Communicate with customers

What is the aim of any business? To make money!

Customer service All organisations need customers in order to survive I see you as the college ‘customers’ No organisation wants its customers to be dissatisfied or unhappy. Working efficiently with customers will help your organisation to retain its current customers and attract new ones, hopefully!

Presenting a positive image Customer loyalty is cherished by all businesses – it’s expensive to advertise and to attract customers and to gain their trust How many of you have had terrible customer service experiences over the phone or face-to-face?

Your possible range of customers External private individuals or businesses which buy goods and services from the organisation You might be involved with responding to customer queries, dealing with customers on the phone and greeting visitors The way YOU deal with your external customers whoever they are WILL affect your organisation positively OR negatively this depends on YOU!

Internal These are your colleagues who need you to do something for them You have a responsibility to give all your customers equal importance You may think it’s obvious to give good customer service to an external customer but if you let your internal customer down this may also affect an external customer

The importance of your impact on other people First impressions appearance attitude This influences your opinion as to what type of person they are. In business, it also influences your opinion of the company as well

Personal presentation How would your future employer expect you to present yourself? ie: They would expect you to be clean and tidy at all times. This includes your hair, fingernails and shoes – as well as your clothes.

Some answers They will expect you to wear suitable work clothes. This normally excludes jeans, trainers, Doc Martens, crop tops and shorts Restrained jewellery Restrained make-up (females?) Appropriate hair style Nice breath! Watch out for eating lots of garlic the night before work!

Promoting a positive image with all your customers Can you please in small groups create a poster listing some advice on how to create a positive image to customers to be displayed on the wall.

Some ideas Refer to the table on page 132 of your Administration booklet

Manner and attitude Everyone’s manner and attitude is influenced by the way they think. depressed = negativity fed up = boredom Customer service professionals argue that the best attribute is to have a positive attitude.

A positive attitude People prefer being with others who radiate positive vibes Positive people always think ‘yes’ If you are positive about your work and your customers then you are also giving a positive and up-beat image of the organisation. Positive people usually have high personal standards and always want to do their best.

What would you prefer? ‘Oh, I doubt if we can do much about that’ ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure we can sort this out.’

Online questionnaire uestionnaire.htmlhttp:// uestionnaire.html ty/index.htmlhttp:// ty/index.html

Style of communication Positivity will be reflected in your verbal and written communication you will talk enthusiastically and with a smile you will highlight the benefits of something automatically

Body language Positive people sit, stand and walk tall They smile at people and have the confidence to look at them when they are talking Because they want to understand the customer they often ‘reflect’ body language – by shaking their head or nodding to show they agree with the customer

Personnel test Try a simple test. Next time you go into a large store, try to spot a member of staff who looks positive, one who looks bored and one who looks negative, depressed or plain unhelpful then think about why you gained that impression – and what their body language was telling you. There are no prizes for deciding which one you would prefer to be served by!

The importance of providing effective customer service Effective customer service is possible only if everyone in the organisation cares about customers and realises their importance. Sometimes called ‘customer-focused’

Customer-focused the customer always comes first customer needs are identified quickly customer expectations are exceeded customers are consistently delighted with the service they receive

The organisation benefits because… You help to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty You help them to gain and retain customers Talking to customers gives you the opportunity to promote your company and its products or services You improve the image and reputation of the business as word gets around You help the company to stay in business, increase its profits (which may finance a pay rise!) and even expand

The benefits to you include… Greater enjoyment because you know you are doing a good job A reduction in the number of problems and complaints you have to deal with Greater job security – companies with many satisfied customers are unlikely to go out of business Better promotion prospects

Facts and figures…. customers in the UK spend a total of 92 days out of the past four years waiting in over 2,000 queues. They also spend approximately 40 hours a year ‘holding’ on the telephone! ‘Queue rage’ is becoming more common Researchers also predict our patience levels are constantly reducing because we are less used to waiting than previous generations. Today we expect fast food, fast IT connections and fast service

Task Page 140 – task 1

Over to you! Tasks 2 and 3 on page 134 Link to next presentation