and is no longer a differentiator.It is going an extra mile over and above the bare minimum that can give you a competitive edge. You have a great opportunity to promise more than what others do and deliver much more than that. Set you own benchmarks way above what the competition does and then surpass them. Be exclusive, innovative and unique and provide tailor-made solutions toy your individual customers’ specific needs.

Magic Mantra 5: Help them do business with you

Be a facilitator, and make it convenient and easy for them to remain in business with you. Put your self in your customers’ shoes to understand where it pinches. Listen to them with sensitivity. Take corrective action whenever required. Don’t hide behind the policies and systems. Remember, policies and systems are for the people not the other way round. They are meant to facilitate transactions, not to complicate them.

If you apply these mantras of customer service excellence, you will be building an organisational culture with  customer as its pivot. By helping others, within and outside your team assimilate these mantras and facilitate their implementation
you will not only win your customers’ loyalty but will also make your business more predictable and profitable.