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Customer Service: Meeting and Exceeding Customer Expectations

As an individual or organization, what sets you apart from others when it comes to service delivery? Is it just the ability to meet customers’ needs?

Meeting customer needs alone isn’t enough. Almost everyone can do that, and it isn’t good enough anymore. Instead, customers whose expectations are exceeded are the ones who will most likely stick with the service provider.

The founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson, once said this about attracting customers; “The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not just to meet them, but exceed them – preferably in unexpected and helpful ways”.

He also said: “Setting customer expectations at a level that is aligned with consistently deliverable levels of customer service requires that your whole staff, from product development to marketing, works in harmony with your brand image”.

Impeccable service delivery can be achieved by individuals/organizations if the seven things discussed below are adhered to:

  1. Know why your Customers Come to You: This is the first stage to take note of when trying to exceed customers’ expectations. Customers help themselves via phone call or email in letting you know what their needs are. It is imperative to have a list of customers’ needs when during first point of contact. This list must be reviewed again.
  2. Cause to Happen Not Wait to Respond: Be proactive. Organizations should identify needs or gaps before the customer does.
  3. Do the Unexpected (In a Positive Way): Send birthday cards to staff, send gift coupons or take them out for lunch just to make them feel special. This helps with retention.
  4. Clarity of Technology Used: Technology advances every day and not many customers might be abreast of recent developments. It is best to properly break down in simple terms how a certain technology works so as not to confuse the customer with ‘jargon’
  5.  All-round Consistency: A smart workflow is key when it comes to consistency in service delivery. A returning customer has only returned because they enjoyed the service previously rendered. Once expectations are not met, it means that there is an inconsistency in service delivery and there is a high chance that the customer will not return.
  6. The ‘Yes’ Attitude: Customers always have requests, and if they are reasonable, always say yes and do what you have promised.

 

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This Post Has One Comment

  1. Customers! Customers!! Customers!!!

    In customer relationship management, effective and quick customer service are keys to make the customers feel HAPPY and SATISFIED. Not all satisfied customers are happy customers. There is a great difference between happiness and satisfaction. You might render a satisfactory service to a business but due to lack of time management and delayed of the job, the customer might miss his appointment of the day. At this particular instance, the job is well done to satisfaction but the customer will be not happy because he has missed his appointment.

    Let us view another example; for instance in a war zone like Borno State, Nigeria when you have the menace of Boko Haram, when you provide food for the people because they are hungry you just satisfied them but you have not made them feel happy since they’re still in a war zone. They will not feel happy because their lives are still under threats.

    The customers are the reason why
    we are doing:
    business,
    inventing,
    innovating,
    discovery,
    investing and
    eating.

    In the corporate world, the customers.have three options:
    1)To make a buying decision with you
    2) not to make a buying decision with you
    Or not to patronize your business and
    3) To make a buying decision with your
    competitors.
    While you just have one option: To Provide a satisfactory service to the customers and make them happy.
    So, value your customers. To me, the shortest definition of a customer is someone who put food on your table (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) by his or her buying decision before, during and after a purchase of goods and services.

    The customers are the life blood of every successful organization while the employees pioneer the sustainability of every successful organization. No customers, no profit. No customers, no business. No customers, no food on your table.

    COPRODUCTION:

    Succinctly, involving the customers in the service render to he or she is very important. This will make the customer feel at home. He/she will feel that he/she has been integrated into the system. He/she knows what service is being rendered to him/her at the end of the day. Coproduction makes your customers feel happy and enable your front desk personnel to reader effective customer service which in-turn makes the customers feel satisfied and happy.

    The corporate world today is competitive and technologically driven by people who have innovative ideas. People who have been trained to render quality service to customers. The center of your business should be customer HAPPINESS and SATISFACTION achieved by your effective teams which are your employees who are your greatest ASSETS not PROFIT.

    ” Making profit shouldn’t be the
    purpose
    of establishing any business,
    company or organization but looking
    for a way to solve the customers’
    problems.”

    Solve the customers’ problems and make more profit is the remedy for sustainability in business.

    Kindly publish this article and make a reference to the author. Thanks.

    Michael Yahaya, A Mechanical Engineer And A Certified Customer Service Professional

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