A new book reveals customer service is the key to smart business… and shares the secrets to doing it.
Micah Solomon is co-author of Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit and the brains behind ‘The College of the Customer.’
1. Did you shine that doorknob? Research shows that customers remember the first and last minutes of a service encounter much more vividly — and for much longer — than all the rest of it.
2. Set your clocks forward: Modern customers expect speedier service than did any generation before them. A perfect product delivered late equals a defective product.
3. Customers want to connect with a real person-online or off. For example, instead of a web-based chat window that blandly announces “you are now chatting with Jane,” try “you are now chatting with Jane Yang-Katzenberg.”
4. Remember each returning customer. Whatever your business-and no matter how large, work to achieve the computer-assisted effectiveness of a beloved bartender, doorman, or hairstylist — the kind who would know Bob’s preferences, the name of Bob’s pet, when Bob was there last … Superb client tracking systems can create that same “at home” feeling in your customers.
5. Anticipate a customer’s wishes. When a customer’s wish is met before the wish has been expressed, it sends the message that you care about the customer as an individual.
6. Don’t leave the language your team uses up to chance. Develop and rehearse a list of vocabulary words and expressions that fit your business brand perfectly.
7. Be patient when filling positions. In a superb service organization, a single disagreeable or unresponsive team member can erode customer loyalty and team morale.
Learn more about Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit at www.MicahSolomon.com
