Tool Box
Issue No. 11 - June/July 2003
Make your Business Stand Out from the Crowd
How to Establish your Customer Service Vision
by Reg Templer
For one reason or another, 8 out of every 10 customer transactions I make, leave a lot to be desired. When I ask businesses owners, What’s your customer service like the answer is always “Fantastic, our customers love us.” After the first module of a customer service workshop the answer is along the line of “it stinks, it really stinks,” because most people are simply not aware of the power of customer service.
Customer service is a chain of different actions that deliver an entire package to customers and like any chain; a weak link will cause it to break. Forget price, create awesome service and people will beat a path to your door and if you get your it right “everytime” you’ll create an advantage that’ll drive your competitors nuts.
Brilliant On The Basics.
It’s your job to be brilliant on the basics of customer service. The starting point is to examine key factors. You need to be honest and score your business on a scale of 1 to 10 on each of the following basic customer service items.
Business Image.
What image does your business convey to your customers in its advertising, signage, dress codes, policies, values, pricing, delivery, stock levels, cleanliness, politeness and product knowledge Would you really be happy to buy from you?
Your Customers.
How well do you know each of your customers? Do you know their likes and dislikes, what they do for a living, family names, where they live and work, their total needs, birthdays, who they barrack for, the car they drive, personal interests and what’s really important to them? You should know your customers as well as you know your friends.
You and Your Staff.
Look at everyone in your business who has any contact with your customers, including contractors. How well do they speak and greet your customers? Are they clean and tidy? Do they smell good? What’s their body language like? Are they positive happy p...
