Shep Hyken, CSP is a professional speaker and author specializing in the areas of customer service, customer loyalty and internal service. For more information on Shep’s speaking programs, books and tapes visit http://www.hyken.com/ .You may remember it was about this time last year that “The Cult of the Customer” came out. I’m proud that it hit the“Wall Street Journal” best-seller list, and in celebrationof the book’s first birthday, here are five great customerservice tips that will give any company an advantage overcompetition and more value for their customers.
1. Do not settle for satisfied customers
Satisfactory is an average rating. The best companies recognize thatsatisfied customers are not loyal customers. Everyemployee should ask themselves a question: What am I doingright now to ensure that the next time the customer needswhat it is that we do or sell, they will choose us? Mostpeople think of loyalty as a lifetime, but it is reallyabout the next time – all of the time!
2. Get into alignment
Every employee must know what thecompany expects from them, as well as the brand promise thecompany makes to the customers. Create a mantra, which isa one sentence or less statement that combines the visionand mission of the company, as well as the promise to thecustomer. The Ritz Carlton hotel chain has a great onethat is just nine words long: “We are ladies and gentlemenserving ladies and gentlemen.” Everyone gets it, theemployees and the guests (customers). The employees haveit memorized. They live and breathe the mantra – all ofthe time!
3. Constantly train
The best companies budget time andexpense for on-going training of both hard or technicalskills (the skills needed to do their job) and soft skills(customer service, relationship and personal improvement). They don’t do this once in a while – they do it all of thetime!
4. Create confidence
Confidence comes from a predictableexperience. You want customers to own their experiencewith you, which means that they know what to expect – allof the time!
5. Be amazing
The best/amazing companies do not deliverover-the-top customer service experiences all of the time. While once in a while they do, their secret is consistency. They are simply predictably better than average – all ofthe time!
Bonus:
Never forget to show appreciation. Say thank you –over and over. Customers need to be told how much youappreciate their business – all of the time!