Have you looked at your business from your customer's point of view?
Sometimes I wonder if companies actually have a plan for customer service. Sure, I see rooms full of customer service reps at my client sites, all chattering away, and with different levels of personal experience. But are they following a plan other than their own? And is that plan derived from an overall CRM strategy?
Planning your CRM initiative is an important first step before you dive into the realignment of work flows. A great source of information about your customers is your customer service staff. If they are providing good service, better information will flow to them, which will help you tweak your plan as you move forward.
There aren't really four corners of CRM, but if there were, good customer service would be one of them. These are the folks that may have their finger on the pulse of your customer base. They deal with the good, the bad and the ugly of the customer experience. Make sure you get the manager of this group and couple of key customer service reps on the core CRM planning team. You'll be glad you did.
Keys to Good Customer Service
A sales organization that resorts to discounts to achieve short term goals could be hurting your business. This effort is an indication of low customer loyalty. What they're doing is swapping out long term loyalty for short term satisfaction. Business owners should be looking for longer term results even though it feels good to have short term wins. Think about your customers feelings. Are they going to recommend your business, or will have to keep working hard for each sale?
There are varying opinions on the key factors that go into good customer service. These are only a few. You can make your own list, or use this as a starting point for your CRM planning.
* Be Truthful - No matter the scenario, it never profits to lie. If you make a practice of it, you'll get caught and the repercussions could be vast. If you can't deliver something, don't say you can.
* Go the extra mile - Even if it doesn't seem very profitable in the short run, in the long run you will have built loyalty that will translate into value for your company.
* Be there when they need you - That means answering the phone, responding to emails, whatever. If they have to wait too long, they're gone...
* Open your ears - Stop talking and listen to what your customer is saying. And when there's emotion involved, it generally means reading between the lines.
* When a customer is upset, listen even more - There's no gain in cutting them off or trying to calm them down. They will usually talk themselves out of it, or at least calm down so you can offer help
CRM is about building customer loyalty, and a key element in your success is good customer service. - 2364
Sometimes I wonder if companies actually have a plan for customer service. Sure, I see rooms full of customer service reps at my client sites, all chattering away, and with different levels of personal experience. But are they following a plan other than their own? And is that plan derived from an overall CRM strategy?
Planning your CRM initiative is an important first step before you dive into the realignment of work flows. A great source of information about your customers is your customer service staff. If they are providing good service, better information will flow to them, which will help you tweak your plan as you move forward.
There aren't really four corners of CRM, but if there were, good customer service would be one of them. These are the folks that may have their finger on the pulse of your customer base. They deal with the good, the bad and the ugly of the customer experience. Make sure you get the manager of this group and couple of key customer service reps on the core CRM planning team. You'll be glad you did.
Keys to Good Customer Service
A sales organization that resorts to discounts to achieve short term goals could be hurting your business. This effort is an indication of low customer loyalty. What they're doing is swapping out long term loyalty for short term satisfaction. Business owners should be looking for longer term results even though it feels good to have short term wins. Think about your customers feelings. Are they going to recommend your business, or will have to keep working hard for each sale?
There are varying opinions on the key factors that go into good customer service. These are only a few. You can make your own list, or use this as a starting point for your CRM planning.
* Be Truthful - No matter the scenario, it never profits to lie. If you make a practice of it, you'll get caught and the repercussions could be vast. If you can't deliver something, don't say you can.
* Go the extra mile - Even if it doesn't seem very profitable in the short run, in the long run you will have built loyalty that will translate into value for your company.
* Be there when they need you - That means answering the phone, responding to emails, whatever. If they have to wait too long, they're gone...
* Open your ears - Stop talking and listen to what your customer is saying. And when there's emotion involved, it generally means reading between the lines.
* When a customer is upset, listen even more - There's no gain in cutting them off or trying to calm them down. They will usually talk themselves out of it, or at least calm down so you can offer help
CRM is about building customer loyalty, and a key element in your success is good customer service. - 2364
About the Author:
Mike Boysen is the founder of Effective CRM Consulting, a blog dedicated to uncovering the true meaning of Customer Relationship Management. Good customer service is just one component of CRM
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