Customer service today is not just the way to communicate with the customer, but it’s also a tool to build your loyal customer community. In short, to build a relationship.
Moreover, when you retain a customer that customer becomes evangelical. Spreading the tenor of the relationship to others. You in return reduce marketing costs, build a loyal community of external and internal customers. Attrition reduces as employees believe your promises.
The story. Yes, I know you love stories, so do I. We always deal with customer service in some manner. One would think that alone would give us cues on how to treat customers.
The Golden Rule states, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
This happened recently when I needed a mobile phone. What should have been a simple task was anything but. We chose the mobile phone easily. The cashier waited for us to say, “Thank you for coming in my store today.”
Not in a hurry for an accessory I decided to purchase one the preceding day. They weren’t available. The sales person in a hurry following the obvious cues of associates brazenly made the sale without mention we would not be able to locate accessories for them or anyone else for this model.
The experience did not end.
But that’s not it, unfortunately. The store where we recently purchased met us with an example of one of the most terrible customer service experiences encountered by humankind. Well, you get the point. It was bad. Old Testament kind of bad.
This occurred in one of our local stores in Kiev, Ukraine named MOYO. First, we were met by a salesperson who knew little about the product and even less concerning our needs as no questions were made except to steer me into their product of the day. The niceties exhibited at the point of purchase had been eclipsed by, Oh, so you expected customer service?”
We were disheartened that the manager accepted their behavior as the norm. I mentioned why not break the rule and make customer service a “Wow” experience. Yes, it happens. We made sure to post our dismay to social media after explaining to the company again. – only one person can ruin your relationship with the client. And if this employee speaks to 100 clients per day? How would you like it as a business owner?
We went out disappointed and I was just to check one more store on the way home. A local company store named Foxtrot. We met a salesperson name, Julia. She was asked about what we are looking for with all the range of emotions on her face apt for customer service: compassion, smiles and a sincere desire to help. She mentioned they did not carry the brand of mobile phone. She kept searching for solution…and know what? She found it…with a smile and compassion.
We walked through the store to tell her manager about a good job and leaving feedback. I was overjoyed. My husband said to the manager, ‘You know what happens if your wife is unhappy, so your salesperson just made my evening, lol’.
Yes, again – one person can either ruin or grow your business simply by the way he/she builds communication with the customer, the manner he/she speaks and general cultural norms… which unfortunately can be also forgotten.
Not every person can work in direct sales, in-store or online consultant, or customer service manager. Every employee does work for the customer. The drip of slow responses ripples throughout the organization. If you love your business and willing to grow it – hire right people and train them with passion!
I believe that, today, every purchase becomes an “emotional experience”, that generates an “emotional memory” (conscious or unconscious, aware or not) which can be negative or positive, and that is the basis of the escape or loyalty of customers. It is thus necessary to ensure that the customers live an excitement, allow them to live experiences that achieve their “need-dreams”. And fulfill a dream is much more than providing a product or service, as well as an experience is much more than a product or service, which are things, facts, events, transactions, business, money. An experience that fulfills a dream is an emotion, an experience that is worth living, repeating, is a journey that gratifies us and gives us pleasure and, for this reason, it is worthwhile to travel, to retrace, to tell. And even more exciting is the possibility that customers have to share emotions and passions, to experience them and live them with other people. The products and services are no longer, therefore, the primary object of the company-client relationship, but should be considered just a tool for living the “tribal” bond and “ceremonies” that express it and strengthen it. A company, then, is no longer just a provider of services and products, but becomes a member of the tribe who participates in person to the activities of the tribe, as “one of us” and not just a “profiteer” of the tribe.
To be sure to offer a memorable experience to customers, you must start with the experience of employees. To get fidelity and attention from customers, you must start with employee loyalty. If you do not take care of such a decisive factor, people will never share our same values. The dissatisfaction creeping into the veins of a company ends up having a devastating impact on the outcomes of the customer loyalty strategy.
Thank you for the comment Aldo! You’re absolutely correct. This emotional experience, unfortunately will force us, as clients, from one to another company till we’ll find product quality+customer service we love. In fact, customers love to be pampered:)