PUTTING THE PLAN INTO ACTION- TIME TO LEAD CONSULTING

Seven Steps to Successfully Develop your Customer Service Strategy

THE STEPS Create your customer service vision Asses Customer Needs Hire the right employees Set Goals Train on day 1 Hold People accountable Reward and Recognize good Service Get Feedback

Create your customer service vision The first step in creating a customer service strategy is communicating the customer service vision to employeesvision Employees need to understand what the vision and organizational goals are for customer servicecustomer service Employees need to know how they are involved in this process

Asses Customer Needs Finding out who our customer is will dictate what we need to offer Many businesses guess what customers want rather than ask! Organizations can’t meet the needs of their customers without understanding what they want Request feedback in many ways! Keep in mind that customer needs and expectations are a moving target How many times have you been asked – do you have Cable? How many times have you been asked do you have WIFI?

Hire the right employees Hiring with the customer in mind is most important step in an overall strategy for strong customer service Look for key strengths in interview Ask situational questions – puts them on the spot Don’t look for employees that check off every box – be willing to train Experience doesn’t mean quality Skills can be taught but attitude and personality cannot

SET GOALS After employees are trained – set goals Makes goals attainable Track the results If employees never know what the corporate objectives are - you will never reach the goal Goals are for everyone - not just employees

START TRAINING IMMEDIATELY If you hire right, your employees will have a natural ability to serve your customers well Everyone can benefit from practical teaching on the organization’s approach to customer service. The training should explain how the organization would like the employee to behave in different situations how to respond to customer complaints how to be responsive to customers, how to meet customer needs, when to perform service recovery how to answer the phone your organizations standards for service

HOLD EMPLOYEES ACCOUNTABLE Conduct employee reviews Don’t just like things slide If you witness something – wait till situation is over and provide feedback Share customer service data

Reward and Recognize good Service Well thought out system for acknowledging and rewarding employees for good customer service Employees need positive reinforcement Share customer feedback with employees Hold team meetings Have staff/team events

RETURN ON INVESTMENT First thing - there is no monetary investment Return is huge 82% of consumers say the number one factor that leads to a great customer service experience is having their issues resolved quickly. 70% of customers will do business with you again if you resolve their complaints 65% of 1,000 consumers surveyed said they’ve cut ties with a brand over a single poor customer service experience

START THE PLAN TODAY Workshop 6