Proactive customer service
History has shown that many companies think of customer service as a reactionary response to a customer problem. In the past and still today, customer service focuses on how to deal with customer complaints/problems after the customer is no longer satisfied with an issue. This is like closing the barn door after the horses have been unloaded.
Anyone who is in customer service knows that dealing with dissatisfied customers all day makes a very long day. If this happens day after day, the problems for the company grow exponentially. A customer who has had service problems multiple times becomes a very dissatisfied customer who can turn to your competitor… costing your business revenue and damaging your reputation. Also, it burns out your customer service staff quickly. Customer service positions are notorious for their high turnover rates. If your company has a reactionary approach to customer service, it creates a negative environment that substantially accelerates churn rates. This, in turn, causes a significant loss of revenue due to the costs of constantly replacing staff and the time and resources required to train new staff. Keeping customer service staff turnover low is a challenge for all businesses. Many companies simply see it as a headache that they have to accept and even see it as a cost of doing business.
But what if you could reduce customer complaints, reduce staff turnover, increase revenue (not decrease revenue), and save company resources… simply by developing a proactive service approach?
Today there is so much competition that it is very difficult to differentiate yourself from your competitors. A recent article in USA Today noted that a survey of CEOs found that because many companies offer the same products and services at similar prices, customer service is the best way to differentiate yourself from the competition. A good way to differentiate your business is to create a customer service program that is proactively focused.
Here are some examples of proactive approaches you can implement:
1) Anticipate the problems and/or needs of your customers:
Ask your staff to compile a list of possible and/or likely questions, concerns, and problems that your customers may have. Instead of coming up with solutions for when customers call, have your team meet regularly to try to identify new issues that may arise and how to resolve them before the customer sees them.
2) Constant/coherent communication:
Have your staff regularly call your customer to show a sincere interest in serving them, while at the same time possibly catching problems before they have been magnified in the customer’s eyes. Good communication can detect problems before they cause more damage.
3) Apologize immediately:
Any time a customer says or shows they are dissatisfied with a problem… apologize immediately. This doesn’t mean taking full responsibility before you know it’s your company’s fault. It could be another seller’s or customer’s mistake. This means acknowledging your frustration by saying “I’m sorry this issue has caused you frustration and we’ll do our best to fix it.” Even if it’s your fault or another vendor’s fault, just the fact that you’re trying to immediately recognize how it’s affecting them will make them feel like you’re a true partner and care about their satisfaction. It’s truly amazing how many companies haven’t taught their staff the golden rule of apologizing immediately. Apologizing immediately goes a long way toward dispelling the tinderbox of a dissatisfied customer.
4) Sometimes you have to say “No”:
Some projects or clients are too big. Not many sellers or homeowners want to say no to any job. But if the job is too big, you won’t be able to serve them well and reduce resources for other customers. It is very tempting to take on additional work that can generate more income, especially when you are dealing with a young and/or struggling company. But if you take a job you can’t handle, you’ll do more harm than good in the long run.
5) Reward staff for great service:
Reward them quickly and before they ask for appreciation. Customer service is a very stressful job at times. Long-term exposure to unhappy customers can be very debilitating for an employee. Therefore, managers need to proactively reward staff who go above and beyond. Managers should also keep a close eye on employees who begin to show signs of stress. Proactively plan plenty of breaks throughout the day. Also have light-hearted distractions that can make them feel removed from the stress of dealing with dissatisfied customers.
6) Train your staff:
Give staff the authority to make decisions even before dealing with customers. Give them the power to make judgments the first time they hear about a customer problem. Try to ensure that staff do not have to delay resolving complaints as long as possible by avoiding going to superiors for authorization to fix customer problems. Passes add fuel to smoking patrons. The best customer service stories come from companies like Nordstrom that give their employees complete autonomy to make a customer happy.
7) Compensate your staff based on level of service:
Staff need to know that the level of service they provide to their customers would directly affect their compensation. Give them incentives to provide the best service they can. Rather, they need to understand that poor service can affect not only their compensation but also their job.
8) Hire the right people and instill the right message:
It all starts with the right people! If you hire someone who doesn’t relate well to others and lacks interpersonal skills, you’ve already created a recipe for failure. If necessary, administer personality assessments to gain a more solid understanding of your true ability and willingness to serve others. Also, when you hire someone who will have regular contact with customers, you need to understand how important customer focus is to them. “Customer first” should be the culture of the company.
9) Be prepared:
If it’s too late to be proactive and a customer is already dissatisfied, make sure you have as much information about that customer before you talk to them. You obviously want to resolve your issue as quickly as possible, but make sure your staff have all of the customer’s files and history before addressing your issue. Once you have all the information you can about the customer and their problem… strike fast and hard. End the pain.
10) Proactive Surveys:
Routinely send surveys to your customers to gauge their overall opinion of the service. Constantly and proactively monitor how they view the relationship with your company.
I once worked with a technology company and we implemented a Proactive Customer Service Policy. In 1.5 years we reduced customer complaints by 70%; reduced incoming customer calls by 66%; and reduced staff man-hours from an average of 50-55 hours per week to an average of 40 hours per week. The company became an industry leader because we consciously went to customers instead of waiting for them to come to us.
If a business takes a proactive approach, it doesn’t guarantee satisfied customers, but it can significantly reduce customer issues and show your customers that you’re focused on them. When customers see that you focus on their satisfaction, they will have a much more positive view of their relationship or “partnership” with your organization. In turn, they may also be more loyal to you compared to your competitor and may be more apt to give a positive review of your company. That can also lead to giving your company the benefit of the doubt, when a problem arises. A positive past is the best way to build a positive future!
Remember, proactive customer service can be the tipping point your business needs to take it to the next level.
