The Future of Customer Service - 3 trends that will change the way you serve customers
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You
have no doubt noticed
that technology is changing the ‘face’ of customer service.
Traditional ways we used
to interact with
customers, win their trust, and keep them coming back are becoming
irrelevant. Here
are three of the most significant trends
in customer service, and how you can position your business to
capitalize
rather than capsize in response.
Trend #1 Self
Serve Slavery
What apparently
started with self-serve gas stations has now become the norm.
Customers are now booking
their own travel,
doing their own banking and even scanning their own groceries at
self-serve
checkouts. There
are pluses and minuses
for customers, but with the impending labour shortages, companies are
likely to
continue cutting back on staffing and opt for customers serving
themselves.
Your
Move – Shift from Order Taker to Trusted Advisor
In most
organizations, there is virtually no role remaining for employees who
merely
act as order takers. When
customers have
done their homework on Google and have decided exactly what they want,
then
with today’s technology there’s no longer any need for employees to
process
simple transactions. The
place where
companies need employees is with more complex purchases. The role of
staff here
is not to provide customers with
lots
of information. Information
is free on
the internet - and free is perceived as worthless. The role of staff
with
complex purchases is to analyze the possible options that are
available, then
interpret which ones might be the most suited to that customer’s unique
needs,
and finally, advise the customer on up to three options that will solve
the
customer’s problem. Companies
will
prosper by replacing five clerks with several self serve checkouts and
one Trusted Advisor.
Trend #2 Driven
to Distraction
It used
to be that good customer service would generate positive word of mouth
advertising. That’s
no longer the
case. Today’s
customers are too busy at
work, in traffic, running errands, working out, and chauffeuring kids
to pay attention
to service. When we
do have a moment to
spare, we are plugged into wireless devices; effectively insulating
ourselves
from our immediate surroundings. What that means is that good customer
service
is no longer talked about - it
isn’t
even noticed! Good
customer service has
become wallpaper.
Your
Move – Become Remark-ably Different
In my seminars I
suggest to managers, “Don’t be better, be different.”
In other words rather than trying to beat
your competition, try to change your service so that you become
REMARK-able. Fortunately
this is easier
than most people think. In
most cases,
this means equipping employees with a few customer communication tips
and
strategies that get noticed. For
example, when a customer asks an employee to do something, the average
response
might be ‘Sure’ or “OK.” We
suggest that
instead employees respond with, “I’ll take care of it”. That response
indicates
that not only is the employee going to get it done, but they’ll do it
literally
with care.
Your
service gets
noticed not because you’re working harder, faster, or cheaper, but
because you
learn to convey greater value.
Trend
#3 The
Amplification of Anger
Social
media has become the new form of
"word-of-mouth". Traditionally, if your organization's
service
wasn't great, you might upset a few customers, but organizations
learned to
live with it. Now however, through social media and sites
dedicated to
customer reviews, disgruntled customers have a public platform to
amplify their
outrage. Keep in mind that a comment that's spoken
may be
forgotten; but a remark written in cyberspace may last
forever. Add the
human tendency to take the written word more seriously than a spoken
comment. Mix in the
sheer volume of
people connected through social media, and you have a formula for a
perfect
storm where a single unhappy customer can inflict serious brand
damage.
Your
Move – Become a Recovery Master
When mistakes
happen, and your product or service falls short of expectation, you’d
of course
give them a refund or exchange. But
that’s not enough. On top of the exchange or refund, give
the customer something for their inconvenience. Any
gesture or token of
appreciation that
addresses the customer’s hassle-factor can transform an upset customer
into a
tweeting trumpeter of your virtues. That’s the kind of viral marketing
we’d all
love.
Bottom line –
these trends in technology show no signs of slowing.
Customer service is no longer about
processing a transaction. It’s
about
being a Trusted Advisor to ensure people are buying the right items and
they
know how to use them. And
it means
ensuring that every customer is genuinely satisfied with their
choice. When you think about it,
those strategies
have always been smart. Now
they’re
critical.
About the Author
This article
is based on the bestselling book, Becoming
a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month by customer service
strategist and certified professional speaker Jeff Mowatt. To obtain
your own
copy of his book or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team, visit
www.jeffmowatt.com
or call toll free
1-800-JMowatt
(566-9288).
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2011-06-09 11:26:11 in Marketing Articles
