Matt Brewer
Contributing Writer
Direct Energy/Success Academy
In today’s world, everyone talks about how customer service is the backbone of their company and that without great customer service they wouldn’t be able to sustain their business. However, if you call in to a company or go in to their location, how often is it that you receive great customer service. In my experience, it is very rare and the reason that most companies fail at achieving this goal is because they forget the basics of customer service.
As a matter of fact, in a study performed of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 71{938cd9e8dae860e800efc538277d4f7684e6f6981618ba70d1c34357a53c2e1f} responded that they found customer satisfaction metric very useful in managing and monitoring their businesses.
In this study, they broke down the top six reasons why customer satisfaction is so important
– It is the leading indicator of consumer repurchase intentions and loyalty
– It is a point of differentiation
– It reduces customer defects
– It increases the lifetime value of a customer, meaning that the longer they stay with us, the more valuable they become to our company.
– It reduces negative word of mouth
– It’s cheaper to retain customers than to acquire new ones
Knowing that all these factors are a big part in growing a business, customer service should be the cornerstone on how you build your company.
Today we are going to be discussing the foundation of providing a great customer experience each, and every time we go out on a call.
The most basic element of great customer service is to be courteous. All customers deserve the utmost courteousness from you. It doesn’t matter how your day has been going or if you have visited the customer before and they weren’t the friendliest. As a professional it is important that you rise above all distractions and pre-conceived notions of the customer and overwhelm them with courtesy.
Customers have a built- in anxiety level that comes with calling a home services company. They fear that the repair is going to be more expensive than anticipated or that the technician coming in to their home is going to “take them for a ride” and sell them something that they don’t need. Knowing this we need to equip ourselves with a friendly smile that will help break down the customer’s anxiety level. Smiling helps build trust and gets customers to like you right off the bat.
If you take that smile and add a friendly tone to your voice, the customer will be more relaxed around you and be more willing to provide you with additional information that you can use to not only properly diagnose the reason for the call but also to solve additional problems that the customer may have with their system.
Also, it is important that you are aware of the body language that you are displaying. Your non-verbal communication is just as, if not more important than the words that you use. Customers will pick up on subtle queues about how you are feeling that day or if you are going to discount their concerns. Make sure that you are using good posture when visiting with the customer, don’t cross your arms when speaking with the customer, and always make good eye contact.
Lastly, avoid know-it-all answers. What this means is that you are clearly more educated about the system than your customer. Don’t speak in technical terms and explain the problems to the customer in a clear and concise manner. Be informative using terminology that the customer can understand.
Albert Einstein said it best when he said that “If you can’t explain it to a six- year old, then you don’t know it.”
One of the major components of great customer service is the confidence that you have in your abilities as well as your products. Many of you have had years of experience or been through a trade school that equipped you with the ability to service the customer’s home. It is important that you can display that confidence to the customer without coming off too arrogant.
To begin building confidence you must first create an unbreakable belief system in you, your company, and your products.
You must be able to answer the question; Why do I believe in my company?
What about your company gives you the confidence in serving your customers. Why do you CHOOSE to work with your company? You could work anywhere in this industry, what keeps you at your company?
The next question that needs to be answered is; Why do I believe in my products and services?
What is it about your products and services that gives you the confidence to offer them to your customers. Have you tried them personally, have you read the specs and compared them to other similar products? Part of building confidence as well as competence is knowing your products and services better than the average technician.
The last question that needs to be answered is; Why are my customers better off using our services vs. the competitors?
What makes you better than the competition?
If you can answer these questions confidently and have a foundational belief system in place before going to a customer’s home, your confidence will be evident in the eyes of the customer and they will view you as different from the other home service providers that they may have done business with in the past. This belief system will also help you when overcoming customer objections in relation to price.
As many of you are aware price is the number one objection that we receive daily. Having this belief that your customers are better off using our services than the competition can help you overcome this objection. In most cases when a customer chooses to do business with a provider other than us, it usually ends up costing them more in the long run. Whether that be in time, or money fixing the errors of the previous company. The reason for this is mainly due to technicians who were trained to get in and get out of the customers home as quickly as possible so they can run another call. They ultimately are trained to be parts changers, to take shortcuts that allow for the quick fix instead of a complete solution. This is where we are different and that we are looking for a complete solution to all the customer’s concerns. So, while there may be a higher up- front investment for the customer, we typically save them money on the back-end by doing it right the first time.
The last C that we are going to be discussing is consistency. There are a few elements to consider when talking about consistency. There is emotional consistency and communication consistency.
Emotional Consistency
Trust is one of the biggest drivers of satisfaction and loyalty. A recent study found that customers, who had positive customer experience emotions, encompassed a feeling of trust. For example, a customer might be blown head over heels by one of your team members – exceeding their expectations. The next minute, they might be given adequate service. Although the customer was happy with the adequate service, since the experience wasn’t the same as the first one, they could be left feeling unsatisfied.
This is where emotional consistency needs to be considered in your customer experience strategy. What level of service do you want to deliver to your customers? How do you plan on wowing them?
Whatever strategies, tactics and processes you put in place – ensure they are consistent right across all customer touch points.
Communication Consistency
What message are you sending your customers? How do you want them to view your company and your brand?
As a customer, you enter every interaction with expectations of what the product and service will be like. As a company, it’s your job to make sure the brand messaging that you communicate with customers is consistent.
The trouble really starts when your team is not on the same page. Marketing might be pushing one message, sales might be pushing another – if there is no consistency about what you are saying and how you are positioning yourself – the customer will be at risk of misinterpreting what to expect, and in turn, being unsatisfied with the experience.
Our goal is deliver consistency across all brands in the country. We want customers to hear the name of our company and immediately think that our company is reputable, trustworthy, and consistent.
Remember almost every time you go in to a customer’s home, you are the expert. Putting all the pieces together for diagnosing the problem, laying out appropriate options that solve the customer’s existing problems as well as following the 3 C’s of great customer service, will set you up for success as you move through your career.
If you remain vigilant in providing the customer with a great experience each, and every time you enter a customer’s home, the results will follow.
Just remember to always be courteous, confident and consistent.