Andrew
Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba
“You are serving a customer, not a life sentence. Learn how to enjoy your work” – Laurie McIntosh
A strong customer service is determined by the attitude presented to customers by your internal customers, who are your employees.
Your external customers will only reciprocate to exactly the same way your company representative behaves around them. When you treat your customers in a friendly, more accommodating way, coupled with action-driven staff, your consumers will also respond positively.
This is why we advocate that companies must develop a customer philosophy that must be adhered to by its staff. All company representatives that have direct interactions with customers must always be guided by the company’s customer service charter.
This is how companies can cultivate winning attitudes by their representatives.
- Training
It is rare to recruit representatives that have the correct attitudes that fit into your customer service philosophy. Companies must therefore train their internal customers on the company’s customer philosophy, as this will help them to perform according to the company’s expectations. Trainings should be done regularly for both new recruits and old staff members. For instance, those that have direct interactions with customers face-to-face or remotely must be in position to confidently know the policies and procedures as well as expectations. This will help them to form the right attitude according to the brand expectations embedded in the company’s customer philosophy.
- Wear a Smile and offer help
A week ago, my friend and I visited a certain organisation that deals with standards and ISO certification. When we got to the reception area the front office lady was on a personal call that she respectfully had to cut to attend to us. She then greeted us with a serious face and we informed her the purpose of our visit. Without even an inch of a smile she contacted the person we wanted to see. The atmosphere felt rather cold and tense.
I understand she meant business, but a bit of a smile from a host will clearly warm the place and make visitors feel welcome. After leaving that organisation we both commented about that attitude. Organisations should therefore teach their representatives that wearing a smile before and during conversations always give positive vibes that project positive attitude. Whenever a representative has an interaction with a customer, they must make sure that they smile genuinely because plastic smiles are easy to detect. Conversations made with smiles also help in building relationships.
On the other hand, representatives must be willing to be of help to the customers. It is not every time that customers ask for help, but it is the duty of the representatives to make themselves available and approachable. This is easy if the representatives are creative enough to find ways to help the customers or even troubleshoot their problems. Instead of just offering to help, you can also upsell the company’s products or service that might be of value to the customer.
Customers prefer representatives that give them undivided attention when they are sharing their concerns. It is extremely rude to interject a customer, but rather train your representatives to listen carefully and allow the customer to finish explain their concerns before offering the right solution.
- Empower and Act
When customers encounter problems, they want them to be solved as quickly as possible by the representative helping them. This business of passing on the problem to be solved by someone else is a time-waster and frustrating, especially if the problem solver is not available immediately. Rather empower the staff that deal directly with the customers to solve common problems and issues. This not only gives the employees some form of confidence, but it also makes service delivery quicker much to the delight of customers as problems can be quickly resolved. When representatives are given some form of autonomy, their confidence is boosted and it improves their attitude for the better.
- Appreciate through an extra mile
When companies keep a database of their customers, they must make sure that the information gathered is put to good use instead of being stuck somewhere idle. Smart representatives use the information available to do a trend analysis on the consumer buying behaviour. This will help them to know when to contact the customer on new arrivals or if their usual purchases are running out of stock or are now in stock.
Thanking your customers through discounts or promotions may sound tired, but it works the magic. Build an attitude of appreciating your top customers for the business that they are giving you. As a company you can set aside certain days dedicated to your top clients and appreciate them. These days can be named “Appreciation days”. You can even invite them to pre-sales of new products or service. Automobile companies give their top clients demo drives of new vehicle models on the market that can last even for week.
Remember appreciation is not all about spending money, but it can just be about sharing useful information with your customers. Exhibiting the sharing attitude will trigger something in your relationship with your customers that is beyond monetary. It shows that as a brand you are not only transactional, but you care for your customers as well.
*Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba is a marketing enthusiast with a strong passion for customer service. For comments, suggestions and training, she can be reached on [email protected] or on 0712 979 461, 0719 978 335
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