Customer Service

When managing a business, there’s never a shortage of work to be done. Whether you’re focused on sales numbers, marketing strategies, or internal organization, there’s always something that you and your team can be doing to improve. That said, when it comes to customer service, it can be hard to know exactly where to focus your improvement efforts. Should I be adjusting my customer support hours? Should I be hiring more customer-facing employees? Maybe I should re-think my customer service approach altogether? Answering any of these questions isn’t easy. However, combined, the real concern is where to focus first, begging the question “What are the 3 important qualities of customer service?” Essentially, the 3 important qualities of customer service center around three “p”s: professionalism, patience, and a “people-first” attitude. Although customer service varies from customer to customer, as long as you’re following these guidelines, you’re on the right track.  Here, we’ll break down the 3 important qualities of customer service in more detail. We’ll also touch on a few leaders in customer service, so you can follow in their lead if you’re unsure what high-quality customer service should look like. Let’s get started! 🙌 The Three P’s of High-Quality Customer Service To get an idea of why the three “P”s matter, first, let’s break down what they are. The first “P,” professionalism, refers to the attitude you take towards your customers. Even when a customer is upset or behaving immaturely, it’s up to you to diffuse the situation, if possible, and do what you can to represent your brand in a positive light.  The second “P,” patience, means remembering that every customer is different. Even though there are obviously some common “do”s and “don’t”s, each customer learns at a different pace and may respond to a common practice in a way you didn’t expect. Consequently, providing high-quality service means being creative and flexible.  Finally, the third “P,” a people-first attitude, builds off of professionalism and patience. With this attitude in mind, your customer service strategy should reinforce the idea of human connection. In other words, exceptional service means remembering that, even though cash is changing hands, the money isn’t the most important part of the transaction. It’s the relationship you make with the customer.  We’ll discuss each of these 3 important qualities of customer service below, in more detail. That way, you won’t just know what you “should” do. You’ll also know how to confidently turn each insight into action.  Practicing Professionalism in Customer Service First and foremost, let’s look at professionalism. Of the 3 important qualities of customer service, professionalism is arguably the most basic and the first one we’re expected to demonstrate when entering the workplace. However, when serving a frustrated customer, staying poised can be easier said than done, and, ultimately, it takes practice and experience to ensure you are confident and level-headed at all times. Below are the most important components of professionalism in customer service.  Staying Cool, Calm, and Collected From the outside, professionalism first means staying calm and collected at all times. If a customer is upset about a product, an experience with an employee, or simply the situation at hand, it can be easy to get defensive and respond to their complaints with the same tone and volume. However, mirroring a customer’s behavior when they’re unhappy rarely solves the problem. Keeping calm, on the other hand, provides reassurance that their concern is solvable and that you’re there to help.  In retail environments, for example, there are countless examples of employees calming a disgruntled customer. During a recent trip to the grocery store, for instance, I saw a customer complaining loudly about a missing product. It was a sale item, she yelled, and because the shelf was empty, they were robbing her of the reduced price. She also insisted that it was the fault of the employee in front of her, despite the fact that he appeared to be the deli manager, not a member of the stock team. Nevertheless, despite her attitude and raised voice, he remained calm and walked her to the store’s customer service desk, assuring her throughout the walk that she would receive a raincheck and be given the sale price once the item was back in stock.  Ultimately, because the deli manager was so cool and matter-of-fact, the customer visibly relaxed and left the store with her problem solved. Likewise, in your own business, exercising the 3 important qualities of customer service means staying calm and solving problems. That way, you not only minimize the customer’s unhappiness. You also present your brand in a professional manner, making them more likely to return, even if their needs can’t immediately be met.  Pro Tip: As a rule, empower every employee to make decisions below a certain dollar amount. The “right” dollar amount will depend on your business model and approximate lifetime value of a customer, but somewhere between $20 and $100 is probably right. In the example above, the product probably cost less than $10. It’s not worth anyone’s time to elevate that complaint to another person — and, it’s certainly not worth losing a customer (even if it’s a Crazy Karen!) because she’s frustrated that it took “speaking to a manager” to solve the complaint. Train your associates to look for quick, acceptable solutions while keeping the first “P” top of mind.      Seeing Bad Customer Experiences as a Learning Opportunity Speaking of bad experiences, professionalism in customer service also involves seeing every experience as a learning opportunity. Like an argument with a friend or family member, experiences with tough customers usually stem from both sides of the situation. Because of this, even if a customer is taking an immature tone or reacting in an over-the-top way, there’s still usually a valid reason that they’re unhappy. Look for that reason and focus on how to solve it so you can prevent similar confrontations in the future.  It’s not always easy, but there is always a way to take a negative

Looking at the average business, it doesn’t take an expert to see that there are a ton of moving parts. For members of leadership, there’s managing the company strategy and setting goals for the rest of the team. For salespeople and marketers, there’s meeting revenue goals and testing different methods of bringing in new customers. Underlying all of these efforts, however, is a team-wide dedication to customer service and providing value whenever possible. Because of this — regardless of the size of your team, the age of your company, or your goals for the future — the importance of quality customer service cannot be understated.  “But isn’t customer service just a single department?” you may ask? In this guide, we’ll cover why customer service plays a critical role in all departments. Specifically, we’ll talk about the ways in which it can work into your sales and marketing efforts. For each of these, we’ll also examine what high-quality customer service looks like. That way, you can integrate new and best practices in your business immediately.👌 The Basics of Customer Service Before we get into the importance of quality customer service, let’s go through the basics. If you haven’t worked in a service-oriented job, the term “customer service” can seem a little ambiguous. What is customer service? To start, many business owners create their companies thinking that customer service is a single department. In said department, employees handle customer questions about the company’s products or services. They also generally handle returns or refunds, plus any small matters that come up in day-to-day customer interactions. In other words, their primary role is putting out fires and making sure that any customer issue is resolved as efficiently and painlessly as possible. However, too often, when a customer raises a question, concern, or complaint with an employee who isn’t designated as a “customer service professional,” this “fire extinguishing” process stops abruptly. Instead of being heard immediately, the customer is redirected to the customer service department. Here, in many cases, they have to wait for assistance and explain their question or concern all over again. If you’re like me, you’re reading this remembering a time this happened to you (and also wishing that you weren’t reliving the aggravation again). What a terrible customer experience!  To prevent incidents like these, businesses with the best customer service make it a team-wide effort. Rather than having a single department for serving customers, everyone on the team is held to the same standards and empowered to provide exceptional service whenever possible through their primary job responsibilities. If you’re on the sales team, this means answering customer questions with transparency and patience. If you’re focused on product development, this means listening to customer feedback and planning changes in accordance with it. Whatever your role, the goal is to make sure customers have a positive experience with every employee with whom they engage. That way, they leave happy and know they can rely on quality customer service every time they return. Why does customer service matter in my business? So, why does customer service matter? Although we’ll get into specifics shortly, in a general sense, customer service is one of the biggest factors that determines whether a first-time customer turns into a regular. It also can mean the difference between a customer who is happy and one who is ecstatic. This is someone that not only buys from your company but tells their connections about it, too. These “superfan” advocates are the key to increasing referrals… and revenue!  Essentially, providing your customers with quality customer service doesn’t just help you close a sale today. It also creates the opportunity to develop that initial positive experience into a lifelong relationship. Even if someone initially approaches you without intent to buy anything, good customer service can turn them into a customer when they are ready to make a purchase. From there, another positive experience can make them a return customer, and another can make them an evangelist for your brand. In a nutshell, the importance of quality customer service stems from each customer’s potential and how great the return can be if you invest your time and energy into serving them well. Would you treat a potential customer differently if he or she had the potential to spend six- or seven-figures with your business? Well, there’s a high probability that every customer does. Don’t just think about the short term potential — consider the potential lifetime value of that customer returning again and again and again and telling their friends and colleagues to do the same. The Importance of Quality Customer Service in Sales We’ve covered the basics of customer service and how it’s beneficial to a given business, as a whole. However, depending on your role within a business, practicing exceptional customer service may have a different impact on you than on other members of your team. Below, we will focus on sales and marketing as the two largest parts of a business’s ecosystem, starting with sales.  Happy customers are willing to pay more for quality customer service. First, from a customer’s point of view, choosing between products or companies isn’t always price-dependent. In fact, for many customers, their main concern is closer to “What do I get for the price?” than simply “What’s the price?” Although this can mean more time spent with each customer, it also gives you an opportunity to highlight the value they’re getting. That way, even if your price is higher, they’ll understand. On average, they’ll even be willing to pay a premium (up to 16%), simply because they know they’ll receive exemplary products and services. In the midwestern U.S., a great example is the Iowa-based grocery chain Hy-Vee. Although the first Hy-Vee location was established in 1930, it wasn’t until relatively recently that they expanded to their current size (more than 200 locations in eight states). Because of this, their stores tend to stand out, especially in small towns where local grocers have operated for decades

What’s the most memorable gift you’ve ever received? Think about it. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. 😉 When I was about years old, my grandma gave me a GIANT box filled with every art supply imaginable: paint, markers, crayons, construction paper, glitter, glue — you name it, it was in the box. I’ll never forget the happiness I felt digging through that seemingly-bottomless box of goodies. For Valentine’s Day my senior year, my then-boyfriend bought me a giant teddy bear and decked it out with a dozen or more gifts and trinkets for me to discover one by one: Teddy was wearing a jacket, a necklace, bracelets, one of those 90s-style backpack purses filled with more fun surprises… all in my size! It was incredible. What do both gifts have in common? They were creative, thoughtful, and centered around ME. That’s why, decades later, I still remember every detail. I bet the best gifts you’ve ever received share those same traits. Now, ask yourself a second question: What’s the most memorable gift you’ve ever given to a client? Does it meet the same criteria of being creative, thoughtful, and centered around your client? What about the last gift you gave? Gifting is an artform that, when leveraged correctly, can elevate your relationships, referrals, and revenue. It’s a business-building skill every sales and marketing executive should master. Many people mistakenly believe that slapping their logo on something and creating hundreds of them to give away is a “gifting” strategy. It’s not. It’s, at best, a marketing strategy and, at worst, a way to waste money on junk no one wants. When something has your face or logo on it, it’s not a gift — it’s a promotional item. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. When you connect your story with your client’s story, you can include your name or logo as a secondary message. For example, the wonderful woman who trained my dogs and watches them when I’m on vacation, made amazing gifts for all of her clients this past holiday season: Christmas ornaments with pictures of each client’s dogs. Instead of making a gift solely about her brand, she spotlighted where her brand and my life intersect: the love of my pups. She then turned that connection into a fun, memorable gift that — to be honest — is still sitting on my mantle in February because I couldn’t bring myself to pack it away with the rest of my ornaments. That’s the kind of impact you want your gift to have. Client gifting doesn’t have to be complicated — it doesn’t have to be expensive, either. Even if you’re in a highly-regulated industry, you can “wow” your prospective and existing clients with thoughtful, creative gifts that let them know how much you care. Want some ideas to get you started? I put together this free guide to spotlight 20 of my favorite gifting ideas for 2020 and beyond. I hope it will inspire you to get more mindful with your giving. Feel free to share this quick guide with anyone in your network as my gift to you. 😉