A compelling business lesson from today’s economy, especially given the recent downturn, is that excellent customer service can make or break a company’s bottom line.
And when we say “excellent customer service” we mean the ability to both surprise and delight a customer at each and every touch point in the customer experience.
When times are tough, there’s more market competition for goods and services. No matter the business – retail, hospitality, healthcare, or food service – the challenge is to offer superior service to attract and keep loyal customers.
Research findings from Forum Corporation make the case that good customer service translates into good business. Consider the following:
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Customers are five times more likely to switch vendors because of perceived service problems than for price concerns or product quality.
- The highest employee turnover rates are associated with those companies possessing the lowest service quality.
- If customers’ problems are resolved in a satisfactory manner, they are more likely to return to a business or organization and to be more loyal.
- If satisfied with service, an average customer’s lifetime with an organization lasts approximately 10 years.
- Businesses that provide superior customer service can charge more, realize greater profits, and increase their market share by an average of 6 percent per year.
How can a business ensure they are delivering superior customer service? Is it possible to train associates to “surprise and delight” customers?
Training is Essential
Today more than ever, companies view customer service training as essential to growing and retaining their customer base. Effective customer service training programs provide employees with the information to anticipate and meet customer needs.
Noted here are five key elements to ensure that customer service training efforts get such results.
1) Map the Moments of Truth
An effective customer training program identifies and maps out all touch points customers experience with employees. Planning for each and every touch point gets associates on board with how to behave at key points.
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The service map should reflect the true and complete customer experience, and be fully communicated to each associate.
- The map should match standards and guidelines for how to engage with the customers at every point along the way. It should include all service standards and appropriate scripts.
- Training should focus on transforming ordinary service touch points to extraordinary ones. Ordinary service is the norm. Training must inspire associates to take service to the next level.
- Starting with a map lets associates see first-hand how to stand out and build loyal customers. At each touch point, good enough is not enough anymore. The map emphasizes that extra service touches to really stand out. As an example, grocery retail associates must be aware that addressing customer inquiries is a “point on the map.” Mediocre service would involve the associate quickly telling the customer an aisle number. Extraordinary service would involve the associate actually escorting the customer to the exact location of the item.
2) Think like a Customer
Effective customer service training teaches associates how to step into their customer’s shoes and see things from their perspective.
As an example, when hospitality associates think like guests, they are proactive in the service they deliver. They connect emotionally with the customer, and are more empathetic. As a recent training participant noted, “This is a mindset that helps me remember what kind of attention and treatment I would like when I first check-in at the front desk after a long day of travel.”
This means that upon late check-in, the front desk associate should automatically offer to place a wake-up call for the next morning. The associate might suggest restaurant options for breakfast.
The key is to provide training activities and practical methods to help the associate be empathetic and anticipate what the guest may need in each situation.
3) Feedback is a Gift
Effective training illustrates the value of the complaint and the complainer to the organization. This is counterintuitive to most associates, but customer complaints are opportunities to retain customers—golden opportunities to build a relationship, improve a process, and turn a potential loss into a major win: a loyal customer.
When an associate listens to customers and responds satisfactorily to complaints, dissatisfied customers are likely to remain customers.
Silence is not golden in the world of customer service. Constantly checking in with customers to solicit their feedback regarding products or services they received is not just a luxury; it is a business necessity.
Feedback is also a gift that needs to be provided to all associates on an on-going basis. Ongoing, supportive feedback lets associates know how they are performing. Feedback is important for correcting performance that may fall short of expectations and for reinforcing excellent performance. Providing immediate feedback “in the service moment” is a powerful coaching tool for improved customer service.
4) Emphasize “Moments of Truth”
A customer service training program should shine the spotlight on those “moments of truth.”
A moment of truth is any time a guest or customer comes into contact with any aspect of the organization. He or she has the chance to form either a positive or negative impression of the organization right in that moment.
Effective training helps associates realize that any customer contact is a moment of truth – from formal service delivery, to an informal greeting or comment.
Training must emphasize practical techniques to become brand ambassadors to relate to and connect with customers in a way that creates positive perceptions and emotions.
Interpersonal skills are critical here. Associates need to understand how nonverbal communication and tone of voice impacts customer perceptions. It’s key to showcase how to connect to and relate to customers. There is a huge difference between an off-hand “How you doing?” compared to a sincere, direct eye-contact “Welcome, we’re so glad you’re here.”
Participants in food service training, for example, should be made aware of the specific experiences a customer is likely to have, from the minute a restaurant patron is greeted by the host, to the greeting at the table by a server, to their final greeting on the way out the door. This is the power of first impressions. These specific experiences strongly influence individuals' decisions to purchase from, stay with, or leave an organization.
5) Take Action
The best customer service training builds in techniques that ensure participants take action. This is a critical phase that ensures new skills development are reinforced and transferred to everyday use.
Action planning really needs to start before the training begins. Prior to the start of training, it is recommended that the manager meet with all associates to inform them of the training objective, and the expectations once the training is complete. Follow up assignments should ensure that the new skills become a habit.
As an example, training programs might conclude with a session entitled “Action Planning” which instructs participants to write a plan of action for how they will use new skills.
Likewise, training programs should conclude with a phase that offers management a practical plan for ongoing coaching and reinforcement to ensure new skills become new habits.
Return on Training Investment
When customer service training incorporates the five considerations summarized here, there will be a direct link between the training program and achieving a return on investment, no matter the industry.
This return on training investment might translate to increased business and revenue, or harder to define benefits such as empowering staff and gaining an understanding of the customer viewpoint.
All told, effective customer training helps associates create “surprise and delight” experiences that improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Bonnie H. Reiner is principal of BHR Training, providing results-oriented employee training to a range of industries including real estate, hospitality, healthcare, telemarketing and more. Custom employee training seminars and workshops improve staff performance, increase customer satisfaction, reduce job turnover, and improve business performance. http://www.bhrtraining.com
Written for TrainingIndustry.com
