Customer Service is the Key to Business Success

Many business pay more attention to the “bottom line” than to the service it takes to get there.

Business, and the way businesses go to market, has undergone some drastic changes over the past two decades. Technology has created a new playing field and a ton of new players. One thing that hasn’t changed is the underlying value of quality customer service in maintains a thriving business — whether that business is the local mom-and-pop deli (a dying breed, but still present in most communities) or a global technology giant. Customers are still customers and quality service is still the benchmark by which they measure the companies they will grace with their business. WHAT THE BUSINESS CONSIDERS TO BE THE BOTTOM LINE AND WHAT THE CUSTOMER CONSIDERS IT TO BE ARE NOT THE SAME Every business strives to do whatever it takes to support a strong bottom line. While bottom lines can be measured in dollars and cents, the definition of good customer service cannot be so easily established. Every business measures its overall success by looking at the bottom line. The bottom line is the final resting place where profits and losses, debts and assets, and employee productivity align themselves to show the company executives the overall success of the business. There is no end to the number of charts and graphs a company accountant can use to evaluate the bottom line. Although it is sometimes overlooked or taken for granted and considered secondary to the main goals of the organization, customer service is a top level element to maintaining current business and growing the business for the future. Measuring this valuable asset may not always be so clear. Every successful business owner knows it is much more profitable and economical to keep an existing customer than it is to go out and acquire a new one. By some estimates, it is ten times more costly to cultivate one new customer than it is to keep an existing one. Knowing this, it only makes sense to put the necessary emphasis on the company’s number one priority. The key to customer retention is both simple and complex. It is as simple as providing good customer service. It is also as complex as identifying good customer service as the customer sees it. Customer service is so much more than the person who answers the phone, fills the order, or rings up the sale. Customer service is an attitude. Very important to understand — It is an attitude that must envelope the entire organization. It is an attitude that must come from every employee in the company — every time. It starts at the top with the president and CEO and permeates down through every employee right down to the maintenance staff that keeps the physical operation running.

Good customer service is also about the way employees interact with each other. Customer service must be defined as more than simply doing a flawless job. Robotic machines can process a request and deliver the desired product to the customer, but nobody would equate a vending machine with good customer service. Excellent customer service is about being able to make an excellent recovery when something is less than flawless. The transaction is never complete until the customer feels it is complete. It is letting the customer know they are a priority before, during, and after the business has been transacted.

While it might be inaccurate to say “The customer is always right.” (Not necessarily true), it is vital to say “The customer is always the customer.” The customer always deserves to be treated with the respect that goes along with that coveted role in the business hierarchy.

Excellent customer service is remembering that a happy customer comes back. Equally important, it is about remembering that both the happy customers and the unhappy customers are likely to share their experience with others through word of mouth, online reviews and survey results. Reviews are a powerful tool on both ends of the customer experience. A SALE IS NOT A SALE UNTIL THE CUSTOMER IS SATISFIED A common phrase bantered about in the business world is “A sale is not a sale until the money is in the bank.” This would be a very short-sighted viewpoint on the part of any business. A single sale will not bode well for the future of a business. The name of the game is “repeat business.” This is only achieved with excellent customer service.

It bears repeating that excellent customer service is the stepping-off point for one of the most lucrative methods of expanding a business. Happy customers will tell another about their excellent experience. Unhappy customers tell up to ten others about their poor experience. Referrals are the lifeblood of future business. Some businesses, particularly smaller ones, rely almost solely of customer referrals for future business.

HAPPY EMPLOYEES MAKE FOR HAPPIER CUSTOMERS Good customer service is a reflection of how happy people are in their jobs. It is a smiling face and an energetic voice. It is a prompt reply to an email or text. It is a knowledgeable interaction between the company and the customer. It is the company’s willingness to go the extra mile and then go just a little further. Good customer service isn’t determined by the level of financial compensation the employee receives. Minimum-wage employees and highly paid top executives are all responsible for the customer experience. Every job has intrinsic value. Every employee promotes the company. Every employee impacts the customer, either directly or behind the scenes. Every employers needs to convey that value system. A GOOD SAVE CAN LEAVE A POSITIVE LASTING IMPRESSION A vital part of the customer service responsibility is honesty and prompt response to any inquiry. Every business transaction may not go exactly as planned and most customers will understand and appreciate that fact — if the problem is addressed to their ultimate satisfaction. What they will not tolerate is deception and delays. A good recovery is almost as good as a perfect first attempt. It shows the customer that the business is committed to customer satisfaction. Good customer service is the role of every job and every employee in the company. Get it right and customers will return. Neglect to perform properly and the customer may be gone forever.