Customer Care Training Best Practice Blog

Customer Service Strategy; How To Be The Best In The Business!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 12:51:00 +0000

Customer is King! You might have heard that phrase many a times, but may not actually know its importance. However, if you want to know, just ask any owner of a famous corporate entity or better yet, just be a part of a Facebook community where the only topic of conversation is food; you’ll see what we are talking about.

So, now that you might have gotten an idea after reading the negative reviews of customers and companies making their best effort to apologize to them for their shortcomings, let’s look what should be done to resolve them or better, to stop them from happening in the first place.

Make Sure that All Your Employees have Extensive and In-depth Product Knowledge

This is important for the customer service representatives to effectively deal with all the possible questions and complaints thrown at them by inquisitive and angry customers.

If they themselves don’t know the chief characteristics and attributes of their products/services and the standard operating procedures (SOP) to deal with a specific problem, how can they be expected to effectively resolve it?

Normally, many top companies do brief their employees in this regard, especially the sales, marketing and customer service staff, as it helps them in going about their jobs in a much better and professional way.

Empower Your Employees to Take the Necessary Measures and Steps

A de-centralized structure, especially in the customer service department, can drastically reduce the time it takes to resolve a situation.

This is why it is important to empower employees to take individual action. Not only does it result in timely problem resolution, it also improves employee self-confidence through the fact that the company trusts them to make a decision that is in the best of interest of both parties; the company itself and the customer.

Do Not Promise What You Can’t Deliver

Making false promises in today’s competitive business environment, where numerous companies are fighting for their claim to fame, is as good as shooting yourself in the foot.

In the quest to cater to as many customers as they possibly can, many businesses go to such an extent that they make promises to customers which they cannot keep.

As a result, they are not able to meet the requirements and expectations of the customers, which in turn damages the reputation of the company and results in an unsatisfied and unhappy customer; and we all know how an angry customer can bring down the entire company through negative word of mouth.

So, make sure that your customer service strategy clearly discourages the use of such tactics in order to ensure the long term success of the business.

Resolve Customer Complaints at the Earliest

Resolving customer complaints at the earliest and in a befitting manner is what every customer expects. The lesser the time it takes to resolve a problem, answer a query and acknowledge an error, the lower the chances of the customer defaulting, developing a negative perception of a product/service, and spreading negative word of mouth among his/her casual and professional social circles.

Hence, customer service representatives are urged to follow through on resolving any such case, dealing with it from start to finish. This allows the situation to be dealt with in the most effective manner as the person assigned with resolving it will have a thorough understanding of the nature of the problem and the person reporting it, and also increases accountability. Many businesses also have a live chat option for both, the problem to be reported and resolved at the earliest.

Monitoring Interactions

Many companies have incorporated this tactic into their customer service strategy in order to enhance product/service delivery and to monitor performance; hence, the statement, “this call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes” before every call you make to any company’s customer service department.

It increases accountability on part of the members of your customer service department, making sure that they effectively deal with customer queries and complaints.

In this way, the management can effectively highlight any shortcomings, develop a plan to effectively resolve the most common problems encountered by their customers, and recognize opportunities as highlighted by the suggestions received through listening to the recordings of the calls.

http://lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

Do What You Can for Customers with What You Have

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 18:49:00 +0000

Running a successful business requires focusing on what matters most. Revamping your customer service delivery process may not be the top priority this year when you consider other critical choices for investment. But that does not mean that you neglect the importance of doing the best for your customers with what you have. Your customer service strategy for this year may be more around practical adjustments than a complete overhaul.

Here is our customer service strategy advice on doing what you can for your customers with what you have:

Make the most of current resources
Chances are you collect data on your customers. Now is the time to do something with that data. For instance, if a customer has visited your website to download a whitepaper, follow up to see how useful the paper was and include more information on a similar subject. Or, if a customer called to ask about service on a product, reach out to learn if they were satisfied and if there is anything more you can do for them.

Keep better customer records
Customers like to be recognized when they call. Make sure your reps have a way to link quickly into a customer’s history so, if passed on to another rep at your company, the customer’s history goes along with the call.

Convince customer service reps of the critical role they play in building customer loyalty
Work with your reps so they understand that they are the forward face of the company. When they can genuinely project a helpful, interested attitude, the customer feels heard and appreciated.

Empower your service reps to solve customer problems
One way to have your customer service reps step up to have higher levels of client engagement is to give them more options for solutions. Encourage them to listen closely for customer needs and be creative in trying to satisfy them. Can they offer free next-day delivery instead of the standard 5 business days? Can they authorize a discount on the next product they buy? Can they send a small thank-you gift for a continuing customer?

There are lots of ways to effectively serve your customers even when there is little budget to do so.

Download Whitepaper - How Serious Are You About a Customer-Centric Culture?

Does Your Customer Service Strategy Aim for Excellence?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 22:00:00 +0000

Be honest with yourself. Does your customer service strategy aim to deliver just the basics or do you aim to truly delight your customers with every interaction?

We all have experiences as customers that leave us somewhat dissatisfied. A good friend recently went with their family to a seacoast resort to celebrate an anniversary milestone. The house was gorgeously situated on a bluff with a view from every window over the surf. The meal they had catered was delicious and hearty, perfect for their bunch of hungry but non-gourmet kids. The photographer was quick and pleasant…also perfect for kids who were eager to get back to playing. The celebration was a complete and utter success except for one thing. The house was very poorly stocked in terms of garbage bags, dishwasher soap, dish towels, cleaning supplies, and even toilet paper. In fact, they had to make a special half-hour trip into town to get what they needed…twice. Sure, this was not a disastrous situation but certainly an annoying one.

Okay, so when they returned, they called management to give them feedback.

How do you think management replied?

Poor: They got the runaround. They claimed it shouldn’t have happened. The cleaning service must have grabbed the wrong bag. They’ll talk to them. No apology.

How could they have replied?

Average: An apology, a promise to review the procedure so it won’t happen to the next guest, and a question as to what they might do to satisfy my friend at this point.

Good: The above with a handwritten letter and maybe a package of some of the “missing” items to be used at their home or at the next visit. Sincere regret with a dash of humor.

Excellent: All of the above with the promise of free cleaning service the next time they book with them.

Which response do you think will transform my client friend into a loyal customer…one who will talk about their experience in glowing terms?

When you are designing your customer service strategy, help your customer service reps understand the different levels of service and give them the latitude to deliver “excellent” every time. Build in them the attitude that no customer problem is unimportant or unfixable. That’s the way to grow your customer base, secure their loyalty, and ensure your “brand” is lived and enhanced with every customer interaction.

Download Whitepaper - How Serious Are You About a Customer-Centric Culture?

3 Steps to Significantly Reduce Customer Churn

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 22:00:00 +0000

Customer service strategy experts used to be okay with wooing customers until the time of purchase and then leaving them to fend for themselves. That customer service strategy is no longer sufficient.

In this age of technology where customers have access to unlimited opportunities to search for and evaluate competitive offers, you don’t want to let your customers wander. You need to keep them loyal to your company and brand.

How? With consistently superior customer service.

Of course new customer acquisition has to be part of any growth strategy. But we know that it can cost 4 to 10 times more to pull in new customers than it does to retain and grow current ones. Your customer service strategy has to work toward client retention as well as new client acquisition. Smart companies who recognize this are being proactive at reducing “churn”—the term for customer changeover.

Here is what leading customer service and contact centers are doing:

Analyzing what customers value in their service.
We know what they don’t like…long wait times, rude service reps, and promises made but not kept. But do you know what they do like and what would cause them to stay? Assemble the data and study it to learn why they stay and why they leave.

Investing in improving service delivery.
Use the data from your customer research to inform the critical few changes that need to be made in the service end of your customer retention strategy. service reps may need training in communication skills to improve their interactions over the phone; you may need to give them more latitude in solving problems; you may need to hire more reps to shorten wait times; you may need to put a system in place that will reward the behaviors you know will keep your customers satisfied; you may need, in fact, to overhaul the whole process.

Prioritizing the issues.
But, you say, this all costs money! It does. However, so does fixing mistakes and losing customers. We advise you address the most egregious reasons customers leave you. Focus on what customers find most annoying, on the kind of treatment that drives them elsewhere.

Make sure that your customer service strategy attacks one problem at a time—get your customer service to a point where the churn is reduced, your reps are happier and, most important, so are your customers.

Download How Serious Are You About a Customer-Centric Culture?

3 Customer Service Strategies to Build Long-Term Loyalty

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 18:10:00 +0000

The big customer service strategy question a client asked their team last week—do you know why some customers leave and why come customers stay?

Unfortunately, her team did not have the definitive answers required as valuable input for their customer service strategy. Instead, they had to make calculated guesses, monitor the results and adjust along the way. They decided to look at the feedback they had, think about what they sell and to whom, consider their track record with past and current customers, and begin a process to elicit more revealing answers regarding customer growth, attrition and loyalty.

If you and your customer service team are in a similar situation, you can follow these three guidelines that have worked for our clients who seek to build their long-term customer base:

Show that you truly care.Research shows that nearly three-quarters of those customers who left a business did so, not because of a bad product or service but because of a bad customer experience. Customers that stay have an emotional connection to the company. They feel they are respected, treated as an individual, and appreciated for their loyalty. They value the ease with which they can reach you and trust that you have their best interests at heart.

Be understanding and creative as you try to resolve a customer’s issue.Listen well, check for understanding and be sincere in your desire to help. A company’s customer service strategy and culture should give you the necessary authority and support you need as a customer service rep to handle almost any situation in order to reach a satisfactory conclusion from your customer’s point of view.

Follow through on your promised solution.This is the old “do what you say you will do.” You will quickly lose a customer’s trust and loyalty if you do not deliver on your promise. Don’t just talk about a fix…do it and check to see that the customer is satisfied with the resolution.

Customers will stay with you if they believe through your words and your actions that you value their business and care about delivering the top-notch service you promised and they deserve.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

Why So Many Customer Rewards Strategies Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 May 2016 21:30:00 +0000

Which of the gifts above would be more tempting? Most say the colorfully wrapped, close-at-hand, easy to grab one, of course.

In comparison the other gift looks simply “blah;” it’s old and it’s tired and it’s not readily accessible. Similarly, that’s what is wrong with many customer loyalty programs today…there are too many that are similar, they are not at all temptingly packaged and they are often too difficult to use. Does this sound like your customer reward system? If so, it’s time to change up your customer service strategy so your rewards truly benefit you and your customers.

I used to frequent a drug store that was convenient because it was close by. The pharmacy was well-stocked and well-run. But I soon became disenchanted with what was billed as customer discounts and customer savings. They were never applicable to the products I needed when I needed them. They required special cards which were often “in the other wallet.” They came on extra-long paper receipts with details on limits of timing and products that were hard to read. In other words, this so-called rewards program backfired. It became such an annoyance that I took my drug store business elsewhere.

What are the characteristics of rewards programs that work? Here are a two that you should consider as part of your customer service strategy:

They stand out from the crowd.So many services offer points and, at first, it worked. Credit cards, airlines, retailers, vacation rentals, hotels. But soon the field got overloaded. It was difficult for customers to keep track of the points they had earned and to cash them in before the points expired. Rather than differentiate a business, the rewards system was just more of the same.
What you need to do is to find a reward that actually benefits the customer in an innovative way…like the Nordstrom program that keeps a record of such information as their customers’ size and color preferences. These records can be easily accessed to save time as customers use the Nordstrom personal shopper service. And if they use the store-branded card, they are automatically mailed a $20 certificate when their purchases reach a certain level. The shopping experience is improved and cashing in is made easy.
They provide true value to the customer.Too many reward systems are designed to benefit the business, not the customer. Find out what would really excite your customers and you will find the key to their loyalty. Consider the hotel chain that recognized their customers were suffering from “point’s fatigue.” They looked for authentic, memorable, local experiences that would enhance their customers’ stay. They offer experiences “from visits to local markets, followed by personalized cooking lessons in the native cuisine to behind-the-scenes tours of museums.”

Loyalty programs are a good way for companies to encourage a target customer’s repeat business and to live your brand promise. But to be an effective arm of your customer service strategy, differentiate your program from others and see that it brings real value to your target customers.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

How to Delight Customers Through Extraordinary Service

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 21:49:00 +0000

What company wouldn’t love to get a thumbs-up customer loyalty rating along with these delighted smiles? Most would pay dearly for such a solid satisfied response from their target customers. But these positive reactions cannot be bought. They have to be earned.

How do you gain such customer admiration and recognition? Through extraordinary service that translates into word-of-mouth advertising. The better the experience, the more likely customers are apt to talk about it online and offline with friends, family and colleagues. Of course, the same is true of negative experiences. The worse the service, the more likely your company or your brand will get a black eye and the ugly story will be repeated over and over.

Consider a few examples of extraordinary customer service that we found on the web:

Trader Joe’s received a call from the daughter of an 89-year-old man who lived in Pennsylvania. She was trying to find a store that would deliver food to him so he would be able to have meals on hand during a predicted storm. No store provided such a service. Neither does Trader Joe’s…as a rule. But when they heard about the situation, they overrode their usual policy. Within half an hour, the food was delivered…free of charge.
The former B. Dalton bookstore had a customer who wanted a particular book for her son for Christmas. The customer service person checked in back but found none even though it showed on the computer as “in stock.” To satisfy the customer, the rep actually called their competition (Borders) to locate the requested book. With directions to the store printed out by the B. Dalton clerk, the customer went to Borders for the book. It was in her name, ready at the front desk. Her gratitude for the successful purchase went to B. Dalton even though they lost the sale.
Personally, I recently received great customer service from the company where we purchased our Hot Tub. Basically a few strange things happened and the company replaced our two-year-old $600 hot tub cover at no charge with little hassle. They even removed our old cover for free Thank you Darby at Paradise Valley Spas.

Stories like these are apt to end up on the evening news and create customers for life. They are the happy-ending stories people love to hear about. And if not on the news, they get exposure on the internet. This is great when the reports are complimentary. But what happens with negative experiences. Here are a few examples we found on the web that turn the hair of customer service managers white overnight:

A Comcast customer tried politely to cancel his cable service. The service rep refused to do so and spent the next 8 minutes insisting that Comcast was the best provider in the country. Eventually the customer was successful but did some research and discovered a report that indicated Comcast seemed to encourage this behavior with its crew of “retention specialists” whose pay depended upon how many customers they can, or cannot, save.
An upscale guest house in New York actually tried to set up a policy to squelch any negative reviews on Yelp. Their web site stated that guests booking for wedding parties would be fined $500 per negative review. Imagine the reviews they got when this hit the fan!
On a personal level, our teenage son recently had a fender-bender in our car. The service, support and help we received from State Farm, our insurance Broker for 32 years, was frustrating and inadequate. We are now looking to change. Boo State Farm!

The point? Make sure your customer service strategy takes into account the power of customer stories. A 5% increase in customer loyalty can boost profits by as much as 25% to 85%.

Give your service staff the clear message that happy customers are good for business and give your staff the authority to come up with solutions that delight. Otherwise, reps will be guided by their own understanding of your policy. At Comcast and at the New York inn, this had disastrous consequences.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

How Service Pros Best Handle Bad Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 16:39:00 +0000

Did we really say in the title that customers could be “bad”? Isn’t this the era where the customer rules supreme, and all our efforts are directed toward delighting them?

Organizations brag about being customer-centric. So do we! To us it means focusing on what the customer needs and finding creative, fair and reasonable ways to provide a solution. We look to build long-term, mutually beneficial, well-balanced partnerships with our customers. Sometimes we run across a customer that has no such goal in mind. This kind of customer needs a closer look. Sometimes it is in both our best interests to part ways.

In building a customer service strategy it makes sense to create your ideal customer profile as well as your worst customer profile. This holds true whether you are an organization with a contact center to support consumer products or an organization selling more complex, B-to-B solutions.

For us in the consulting and training industry, our ideal customer is one who has a problem or goal, wants to solve or achieve it, has the resources to make it happen and values our specific expertise and approach. Our worst customers are those who do not believe in their people and are not willing to invest in building the high performance environment required for them to succeed. They do not look at long-term change, only short-term Band-Aids. They are not interested in true improvement, only checking off the box. There are times when we, as a team, have decided that this kind of customer is not worth our time and energy. They will never be satisfied. And they do not align with our brand promise. We are much better off spending time with customers who appreciate our philosophy and have values similar to ours.

In the contact center, we believe “bad” customers are the ones who waste time and turn abusive and threatening. Customer service reps need guidance on how to effectively handle these customers. They may be well trained on serving customers who have legitimate questions or complaints. But they may not know how to deal with customers who don’t follow the “rules” of customer behavior. Help them understand what they can and cannot do. In general they should:

• Not respond in kind or lower themselves to the customer’s level of poor behavior
• Remain professional, polite and calm.
• Not cave in to unreasonable demands.
• Be empathetic and understanding of the customer’s situation.
• Try to help them in a way that aligns with your customer service strategy and brand promise.

There may come a time in the exchange when the customer service rep should retreat with an apology for not coming to an agreement. Remember, there are other customers waiting in line who deserve their attention and support.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

2 Customer Show-Stoppers and How to Prevent Them

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 01:25:00 +0000

Every customer interaction has the potential to move the relationship forward or backward. These are the so-called “moments of truth.” As part of your customer service strategy, the better your customer care team is able to work through these moments with skill and understanding, the more likely you are to delight and retain your customer and move to the next step in a positive relationship.

You can look at the customer experience in three overarching phases:

1. Pre-sales
2. Implementation
3. Re-engagement

Pre-Sales
In general, your pre-sales group should be easily accessible and able to spend the time required to assure there is a fit to the customer’s need, persuade the customer of the solution’s value, and work through to an agreed-upon conclusion of the sale.

Implementation
During the implementation phase, your team should be readily available for advice and equipped and authorized to provide meaningful support when adoption obstacles are encountered.

Re-engagement
For the last phase when the customer must re-evaluate whether or not to continue the relationship, your team should be able to prove the solution’s value in terms of real business results for the customer and to look back upon a relationship that has grown and deepened to the point where it would be hard to separate.

Each phase has its customer show-stoppers, and each stage has its opportunities for moments of truth that make or break the buying partnership. Let’s examine two points in the relationship where things could go sour very quickly and what to do so they don’t: (1) articulating your solution’s value and (2) keeping your value visible.

1. Articulating value
Train your customer team to know their customers so they can create a relevant and timely solution for the important problems that their customers face. Then be sure they are able to sell value instead of focusing on standard features and price. When value becomes the focus, customers feel heard, understood and helped. When irrelevant features and price are highlighted, customers feel neglected, misunderstood and in the dark about how your solution could help them. Which moment of truth would you prefer?

2. Keeping value visible
Without feedback on how well your service addressed the problem, your customers may not see or understand or be able to communicate the positive impact of your solution on their business. In the absence of proven improvement, you face the very real risk of losing your customer to the competition. If you want to continue to serve this customer and grow the account, you need to have real data and real business outcomes.

Is your team set up to clearly articulate your solution’s value to your target customers and consistently keep your value visible?

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

Check Out Your Customer Service Team Regularly

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 16:57:00 +0000

How long has it been since you listened in on your customer service team’s conversations with customers? If your customer service strategy is all about reaching out to new customers and securing the loyalty of existing customers, you ought to be listening in on a regular basis. Unless your service team is properly trained, fully committed to world-class service, and held accountable, they could be getting a bit sloppy.

You can’t count on “magic” to correct missteps. It is your responsibility as a leader to monitor, give feedback and training where appropriate, and see that the team always upholds the highest performance standards.

Here are a few phrases you should never hear:

• “No way we can do that.”
Remember that a customer calling in for help may already be upset because of having to wait on the phone for service or having to deal with a product defect. To abruptly tell them that they’re out of luck will just send them through the roof. Focus instead on what you CAN do for the customer. Be creative in offering solutions or alternatives. Show them that you want to be their partner in solving their problem, not their adversary.

• “Wait while I put you on hold.”
What!!! Indeed, you may have to put a customer on hold while you check in with a colleague on possible fixes but never do it without their permissions and an explanation. Let the customer know why you’re pressing the hold button and how long to expect it will last. And then check in regularly with reports on your progress.

• “How are you doing today?”
This question from a stranger can sound incredibly insincere. Instead, it is better to ask, “How can I help you today?” That is your job…to be of help and service. And it allows the customer to get right to the heart of why they called.

• “What do you think I can do about it?”
Hey, the customer is calling with a problem they hope you can fix. This sassy retort just increases their frustration and anger. If it’s a technical glitch, you should be able to hook them up with an expert who can ask the questions that will lead to the repair that is needed. Or you should have a relevant checklist to review with them so you can send them in the right direction.

• “Sorry, I’m new on the job.”
Don’t confess your ignorance. The customer wants to believe you can help. If you don’t have the necessary knowledge or skill to work with them, say you have an expert who deals with similar problems every day. Then link the customer to your colleague (with an appropriate introduction) and check back to see that the customer was ultimately satisfied.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

Never Ever Take Your Customers for Granted

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 17:00:00 +0000

Customers are your bread and butter. Without them, you might as well fold up shop. So you need to devise a customer service strategy that not only attracts target customers but keeps your best customers coming back for more…and more.

Show them the respect they deserve. It is not enough to be polite; you need to treat each customer as if their satisfaction with your product and service is your only goal. Customers should be so delighted with each interaction that they talk about the experience with friends and family. This is how to spread your “customer first” reputation.
Stay ahead of their needs. The best hosts know what their guests would like ahead of time. They are fully prepared to respond to every need even before asked. This is the way you should provide for your customers. Do what it takes to understand what matters most to them and consistently deliver it.
Keep your promises and deliver on them quickly. When things go awry as they sometimes do, accept responsibility, offer a remorseful apology and work to find a satisfactory solution. Once agreed upon, go into action. Empty promises can rapidly sour a relationship.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

For Customer Loyalty Make It Easy for Your Customers to Get Served

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 22:25:00 +0000

The less effort your customers need to expend in order to get service, the more likely they are to be loyal.

I recently read that we spend 36% of our time sleeping. So if you live to be 90 years old, you will spend over 32 years asleep. Fortunately, sleep is healthy and restorative for both the mind and the body. The same cannot be said about waiting on hold to get help. A recent customer survey uncovered the fact that an average customer will, in their lifetime, spend over 40 days on hold waiting for the customer service they need. Another study showed that the average American can look forward being on hold for up to one full year during their lifetime. We consider this a form of “customer mistreatment,” and it will turn your customers away from you and toward competitors who serve them better.

For a real life example, a 2014 study of the Dane County 911 Center in Wisconsin found that some 911 callers waited longer than five minutes before hanging up. Thousands of calls took longer than 40 seconds to answer even though The National Emergency Number Association recommends 90 percent of all 911 emergency calls be answered in 10 seconds or less.

While the 911 example is extreme and online self-service would not be applicable for them, here is how you can fix your customer service strategy, ease your customer’s pain and show them the light.

Examine your current self-service web plan from the customer’s point of view. What are the most likely scenarios? Then set up the self-service questions in a logical, systemized way. When customers have to move from the web to the phone, they are 10% more disloyal than if they could have solved their problem or answered their questions on their own without picking up the phone. Spend the time to get it right and test it with customers so that you can continuously anticipate customer needs and improve the process.
Test out your self-service plan with actual customers or in focus groups. Make sure you guide customers as efficiently as possible to the channel that will provide the help they need for the most frequent and important customer service scenarios. It is quite painful when it is obvious that a company has not invested the time to get it right.

For example, we just bought our 16-year-old son a used car. When you buy a used car, you need to register it with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). You would think that this would be a fairly common customer need. Yet no one in the family can figure out if we can register in person, online or even if we can schedule an appointment to register the new car. So we had to call the DMV. Then we were on hold for 15 minutes. Then the person that answered the phone had to transfer us. On and on…Needless to say, a pretty simple need has now turned into a very frustrating experience.
Follow your customer’s route through the self-service tools and provide FAQs that use customer language. Test and re-test with real customers until you have it right. Make the path as simple and clear to follow as possible. You will be amazed at the number of incorrect assumptions you will make about how customers will do things. Remember you are building the customer service experience to serve and thrill your customers…only they can point you in the right direction.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

A New Customer Service Strategy to Lock In Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 17:43:00 +0000

How do you yourself choose a provider? Think about why you frequent a certain dry cleaner over others. Certainly service, reliability, efficiency and quality come into your selection decision. But, ultimately, you have not analyzed each one of these factors scientifically. Instead, you just feel that your provider does a better job all the way around.

There is a whole new branch of customer service strategy that says you should go after the hearts of your customers, not just their minds. Some practitioners of customer acquisition go so far as to claim that, when choosing a provider, rational considerations account for less than one-third of customer decisions and behaviors.

To connect emotionally with your customers, you need to:

Know what specifically your customers truly value that you provide. Do they trust you? Do they rely upon you to take good care of them? The attributes you bring that link to their emotions are the attributes you want to brand and enhance. For example, one guy in our office always goes to the restaurant where they know him by name even though the place next door has marginally better food.
Know what your customers expect. Ask them often. Make sure that in each and every interaction you meet or exceed their expectations of service and care so they feel “loved.”

The stronger the emotional connections, the stronger the bonds of customer loyalty.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

Is Churn Rate Part of Your Customer Service Strategy?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 01:38:00 +0000

Churn rate provides one measure of customer satisfaction…but only as a lagging indicator. It only tells you the percentage of customers you have lost within a period of time, but it doesn’t tell you why. If churn numbers are your only measure of customer loyalty, you will always be behind in influencing the future. What you really need to do is figure out what is behind the numbers.

Here are the questions you should ask:

• What is the company’s role in causing customers to leave?

• What are our customers doing that makes them leave?

• How can we better serve them so they are more apt to stay?

Think of churn rate as an opportunity to improve your customer service performance. You want to see the number go down over time but you must also be sure that you are attracting the right kinds of customers. You may have more of an acquisition problem than a retention problem.

The point is that any metric can be helpful in your customer service strategy as long as you take care to understand just what is behind it and what it means for your business.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

A New Game Plan to Reach Your Customers and Grow Your Business

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 16:23:00 +0000

Who would have believed that your best customers could be even better? And yet there’s a new game plan in town that works by marketing smartly to these top customers.

Most marketing experts had long felt that the best customers were tapped out. Though these customers might spend the most, they would be unlikely to want or need more. But the experts have been proven wrong. It turns out that a customer service strategy that markets to these customers can significantly grow the business.

Here is how it works:

· These so-called “UberCustomers” are easy to reach because they are already in your database. Thus advertising budgets are not so hard-pressed.

· They are passionate about and loyal to your brand. They do not need to be actively “sold.”

· They are eager to find innovative ways to adapt your products and services and are often a good source for new product ideas.

Love them and they will love you back. They can drive and expand your business far more efficiently than if you try to win over new and hard-to-reach customers.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

Is Social Media Part of Your Customer Service Strategy?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 20:14:00 +0000

Today’s marketplace makes it ever more challenging to reach out to and target your ideal customers.

With access to mobile and online channels, the consumer has a multitude of ways to research and buy what they need. And the tech-savvy consumer will not hesitate to leave behind a relationship with a company that does not meet their needs.

Business leaders can no longer ignore the power of social media in connecting with customers. In fact they must make social media an important plank in their platform of customer service strategy in order to:

Send an integrated brand message that truly puts the customer first
Attract and engage customers through the research, buying and customer support processes
Take advantage of digitally-driven data to make better marketing and service decisions

Don’t fight technology. Use it to get closer to your customers and gather the data that can help you adjust your approach as needed to continue to serve those precious customers well.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

Employees – A Great Way to Promote Your Brand Promise

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 May 2015 20:49:00 +0000

If you are in sales or marketing, you are deeply concerned about getting the word out about your offering and promoting your brand as recognizable, desirable and differentiated. Think of your brand as who you are, who you want to be and who you are perceived to be. Part of any successful company’s customer service strategy should be getting your brand out there…it is your fundamental promise to your customers.

One of the most overlooked ways to reach your customers is through your own employees. Why not let those who are excited about their company and know the products be the ones to connect with potential customers? Engage your employees in a program to learn how to share a consistent brand story and use social media to spread the word effectively. They can become ambassadors for what you do and who you are. And when the story is told by users like your employees rather than by executives, customers are much more likely to believe the story and buy.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

Criteria to Ensure that Your Customers Are Treated Well

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 19:51:00 +0000

Unless you have a proven customer service strategy in place and are sure that it is functioning as planned, you have no guarantee that your customers are being treated well. Here are three key criteria for ensuring that your strategy is being implemented properly for your customers’ sake as well as for the health of your business:

Reward service reps for customer satisfaction not on a system that is based on profits. If you just measure how many deals are made and how many calls are handled, you encourage reps to care only about quantity, not quality. Customer service should be about long-term loyalty rather than short-term buys.
Empower your reps with the ability and authority to make decisions that serve the customer. With a clear understanding of what they can do for the customer, they will be motivated to handle situations in a customer-centric way.
Promote a culture that values providing excellent service and views the customer as a partner in building the business. Promoting a customer first culture means ensuring that people think, behave and work by putting the customer first. Promoting a customer first culture means hiring and promoting those that put the customer first do and firing those that do not.

What comes first in your corporate culture?

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

A Three-Pronged Approach To Better Leverage Your Happy Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 02:42:00 +0000

Use your customers as advocates for your services.

Why? Because client testimonials are effective. Simply stated, your customer service strategy should be based upon your customers’ enthusiasm and not upon your sales and marketing teams’ enthusiasm.

Here is a three-pronged approach to leveraging your happy customers more:

Bring customers together. Create opportunities for your customers to meet through face-to-face forums, conferences or online. Let them share their stories of how your service has improved their lives.
Leverage their experiences. Use their stories or testimonials on your web site, in white papers and anywhere future potential customers gather. This is an easy and inexpensive way to advertise what your service can do for others.
Put your customers in the spotlight. Their stories will be more credible than anything your marketing department might craft. Invite your satisfied customers to take the microphone any time you have been invited to speak about your product or service. Their testimony, perhaps less polished but sincere, will carry substantial weight with your audience.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

3 Killer Factors to Consider for a Winning Customer Service Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:16:00 +0000

Sure you want to attract your customers’ attention…but just ringing a loud bell is not the way to do it.

The goal of any winning customer service strategy is to first attract their attention and then keep it because your brand, your offering and your service deserve their loyalty.

Think of Zappos and their “wow” philosophy. They designed their whole business around serving the customer…not just with the basics of courtesy and speedy solutions but with an extra and unexpected punch that deserves a “wow” reaction. Under the guidance of their CEO Tony Hsieh, Zappos has created a culture of the “weird and wonderful.” Whoever thought that a mail order shoe business could work? Tony did.

He and his team followed a strategy that combines three factors that you should consider:

Uniqueness
No other company lives its customer service value the way Zappos does. Others may claim to but they are not truly as committed to the goal and as ready to deliver the wow.
Openness
There is nothing hidden at Zappos. There is a transparency that extends from the CEO to the employees to the customers.
Enthusiasm
Customers are totally committed to Zappos because they know they come first. Products are shipped free of charge and delivered in two days. And returns are made easy. Shoe shopping actually became fun!

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

2 Tips to Make It Easy for Your Customers to Find and Work with You

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 22:49:00 +0000

Too many companies put together a customer service strategy that looks good on paper but is far too difficult to implement and far too complicated to navigate for your most important customers. Don’t make your customers work through a maze of information or business processes to find you, work with you and get what they need. Make it simple and easy.

Here are two tips on ways to help you simplify your customer service approach:

Find out what your non-customers think.
If you could learn why some potential customers choose your competitor’s offering, you could make some knowledgeable decisions about how to adjust your service or change your solution to answer their needs more effectively.
Know what your customers do all day.
Do you know how your customers spend their day and what issues consume their hours on the job? See if they would be willing to let you peek in on a typical day. What better way to learn how you can help them.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

4 Guidelines to Put Your Customers First…Really

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 23:14:00 +0000

Most companies are good at talking about putting the customer first. But few know how to consistently behave in a truly customer-centric way.

Too often they are more concerned with operations and financials than customer service. And yet we have learned that if you design a customer service strategy that fosters true loyalty and engagement with customers, you can gain a powerful and lasting competitive edge.

For example, a few years ago I had issues with two pieces of winter sports gear from two top brands. First, the sole of my lightly-used and two-year-old $175 North Face hiking boots ripped off while out in the snow. Second, my heavily-used seven-year-old $450 Patagonia ski pants lost their waterproof qualities. I took both items back. The North Face store told me that, regardless of how much I wore them, things wear out over time, and I should buy a new pair. Not a great customer experience. Next I went to the Patagonia store. They quickly told me that their gear is guaranteed for life, took my old ski pants and told me to go select a new pair off the rack. Since then, I have never purchased another North Face item and religiously buy and recommend Patagonia products. A great customer experience.

If you are serious about growing and retaining your customer base, then you should pay attention to these guidelines:

Hire only those who share your value of focusing on the customer first.
Train and coach your customer service staff in soft skills over and above technical and product skills so they know how to build authentic relationships and listen for known and unknown customer needs.
Give your staff the authority to directly solve customer problems creatively and on their own so they are empowered to help the customer on the spot.
Model the behavior that puts people first…your employees as well as your customers.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

Do Not Bury Customer Feedback in Charts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Nov 2014 22:09:00 +0000

If you truly want to know what your customers are thinking---what they like and what they don’t about your product or service—then you had better really listen to and act upon their feedback.

Too many companies over-analyze the feedback, ignore it, or never direct it to those who could make the necessary improvements.

Make sure that your customer service strategy includes the following 3 best practices:

1. Do not obscure customer feedback in numbers or charts. The more specific and timely you can be in reporting feedback, the more likely you are to be able to provide customer satisfaction.

2. Pass it on. Make sure the feedback gets to someone who cares and can do something about it.

3. Let customers speak in their own words. Anonymous surveys become too general and do not allow the specific concerns of the customer. Forget the predetermined list and let your customers address only the issues that bother them.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

3 Sure-Fire Ways to Engage Your Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 19:53:00 +0000

If you are in charge of customer service strategy at your company, wouldn’t you like to know the single most effective, sure-fire way to engage your customers? The answer is simple: hire friendly, helpful, empowered customer service reps.

Let’s take this one step at a time.

Friendly
Remember the adage, to have a friend, be a friend? The same is true here. If customers want friendly (and they do), make sure you hire reps who are by nature friendly, upbeat and outgoing.

Helpful
Hire reps for attitude…the tendency to want to solve problems and make things better.

Empowered
Give your reps the power to act. If you tie their hands with too many rules, they will lose their incentive to find satisfactory solutions. Trust them to do their job and give them the authority to do so.

Even in this high-tech world, engaging with customers is still undertaken largely through personal contact—whether by email, phone or across a counter. Building a relationship of trust happens at the front line, one interaction at a time. Hire the right folks, listen to their suggestions for process improvement and watch your customer satisfaction ratings soar.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/customer-service-strategy/

3 Good Strategies to Create High Performance Customer Service

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 17:17:00 +0000

Thank you for your interest.

This customer service strategy article has been moved to: http://lsaglobal.com/blog/3-good-strategies-to-create-high-performance-customer-service/