customer service!

One key factor that detirmines the quality of the buying experience for customers is the level of service they recieve.

Customer service is more important then ever now due to there being more choice and more information available.

What makes good customer service?

• well trained employees.
• Deliver what you promise.
• Make it easy for customers.
• Understand what customers expect and deliver it.

How do you acheive good customer service?

• Market Research.
• Quality assurance and quality control.
• Training.
• The right payment method.

• Is the process of gathering and analysing data relevant to the marketing process?
• Good service happens when you understand what people do or do not want.
• Are your sales falling or rising?
• How many customers are returning?
• What proportion of customers are coming to you be word of mouth?

Quality Assurance and control

• Ensuring that everyone in the business appreciates the importance of customer service.
• Aiming for and maintaining a quality standard such as ISO 9000 may be one way of formalising quality approach that includes customer service.
• The use of mystery shoppers.

• The way in which you reward your staff can have an impact on the level of quantity and quality of customer service. If you pay your employees on commision based on sales you may find that they try to push the customer into buying something that they dont really want.
• A team bonus system is likely to work best.

Training.

• Listening to customers treating them politely, going out of your way to solve their problems , talking confidently about products, and not loosing your customer.
• Employees need to be trained in a whole range of areas such as interpersonal skills, anger management and presentation skills as well as having appropriate knowledge about the products.

• Satisfaction level surveys.
• Focus Groups.
• Encouraging instant feedback from staff and customers.
• Mystery shoppers.
• Review letters of complaints.

Improving customer service.

• Answer the telephone quickly.
• Don't make promises that are unlikely to be kept.
• Listen to customers and deal with complaints efficently.
• Be helpful.
• Recruit staff with the right attitude and train staff in customer service.

• Better customer service than competitors can give competitive advantage and could lead to higher profits.
• Good customer service may help to clearly differentiate the business from the other firms in the market.
• Good customer service is all about sending customers away happy – they will come back and tell their friends.