Service Excellence in Organizations, Volume II

Eight Key Steps to Follow and Achieve It

Fiona Urquhart

• Publisher: Business Expert Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781949991185
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Sector de servicios

This book explores the basic tenets of service excellence, opening to distinguish customer service from service excellence, and explore the driving aspects of strategy and philosophy.

The brand promise to customers creates expectations; hooks targeted and segmented customers into a relationship. Service operations deliver expectations, delight, or on occasion, disappointment, and marketing responds to create loyalty, further delight, or recover the relationship.

Freshness of product or service offering, the injection of a characterful sense of fun, and sensitive personalization of service combine to deliver an authentic, pleasurable and memorable service experience prompting much sought loyalty and advocacy. In turn, staff are happy, profits rise and the organization has long-term sustainability.

The first volume offers some theoretical background, while the second suggests mechanisms, tools, and techniques to help embed to excellence as the foundation of value that the organization delivers. Both contain practical examples and a self-assessment diagnostic tool to identify organizational areas of strength, and aspects to improve.

CHAPTER 1

Energize, Excite, Elate

Chapter Objectives

• To outline the role repeat business plays for company, staff, and customer, and its link to service excellence
• To offer frameworks for continuing brand engagement
• To suggest techniques to deepen the customer relationship
• To introduce ways of keeping the brand fresh and exciting for the customer
• To offer suggestions for bringing joy to customers, and ­making them feel that the organization has gone the ­proverbial extra mile
• To consider the excitement offered by new technologies

Chapter Profile

Repeat business is the lifeblood of any organization, and also the most profitable business the organization does, as the staff know the customer, and the sale reinforces the relationship, rather than having to start the relationship as with a first purchase.

Engaging the customer over time needs to be based on the quality of the relationship, rather than merely the quality of products or ­service. This chapter will explain how drama can play a role in the customer experience, making it memorable, and drawing customers back repeatedly. It will also explore how engaging staff creates the sort of climate and ­culture that encourages staff to go the extra mile, and truly engage the hearts and minds of customers.

Key areas addressed in the chapter include the following:

• How drama can make the customer experience memorable
• Drawing customers back again and again
• Keeping your service fresh and relevant to customers’ needs
• Energizing staff to enjoy the customer experience
• Anticipating and responding to changing customer needs/environment
• Connecting with your customers at point of purchase
• Turning customers into advocates
• Inspiring customers by jumping into their activity cycle
• Building trust through authenticity
• Turn complaints into committed and delighted customers

The Importance of Repeat Business

Many businesses focus on winning new business, rather than servicing existing clients, but this is misguided and counter to service excellence. Looking after repeat customers is more cost-effective than chasing new ones; you might have to spend thousands on marketing and customer research to win new clients, but, for existing customers, the hard work is already done. As they come back time after time, their trust rises, and they buy more, boosting the value of their purchases. A repeat customer may become an ambassador for your brand, spreading the word about your company among their friends, family, and supply chain.

There are 10 simple ways you can maximize the value of your existing client base, and cash in on the work you did to entice them in the first place.

Here are the top 10 ways to get repeat business:

1. Get it right first time
   If you don’t get it right the first time you sell to a particular customer, they won’t buy from you again, so a great first impression is crucial.
   With a first-time customer, make sure every little detail is dealt with as professionally as possible. Handle all correspondence in a formal language, with a personal greeting on each e-mail, and assign a specific member of your team (if you have one!) to deal with the customer, so they build up a rapport and provide a clear point of contact.
   If you are to deliver something, keep the customer informed of every development in the delivery process, and, if the product or service you’re selling is particularly complex, offer proactive advice to help the customer understand it. A week after the product has been delivered, phone or e-mail the customer to ask if they’re happy with it.
2. Spend money on after-sales support
   This may seem slightly basic, but it’s not; many companies put all their eggs in the presale basket and don’t spend any time or money on ensuring the customer is happy after they buy.
   If you’re handling after-sales support yourself, make sure you treat each request as urgent and aim to respond the same day. If you have staff handling after-sales for you, give them clear deadlines for responses, and brief each of them on all your products, so they can give the customer real insight.
3. Keep customers’ details on file
   Again, this might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many firms fail to keep accurate records for the customers they sell to.
   Create a contacts log book for all your customers. For each one, include the following:
   • The name of the person you’ve dealt with
   • Their personal phone number and e-mail address
   • Full postal address details
   • A brief description of what they’ve previously purchased from you
   • Details of any feedback they provided—if they liked a particular aspect of the product/service, you can use this as a reference point for future business.
   • Any personal information you think relevant—if you think their age, gender, budget, company progress, personal background, or buying preferences will make a ­difference to the products they buy in the future, keep a note.

Alternatively, you might think about investing in customer relationship management (CRM) software. This can be expensive and may...