Top 10 Keys for Excellent Customer Service

March 3, 2011 by Frank Peditto

Oftentimes companies are so focused on acquiring new business that they lose sight of the true value of their existing customers. According to The White House Office of Consumer Affairs, the cost of acquiring a new customer costs an average of five times more than retaining an existing customer. Add to that the statistic from the book; “Leading on the Edge of Chaos” that a two percent increase in customer retention has the same impact on profits as cutting costs by 10 percent and the value of existing customers certainly becomes a lot clearer.

According to a report issued by the Harvard Business Review, the average company loses 50 percent of their customers every five years. A standard business objective each year for most companies focuses on customer retention, but what are the true keys to achieving that goal. As a smaller, non-asset based company, customer retention sits at the forefront of our goals each year, alongside the mindset that we are only as good as our last ‘move’. Following are the top 10 ‘keys’ we employ in our organization to support our clients and relocating employees and exceed our customer retention objectives each year.

1. Treat your employees well. Happy team members equate to happy customers.
2. Respect your customers, both the clients and the transactional customers, and remember that they are people first.
3. Keep in mind that you are a service company and your people and the service you provide is your greatest asset. According to The White House Office of Consumer Affairs each customer has a circle of influence of 250 people or potential customers, which is likely even more in today’s environment with the continued evolution of social media, who will hear negatives about your company if your service does not meet your customer’s expectations.
4. Separate yourself as a service professional from your work. Think of an issue in terms of solving a problem rather than receiving a personal attack. Remember that the customer is mad at and frustrated with the situation; it’s not personal.
5. Listen to your customers. While we’re all faced with the need to multi-task, remember that these are your customers and to truly listen to them and demonstrate your respect for them you need to be 100 percent focused.
6. Make your customers feel special. Nordstrom started this in retail by walking your purchases around from behind the counter. While much of the customer service provided today is by phone, remaining focused and smiling, even while on the phone, will translate and make your customer feel valued.
7. Be a step ahead. By listening and respecting the customer, you will be able to identify opportunities to anticipate questions, needs or even issues and present answers and solutions in advance.
8. Go beyond. Work in partnership with your customers and do one small extra thing. Whether it’s an extra call, a gift card, or even one additional email follow-up, it demonstrates your commitment to excellence.
9. Show humility. While this is reflected in many of the keys already mentioned, it is still critical. A simple apology goes a long way and it can be as easy as recognizing their issue or concern and just saying that you are sorry that they are having that experience.
10. Get feedback. Survey your customers throughout the service delivery and post-completion and make sure to share that information, positive or negative, with your team; working to do more of the positive and using the negative to build internal objectives or identify process improvements for the future.