How to use customer service to sell

Customer service has become an inescapable, yet much neglected component of our society. The reality is that whenever we interact with the public, in any exchange of goods or services, we are engaged in the process of providing “customer service.” The process includes those both inside and outside organizations of all sizes: non-profit, educational, governmental, and of course, for profit. The concept begins with the initial development or acquisition of the product or service. Customers may be employees, patrons, clients, patients, purchasers, or just your basic paying customer. No matter what we call them, customers make the business and are the source of its continued existence and prosperity of every interaction, on some level, in our society.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Determination

1. 1. SMILE – First impressions are critical in customer service. Face-to-face and telephone interactions seem to pose less of a challenge than when radio, TV, mailings, and online sales are involved. However, on the contrary, the reality is that in person interactions are most challenging. The media listed above have the advantage of capturing “the smile” through pictures, actors, and/or words. In person and telephone contacts must sustain “the smile” for an extended period of time. The smiles on your face and in your voice have the ability to captivate customers. Never forget that this element should frame the entire interaction with customers.
2. 2. Strive for excellence. Offer the highest quality product or service that you possibly can, and never settle for less. Decide what is most important to you in terms of quality, cost, and quantity. Then, be consistent with the levels that you have established. These form the foundation of excellent customer service.
3. 3. Know your product – every employee should know every aspect and detail of your product and service. Although it may not be necessary, or prudent to disclose all details to the customer, knowledge empowers employees to perform their best. When employees are gifted with “the big picture,” they identify more with the employer and the product or services that they represent.
4. 4. Respect – develop and maintain a culture of mutual respect throughout your operation, with employees (internal customers) and those who purchase your goods or services (external customers). Respect must be present when establishing the appropriate atmosphere to foster and maintain excellent customer service.
5. 5. Listen actively – Active listening to employees and customers provides insight that leads to the continuous improvement of products and services. No matter the size of the business or organization, continuous improvement is a key element in ensuring the ability to compete and survive in the marketplace.
6. 6. Honest dealing – infuse every interaction in your operation with humanity, especially honesty and humility. Whether your operation is large or small, the reality is that you are dealing with fellow human beings. Sacrificing honesty and humility to increase profits or numbers served, or even to just get through the day, negatively impacts both employees and customers (all parties to the interaction). People need to be able to trust that claims made about the goods and services that they purchase are true – it’s that simple! They need to be able to depend upon the company’s honesty, consistently. Also, the customer needs to feel valued to the company. Further, employees should know where or to whom customers can be referred to obtain correct answers to their questions, or explanations when their requests cannot be honored for legitimate reasons. The larger the entity, the easier it is to obscure access to answers and solutions to customer issues. However, this tendency must be avoided and every effort made to simplify processes for customers. In the long run, positive interactions are less stressful for employees and customers, and overall business success is enhanced (however, calculated).
7. 7. Satisfy the customer – make every effort to satisfy the customer. A dissatisfied customer can ruin a new business, and can seriously damage more established businesses and organizations. Competition increases so rapidly that losing customers is financial and professional suicide.
8. 8. SMILE! A genuine smile goes a long way toward conveying your appreciation to employees and customers. Non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies are especially susceptible to the temptation of not practicing excellent customer service. The unfortunate aspect of this situation is that these institutions deal, regularly with the most socially fragile individuals in or society.

Tips & Warnings

• How you operate your business dictates how you value your customers. Remember, some customers would rather have an inferior product or service than to be treated like inferior individuals.