The New Era of Customer Service ? The Business of Being in ...

The New Era of Customer?Service

Posted by tojodorian on April 9, 2012 ? Leave a Comment?

In the current state of things we find ourselves treading water in regards to the financial woes of the world economy. Because of this we have no room for error. Nearly every company that finds more than a few in their employ, notice things tend to drift towards a workforce that is faceless and void of any real personality.

No doubt a marginal selection of the population shrugs these findings off as merely trivial and the persistent mentality they elect is ?if the customer wants to buy it, they will buy it, forget the rest?. Although I can and will sympathize with this view, it?is truly only the underlying layer of a much more complex idea.

I attest that I,?of the least, have the authority to deny the ability of businesses to coerce and convince potential customers of their needs and desires for a particular product or category thereof. Nor do I claim this has not been accomplished in many respects. I will so boldly state though, that indeed the desire and needs of a customer will surely be the driving force and ultimately determine the outcome, whether it be a sale or another action that is the goal of the business.

A dilemma?exists here that we must address, it is not whether the customer will make a purchase, it is whether or not the customer will seek your business out to fill that need. Now I inject customer service, customer engagement and customer loyalty into the mix. Make no mistake these three aspects will, and do play an ever increasing role in the business world today.

Customer Service

Let us start with customer service. Now with what seems like a complete dissolve of training and employee initiative, we find ourselves in a seemingly endless vortex of diminishing talent. Customer service departments of many mid to large companies, and even many smaller organic companies have certainly witnessed a decline in quality.

Take away the fact that I?ve gathered experience both professionally and through education, it does not take an expert to realize this sudden decline. It also takes no imagination to depict the need for a special type of worker to fill a customer service role.

It is entirely possible that the lack of qualified and talented customer service reps has developed out of the age old supply and demand issues. There certainly is a much higher demand than that of supply of qualified individuals to fill these roles. I?ve witnessed many small start-ups fade into thereafter solely because of a complete misunderstanding of the customer service aspect of the business.

The average consumer is much more skilled at detecting unqualified employees than you might think. This can be in the form of noticing fake emotion which can in turn display an overwhelming emptiness and a faceless, uncaring portrayal of your business.

?Customer Engagement

Now let?s adjust our focus to customer engagement. Customer engagement is in no means a new aspect or trend of business, it has actually been around for quite a while in various forms. It appears to be new to some only because of the innovation and creativity of some of the leading companies that stress a customer oriented approach.

I can say with absolute accuracy that if customer engagement does not make a proportional amount of your business plan then you simply need to go back to the drawing board. It really is put that simple, do or die. Your competition is doing it, now it is an incentive to do it better.

The importance of customer engagement is growing at an exponential rate, long vanished have the days of ?make it, sell it, done?. We are in a brave new world where your company is not just a building, manufacturing a product to put a price on and end your work day.

This aspect of customer service does not have to be a daunting task, whether it is a new approach or simply one you are expounding on, be sure to give it the appropriate level of attention. One thing I will preach, and I?m sure many successfully implemented customer engagement programs would prove, is that when initiated and orchestrated correctly, the rewards can be limitless.

In closing, I want to touch base on one of the many rewards of successful customer service, and that is customer loyalty. Simply put, if you offer true genuine customer service by a qualified staff that dedicates themselves to a company-wide engagement program, customer loyalty will develop beautifully.

Customer Loyalty

Next time a need or desire invades the minds of your customers, you?ll be resting easy, assured that you?ve built a solid relationship with your customers and can and should expect repetitive business from them.

Utilizing all of these strategies are not an end all to your obstacles and opportunities as a business, but they will build a solid foundation for your organization to strive forward with a sense of stability.

?Be sure your goals are primarily aimed at satisfying both your shareholders and stakeholders and the rest is all in the realm of possibility. Carry your business with an upbeat spirit and a solid customer oriented direction, undoubtedly your miniscule and unnecessary problems will melt way.

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