Friday, November 28, 2008

"Why is it necessary....."

A business owner asked me recently, “Why is it necessary for me to invest the time and effort installing these customer service principles you speak of, when my business is doing fine? We are growing around 5% per year and our profits are in line. Our customers seem to be satisfied and we treat our customer as well, if not better than our competitors. Why should I change anything? Besides, we have done business this way for years.”

“Great question” I answered, after being somewhat astounded. Apparently, he had only read my last blog article. Several previous articles I have written dealt with this very question.

I decided to answer his question differently than I normally would. Usually, I discuss how the business’s revenues and profits can drastically improve when these core customer service principles are implemented. Also, I typically point out that the only thing constant in today’s business climate is change. If your business is not changing you are not growing. This time though, the scared straight approach seemed more appropriate. I shared some very frightening and sobering business statistics with him.

* On average most American companies lose one-half of their customers every five years.

* Another study estimated that a business will lose up to 25% of their customers yearly.

* US News & World Report found that the following percentage of customers quit buying from companies because:
Someone in the company dies – 1%
Make other friendships – 3%
Change locations – 5%
Go to competition – 9%
Product Dissatisfaction- 14%
Of attitude indifference towards the customer by one employee - 68%

* Research further shows that out of 25 dissatisfied customers:
Only one customer complains
Twenty-four are dissatisfied but don’t complain
Six of the twenty-four non-complainers have “serious” problems
The twenty-four non-complainers tell between 10 and 20 other people about their bad experiences (this means that between 250 & 500 potential customers learn about the bad service experiences).

* A typical business only hears from 4% of its dissatisfied customers. The other 6% quietly go away. Of this 96%, 68% never reveal their dissatisfaction because they perceive an attitude of indifference in the owner, manager, or employee.

* 91% of unhappy customers will never purchase goods or services from you again.

* It typically takes twelve positive service encounters to make up for one negative experience.

* Businesses having a low quality service average a 1% return on sales and lose market share at a rate of 2% per year.

* A survey done by Technical Assistance Research says that “It also costs 5-7 times more to get a new customer than it does to keep the one you already have.”

* Studies show that company culture affects employee performance by as much as 30%.

“That’s enough of the bad news. Here are some encouraging statistics”, I told him.

* According to Harvard Business School, “A 5% increase in customer loyalty can increase profitability by 25-80%”

* A 2% increase in customer retention equals cutting operating costs by 10%.

* Business with a high quality service average a 12% return on sales and gain market share at the rate of 6% per year while charging significantly higher prices.

* According to a J. D. Power study through the years 1999 – 2004, those companies that continually improved customer satisfaction during these five years had a 52% increase in shareholder value.

Now it was my turn to ask him some questions. Based on this information can you really afford not to install and implement these customer service principles into your business? Are the new customers you are acquire adding to your customer base or are they only replacing the customers you have lost? Do you honestly know your customer’s satisfaction level? Are they just satisfied, completely satisfied, or are they dancing in the street with joy? How many of your satisfied customers are becoming loyal customers? If you improved your customer loyalty by 5, 10, 15%, how much will your profits increase?

From the expression on his face, I could tell he was giving this information and these questions deep thought.

I reminded him, “Running your business by these customer service principles not only makes good business sense, but it is also good for your customers and good for your employees. This ultimately is good for you.”

Where do we begin? He asked.

To start; let’s review the top customer service principles:

1. Belief
2. Commit to Excellence
3. Formulate a Plan
4. Build Team Unity
5. Measure Performance
6. Establish Relationships
7. Develop Employees
8. Create Happy Employees
9. Take Action
10. Focus

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Customer Service Principles

What do these companies have in common, Southwest Airlines, Neiman Marcus, Marriot, Disney, and Enterprise Car Rental? They are all customer service pioneers. Each company has forged a new path through their commitment, dedication, and innovations, to become known as leaders in delivering excellent customer service. Serving the customer is more than some fancy words on their company mission statements. Customer service truly represents the very essence of each company’s’ existence.

These companies, along with hundreds more, have already done the hard work; they have laid the ground work, set the examples, and blazed the trails for other companies to follow. They have demonstrated how to achieve success by serving the customer.

Why then, don’t all companies follow this proven path to success?
Do they not know the core principles these companies follow?

To borrow a concept from the Late Show with David Letterman, this is a top ten list of principles all companies need to implement to achieve service excellence.

Number 10: Focus – The customer should always be the number one focus of any company. All decisions, services, and products should be based upon satisfying the needs and expectations of the customers.

Number 9: Take Action – The best laid plans will never come to life, without action. If you are going to talk-the-talk, then you must walk-the-walk. When companies, which brag about the importance of customer service, fail to deliver outstanding service, customers and employees lose faith and trust in them.

Number 8: Create Happy Employees – Your employees’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors determine the quality of the customer service provided. The quality of customer service will never exceed the quality of the people who provide it. Happy employees create happy customers.

Number 7: Develop Employees – The three key words in employee development are training, training, and training. Teach your employees how to serve the customer, equip them to serve, and then empower them to serve with excellence.

Number 6: Establish Relationships – Customer loyalty is achieved by having a relationship with your customers. The stronger the relationship, the more loyal your customer becomes. Relationships are built upon trust, communication, and interaction. Every customer interaction is an opportunity to further enhance communication and improve trust.

Number 5: Measure Performance – If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Measuring customer satisfaction, customer feedback, and employee adherence to customer service standards is paramount in delivering exceptional customer service with any degree of consistency. Always inspect what you expect.

Number 4: Build Team Unity – To achieve optimal success everyone must be on the same page, striving for the same goal, aspiring to the same vision, and functioning as a team. Teamwork will always produce greater results, then individuals working alone.

Number 3: Formulate a Plan – Is the care your customers receive by design or by default? Without a crystal clear, well defined, universal set of customer service standards you will leave customer satisfaction up to chance. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Number 2: Commit to Excellence – Customer service is the number one differentiator in today’s competitive marketplace. Having a good product or a low price does not guarantee a competitive advantage or customer loyalty anymore. Commit to installing and fostering a customer-first culture within your company. Serving with excellence is a choice.

And the Number 1 principle all companies need to implement to achieve service excellence is:

Belief – Believe in the power of customer service. Believe in necessity of customer retention. Believe in the relationship between customer loyalty and the growth of your business. Believe that becoming customer-focused not only makes good business sense but it guarantees increased revenue and profit. It has been said,” A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses, it is an idea that possesses the mind.”

I challenge every company to not only implement these principles, but to have the faith, courage, and vision to move beyond providing excellent customer service to building a reputation as a customer service pioneer.

Some companies make things happen
Some companies watch what happens
Some companies wonder what happened

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Back to Basics

”This is a football”, exclaimed Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach. At the beginning of each season, Vince Lombardi would assemble his team and remind them of the fundamentals of the game. He believed that only after his team had mastered the basic fundamentals were they equipped to be victorious.

The mastery of fundamentals is equally important in the customer service arena. How the fundamentals of customer service are taught, practiced, developed, executed and incorporated into the culture of the business will determine future success or failure.

Here are some basic fundamentals about customer service:

You need customers much more than they need you. - Every business exists to serve their customers. Without customers, there would be no business. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises; he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”

Customer service is not about you or your company, it is about the customer. - It is about the customer’s wants, needs, and expectations. Are your procedures, policies, and programs designed for your customer’s benefit or for your company’s benefit? “The question is, then, do we try to make things easy on ourselves or do we try to make things easy on our customers, whoever they may be?“ - Erwin Fran

Customer service and satisfaction is everyone’s responsibility. - It has to be a team effort. Everyone plays a vital role in creating an exceptional customer service experience. Service excellence is only achieved by teamwork and everyone personally excepting responsibility for each customer’s satisfaction. ”Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress, Working together is success.”- Henry Ford

Customer service is a journey not a destination. - Serve the customer with excellence, they will become a satisfied customer. That satisfied customer will turn into a repeat customer. As the repeat customer continues to experience excellent service, they will be transformed into a loyal customer. Loyal customers are the backbone of any successful company. Customer service is a continuous cycle, a never ending journey, a day-to-day quest for service excellence.

Customer service is all about communication. To understand your customers you must ask them what they want, how satisfied they are with your service, and how you can provide better service to them? It is imperative to listen and apply the feed back gained from your customers. Customer service is a constantly evolving, ever changing process which is directed by the customer's wants and needs. Ross Perot said, ”Spend a lot of time talking to customers face to face. You'd be amazed how many companies don't listen to their customers.”

As a championship football team must master the fundamentals of their game to be victorious, so must a business master the fundamentals of customer service to be successful.

Coach Vince Lombardi once stated, “Some people try to find things in this game that don't exist but football is only two things-blocking and tackling.”

Business is only one thing - Serving the Customer

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Ultimate Service Experience

“Good morning Mr. Hamilton,” she called as I walked through the front door. (I was pleasantly surprised she remembered my name, considering this was only my second visit to this cleaners.)

“How are you today“? she asked in a voice full of sincerity. It was the same tone and manner my grandmother would use. Then she paused and waited earnestly for my reply. (What do I do now? Is she being polite or does she want a true answer?)

“I am ok” I stammered. (My standard response seemed meaningless to her genuine concern for my well-being)

“I am glad” was her response. ( It felt strange to have this person show concern for me as a person not just a customer)

“Excuse me one moment while I get your clothes” she stated, smiling broadly, and then quickly turning to the rear of the shop. (Surprisingly, she did not ask for my claim ticket. Was I the only customer this business had?)

Upon returning, she explained they had found a button missing on my coat. Apparently, the sigh and frown which I displayed were quite evident.(My first thought - would the missing button be obvious when I wore the suit to the job interview tomorrow?)

“Mr. Hamilton, we went ahead and replaced the button for you at no charge” she explained, in a tone that implied it was their privilege to serve me. (A business was taking initiative and exceeding my expectations. Boy, was I impressed)

“I’ll will be right with you Ms. Brown” she said, smiling enthusiastically to the lady who had just entered the shop.(There went that theory - that I was their only customer)

When she handed me my receipt she said “Thank You“, with a passion that portrayed true appreciation for me being her customer. (By this time I was looking for the hidden cameras. I was convinced I was on a episode of Hidden Camera or in The Twilight Zone).

As I turned to the door she said “we will see you next week” flashing a radiant, contagious smile. (The image of this shop owner anxiously, with child-like enthusiasm waiting for me to bring her more dirty clothes was too much for me to bear. The smile started bubbling deep within me, by the time I reached the sidewalk, laughter came tumbling out while I was smiling from ear to ear.)

Then it hit me, I had just witnessed the ultimate in customer service excellence. In one visit, this shop had created such a memorable, unique experience that not only was I completely satisfied, but anxious to return with more dirty laundry. This business is well on their way to earning my lifetime loyalty as a customer.

“The one thing I’ve learned from my experience is that no matter what you sell, you’ve got to sell satisfaction” - Stanley Marcus, co-founder of Neiman Marcus

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

What If...?

Ever asked yourself “what if…..”?

These two words are some of the most powerful words in the English language. They have inspired people to extraordinary accomplishments. They have been the foundation for advancements in technology, medicine, manufacturing, philosophy, science and every other discipline. Two small words which have shaped the past, formed the present, and can direct the future.

“What if” has been the cornerstone of businesses since the first company was formed, eons ago. The challenge today is to use these thought provoking words to build a visionary customer-focused company.

Here is a list of questions every business needs to ask themselves:

1. What if we had a 100% customer retention?

2. What if we could always see ourselves though our customer’s eyes?

3. What if our business could achieve 110% customer satisfaction - 100% of the time?

4. What if our customers always felt valued, appreciated, and respected all the time?

5. What if every customer we dealt with recommended us to 10 new people every month?

6. What if our advertising truly and accurately reflected the service we provided?

7. What if we could obtain a 20, 25, 30% growth rate annually through referrals only without spending money on advertising?

8. What if all our employees, departments, and divisions, always worked together for the common goal - customer satisfaction?

9. What if our competitors envied us for our service excellence?

10. What if we could turn our loyal customers into passionate, outspoken advocates for our business?

The answer to these questions should motivate and inspire companies to strive for new heights in customer care.

What would customer service, customer satisfaction, customer retention, and customer loyalty look like if every business used the power of “What If…..”?

“Some men see things as they are and say, 'Why'? I dream of things that never were and say, 'Why not'?" Robert Kennedy

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Where oh where has good service gone, where oh where can it be?

When was the last time you experienced outstanding, world-class customer service? When was the last time you had a totally satisfying experience as a customer? When was the last time your expectations were not only met, but surpassed?

Well, if you are like me it has been awhile. Actually a long while. Most service encounters I have (from all companies) barely meet my expectations; much less leave me feeling completely satisfied.

Are my expectations or standards to high? Is a sincere smile, a considerate attitude, a genuine caring spirit, or a demonstrated commitment to me, the customer, too much to ask for?

As Tom Levitt said in The Marketing Imagination, “Customers do not buy products or services so much as they buy expectations.” If this is true, then why do most companies fail to understand my expectations? If they don’t understand them, then how can they possibly exceed them?

It starts with belief!

A company can not truly comprehend its customer’s expectations unless they are committed to the belief that the customer is their “boss” and they possess a sincere customer-focused vision. As Sam Walton said, "There is only one boss. The customer! And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else."
What do companies believe in? What is their primary focus? Is their focus on increasing stockholder value, on maximizing revenue and profit, on growth, on bureaucracy, or on the customer? Unfortunately, it appears most companies are focused on everything but the customer.

Your beliefs determine your attitudes. Your attitudes dictate your actions” This saying most of us have heard before, but do we fully understand how this can apply to the customer care that companies exhibit? When a company believes that the customer is the heart and soul of their business, it can then create a customer-focused culture within its organization. This will enable them to instill a true spirit of service attitude among all employees. When you combine a spirit of service attitude with a genuine appreciation for the customer, the service which is rendered is nothing short of spectacular.

The company that believes and practices a “customer-first” philosophy will constantly try to exceed a customer’s expectations during each encounter. A funny thing happens when this occurs. A satisfied customer is created. The more satisfied a customer is, the greater chance the company will retain the customer. The longer a customer is retained, the more loyal he becomes to the business. The more loyal he is, the more money he spends.

The cycle continues from customer service to customer satisfaction to customer retention to customer loyalty.

It all starts and stops with the customer service, which is born from the company’s core beliefs.

Of course, that's just my opinion.