Excellent customer service is no longer just a feel-good PR exercise; for companies it can make the difference between profitability and poverty.
Customers often decide on the basis of service which outfits they do business with. And they will rarely hesitate to tell the world via social media about their experiences that will either drive more customers to the doors of enterprises, or away or out of them.
Recognizing the importance of service to businesses, and with National Customer Service Week around the corner, American Express has come out with these handy—and—vital “10 Tips for Service Innovation”:
1. Make service your business by putting the customer experience at the heart of everything you do
2. Great service starts with the people who deliver it – motivate and enable your employees to go above and beyond for your customers
3. Let your customers measure your performance. Let them tell you what a great experience is. Their feedback is the most important measure for an organization
4. Look at service from the customers’ perspective and ensure they have the best service experience possible. Recognize that great service doesn’t come down to what a company thinks about its performance internally, but instead is all about what the customer thinks after every interaction
5. Do not think about service as an expense, but as a business driver. The American Express Global Customer Service Barometer found that a majority of consumers in the U.S. are willing to spend 9 percent more with companies that provide excellent customer service
6. Look at customer service as an opportunity to deepen your relationship with your customers, not as a transaction
7. Reward customer service employees based directly on customer feedback and behavior. For example: is that customer ready to recommend your business to a friend or colleague?
8. Hire the will and teach the skill – recruit employees who are passionate about great service and fundamentally understand the service mindset – then you can teach the skills
9. Get feedback from your customer service employees – they are closest to your customers and understand the most about what customers want and need. Don’t miss out on this incredibly valuable insight
10. Learn from the best. Don’t just look within your industry – look at direct competitors and across different industries for examples of best-in-class service delivery and innovation