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Customer
service is becoming increasingly important as
competition in the marketplace threatens to take away
your business. Unfortunately however, your company can
NOT provide quality customer service! That’s right. It
doesn’t matter whether you work in a hospital, bank,
factory or restaurant. Providing positive experiences
with your customers is all up to your employees! Each
person that has a face-to-face or phone conversation
with someone who does or would like to do business
with your company plays an important role in creating
your company’s reputation. The key to making a
positive impression upon someone is to do something
that causes your customers to think or even say “WOW”.
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A WOW is
something extra done or given to create a
delightful surprise or to favorably impress
someone. |
You may
have experienced a variety of “WOWs” in your life, at
work, home, school or play. It’s much like your
reaction to watching fireworks on the 4th of July.
Other examples include:
The
following five steps describe a practical, yet
valuable process to “WOW” your customers, both
external and internal.
Step One: Put a Smile on Your
Face and in Your Voice
You don’t get a second chance to make a positive first
impression. Let the customer see and hear how glad and
prepared you are to help them. This communicates your
confidence and willingness to take the time to meet
their needs.
Step Two: Ask, “How Can I
Help You?”
Communicate your willingness to help them. Your
customer has chosen to come to you because they:
- Believe you can
help them.
- Trust your product
or service knowledge.
- Believe you can do
something better than someone else.
- Trust you will
keep your promises.
Step Three: Understand the
Customer’s Request
People don’t care how much you know until they know
how much you care about their situation. It’s obvious
that your customer has called upon you for something…a
product, service, solution, or a correction. Your job
is to listen to their request and find out what they
want you to do for them.
Step Four: Describe How You
CAN Help
Your credibility relies upon your ability to
follow-through with promises and commitments made to
help the other person. But what if the customer is
asking you to do something you either can’t or don’t
have time to do? There isn’t anything worse than
hearing someone say, “I can’t do that…it’s not my
job!” Certainly there is some action you can take to
help them (i.e. transfer the call, give them a name of
someone else to contact, or get back to them at a
later time).
Step Five: Express Your
Gratitude
Final impressions are just as important as first
impressions. Strive to leave the customer feeling
appreciated and pleased they chose to do business with
you. Some ways to complete this final step include:
saying “Thank you”, asking “Is there anything else?”,
inviting them back again or using their name in
closing.
Remember, if you don’t meet your customers’ needs,
they will find someone else or some other organization
who will! |
