1.5 - About University

12.9T HE E SSENTIALS OF C USTOMER S ERVICEInspired by many authors, including William Davidow and Bro Uttal.Understanding and satisfying customers’ needs should be a top priority for leaders. Just consider:✔✔✔✔Customers are more likely to switch service providers because of poor service ratherthan price.A dissatisfied customer will inform seven or eight other potential customers of poor service.The majority of customers will do business with you again if you resolve their complaints.It costs five times as much to gain a new customer as it does to keep a current customer.Two pitfalls for customer providers are:✘✘for a physical product, overrelying on its technical attributes to sell the product;for less tangible human services, realizing these cannot be standardized; each servicedelivery is a unique experience, dependent upon the service provider’s skills, knowledge,and motivation.This tool will acquaint you with some essentials of customer service, and provide suggestionson customer service delivery.Determine whoare your best customers.Understand yourcustomer’s pointof view.Manage customerexpectations.Manage customerimpressions.✔ Stretching to satisfy every market segment may result in providing low-quality service to allcustomers. Group your customers in a logical way for your business (e.g., demographics, age).Rank customer groups by their value to your business, and determine the cost and benefit ofcustomer service to each type of customer. Probably, 20 percent of your customers orcustomer groups produce 80 percent of your results. [☛ 3.1 Strategy, 3.6 StrategicRelationships, 5.7 Stakeholder Groups]✔ Good service is defined from the customer’s point of view. Take steps to:– Understand your customers’ long-term goals (think from their point of view).– Develop long-term relationships (favor customer needs over your product or service).– Do the little things for your customers (strive to do things right the first time).– Invest in processes to determine the level of customer satisfaction.✔ Not all customers need the same service, but you need to deliver what was promised.✔ Keep customer expectations slightly below the level of service that you intend to provide(underpromise and overdeliver).✔ Provide too little service (or the wrong kind), and your customer may leave; provide toomuch service, and your company will price itself out of the market.✔ Impressions rise and fall based upon how customers see service providers working with them.Provide tangible evidence that a service has been performed (e.g., a service report).✔ Manage the climate for service, including such seemingly minor factors as uniforms,brochures, employees’ appearance, and condition of lobby, office, grounds, vehicles, and soon.SECTION 12 TOOLS FOR LEADING RELATIONSHIPS 387