Impact of the Economy on Customer Service Representatives

On an individual level, customer service representatives should be researching and upgrading their knowledge and skills related to dealing with people from around the world. This means, reading more articles and books on various cultures, customer service, and human behavior, attending training programs, taking educational courses, attending more conferences focused on customer service and generally becoming attuned to the world around them. This enhanced perspective and environmental knowledge will provide tools necessary to provide the best customer service possible.

Not since the 1980s have economic indicators (e.g., stock trades, home sales, purchases, international transactions, and construction) been in such turmoil worldwide. Many people have lost jobs, personal savings are dwindling, people are losing their homes, and spending is down greatly around the world. As the economy took a downward spiral in the latter part of the first decade in the twenty-first century, consumer confidence shifted, many organizations struggled to provide quality service levels with reduced staff, and budgets and revenue from products and services slipped for most organizations as consumers held onto precious cash.

In addition to government policy and economic changes, new legislation impacting healthcare and taxes, job elimination in the government sector, and shifts in consumer spending have significantly impacted many organizations, forcing downsizings and in many cases closures. This is especially true in small businesses where a Gallop Poll of small business owners found that “30 percent of owners say they are not hiring because they are worried they may no longer be in business in 12 months.” Further, 66 percent of those interviewed said they were worried about the current state of the economy and its impact on business. Obviously, this has long-term implications for hiring in the service industry and for consumers who have been curtailing their buying habits since the start of the recession out of the same fears that business owners are experiencing.

According to an interview comment by Phil Rist, executive vice president of BIGinsight, a consumer-centric information portal, “Events that have transpired over the past four years have forever changed consumers, and this is evidenced in what they deem expendable and untouchable purchases. The financial meltdown, natural disasters, and the threat of terrorism have sent shock waves through consumers and impacted their priorities. The added layer of advancing technology has changed how they research and make purchases . . . the retail landscape will likely never be the same.”

Overall, consumers do business as never before. Large numbers of customers search and do their homework for products and services online and often use retail outlets as a showroom to physically examine things they are interested in potentially purchasing. The result is that sales in brick-and-mortar stores are down for many retailers and suppliers. Best Buy instituted a price-matching strategy in March 2013 to combat this shop-around practice. They decided to match prices for all product categories against all local retail competitors and major online operations such as Apple.com, Dell.com, hhgregg.com, homedepot.com, Lowes.com, and other highly recognized retailers.

Another important factor related to the changes in the economic environment that have occurred in recent years is that many companies have made dramatic shifts in the way they do business and attempt to attract and hold customers. They are reevaluating their pricing and presentation of products and services, as well as, their policies and procedures for providing service. People and technology are being harnessed in different ways to allow them to compete in a global society. The approach to customer service in many instances is no longer “business as usual.” Instead of viewing it as something that should be done well, most organizations now see it as something that must be done. Managers have realized that they can no longer maintain the status quo and do things like they always have if they plan to stay in business and generate profits.

Because of the financial meltdown that occurred during the high point of the recession, many organizations that have been household names for decades and had international presence have cut back severely on the size of their workforce and sold off, merged, or closed operations. They have also have taken dramatic steps to attract and keep customers. Companies like Chrysler, General Motors (GM), Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and American Express received funds through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 from the U.S. federal government to remain financially solvent. In addition, companies struggled (and still do in many instances) to find a balance between profitability and providing quality service. For example, companies like Sears, J.C. Penney, Best Buy, Dell, Borders Books, Hollywood Studios, Blockbuster, and other notable companies have continually juggled their retail and service policies since 2010 in an effort to remain competitive and stay in business. Some succeeded while others did not. All of this turmoil and change has had an adverse impact on the economy, the service industry, and ultimately employees and potential employees.

For more information on how the customer service profession is changing and the skills, customer service representatives need to succeed in providing quality customer service, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success.

About Robert C. Lucas

Bob Lucas has been a trainer, presenter, customer service expert, and adult educator for over four decades. He has written hundreds of articles on training, writing, self-publishing, and workplace learning skills and issues. He is also an award-winning author who has written thirty-seven books on topics such as, writing, relationships, customer service, brain-based learning, and creative training strategies, interpersonal communication, diversity, and supervisory skills. Additionally, he has contributed articles, chapters, and activities to eighteen compilation books. Bob retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 after twenty-two years of active and reserve service.

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

The key to successfully making money as an author and/or self-publisher is to brand yourself and your company and to make yourself and your book(s) a household name. Part of this is face-to-face interaction with people at trade shows, library events, book readings, book store signings, blogging or guest blogging on a topic related to their book(s). Another strategy involves writing articles and other materials that show up online and are found when people search for a given topic related to a topic about which the author has written.

If you need help building an author platform, branding yourself and your book(s) or generating recognition for what you do, Make Money Writing Books will help. Bob’s popular book addresses a multitude of ideas and strategies that you can use to help sell more books and create residual and passive income streams. The tips outlined in the book are focused to help authors but apply to virtually any professional trying to increase personal and product recognition and visibility.

The Role of Channel Partner Relationships on Customer Loyalty

by Robert W. Lucas

The Role of Channel Partner Relationships on Customer Loyalty

A key component of managing customer loyalty is for organizations to effectively establish and manage channel partner relationships. Such partners can help gain access to new business opportunities at lower costs, without having to merge or acquire more assets and employees. This means that retail and service pricing can be kept down. Such a strategy also provides a more competitive posture for your organization and potentially attracts and holds customers based on reduced pricing and enhanced product and service availability.

Through channel partner relationships organizations are able to build a larger and stronger competitive presence in the marketplace, which can help enhance customer trust and loyalty. This potentially occurs because customers view the organizations as a larger and stronger supplier or entity.

There are three types of typical channel partners with which your organization might build a relationship if you do not already have one in place. Transactional or indirect. This type of organization provides a distribution outlet or link for your company’s products and services. The challenge is that they maintain no specific loyalty and when the opportunity arises to obtain a newer product or service line, or one that is less expensive, they may move to other suppliers or vendors. Examples of transactional partners are online Web sites (e.g., Amazon.com and Overstock.com), retail stores, or service providers (e.g., plumber, laundry, pest control, masseuse/masseur, and car repair). Tactical. This category of partners include organizations that are intricately meshed with your company’s internal operations. Examples of such arrangements include mobile phone service providers that use retail outlets (e.g., Best Buy or mall kiosks). Strategic. The third type of channel partnership involves signing agreements through which one organization creates a long-term alliance with one another to brand, develop, or produce each other’s products or services. An example of this is the code sharing that takes place between airlines where two different airlines can sell seats on a single plane under their own individual flight numbers.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

In my book Customer Service Skills for Success, I define customer service as “the ability of knowledgeable, capable, and enthusiastic employees to deliver products and services to their internal and external customers in a manner that satisfies identified and unidentified needs and ultimately results in positive word-of-mouth publicity and return business.”

The Cost of Dissatisfied Customers

by Robert W. Lucas

The Cost of Dissatisfied Customers

Numerous research studies have been conducted to try to determine the cost of a dissatisfied customer who defects. Too often, service providers look at the loss of a sale as a single event when a customer is dissatisfied. However, one dissatisfied customer can cost your organization a lot if they defect to a competitor and share their negative experience with friends and relatives.

To get an idea of what one negative customer experience can cost your organization over a 10-year period, consider the following example:

Ms. Ling comes in to return a product that she paid $22 for over a month ago. She explains that the product did not fit her needs and that she had been meaning to return it since the date she purchased it, but kept forgetting. She also explains that she comes in at least once a week to make purchases. Your company has a three-day return policy, your manager is out to lunch and you do not have the authority to override the policy. Ms. Ling is in a hurry and is upset by your inability to resolve the issue. She leaves after saying, “You just lost a good customer!”

Let’s assume that Ms. Ling spends at least $22 a week in your store and calculate the potential loss to your organization.

$22 x 52 (number of weeks in a year) = $1,144
10 (number of years as a customer) x $1,144 = $11,440
16 (number of people statistically told of her negative experience) x $11,440 = $183,040

These numbers are bad news. The good news is that you and every other employee in your organization can reduce a large percentage of customer defections by providing the best possible quality service. If you and everyone in your organization focus on strengthening customer relationships, reducing customer defections and building brand and customer loyalty through the use of sound customer service skills, both your customers and your organization benefit.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Provide the Best Customer Service Possible

by Robert W. Lucas

Provide the Best Customer Service Possible

Providing the best customer service possible means that you do everything in your power to ensure that your customer’s needs, wants and expectations are met. Obviously, there are going to be times when challenges arise in service delivery, but that should not stop you from looking for practical and equitable solutions for both your customer and your organization.

A key part of any transaction is going to be that you always keep your word with customers. They have many choices in selecting a service or product provider. If they feel you cannot be depended upon to take action, they simply leave, often without complaint or comment.

When you tell customers you will do something, do it. Do not promise what you cannot deliver; many people take your word as your bond, especially those from cultures where a handshake still seals a deal (e.g. Middle Eastern countries, Hispanic and Asian cultures). Your goal should be to provide customers with competitively priced, reliable products or services that you deliver with little or no inconvenience or difficulty. Break the bond, and you risk destroying the relationship.

If feasible after delivering a product or providing service, contact your customer to make sure that he or she was satisfied and that your service met expectations. This follow-up can be an informal call, a more formal questionnaire, or a friendly e-mail or text message (assuming they authorized you to send such correspondence).

Always strive to underpromise and overdeliver. An example of this concept in action would be for you to suppose that a customer drops off film to be processed at your store on Tuesday. The store guarantees that the photos will be ready on Saturday. If possible, develop the film before Saturday, and call to tell the customer it is ready. When he or she comes to pick it up, give a coupon for a discount on the next roll of film. Such proactive efforts help secure customer loyalty and brand loyalty.

For additional ideas and information on dealing with customers from diverse backgrounds get a copy of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures. For ideas on how to better deliver customer service in a variety of situations, check out Customer Service Skills for Success.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Provide Customer Peace of Mind in All Interactions

by Robert W. Lucas

Provide Customer Peace of Mind in All Interactions

Customers want to do business with customer service representatives and organizations that they trust and believe offer quality service and products at a competitive and fair price. In any interaction with your customers, take the time to interact on a “human” level by showing appreciation and treating them as if they are important and are valued because they are.

There are numerous things that you can do to assure your customers while you provide the best customer service possible. Here are some common strategies:

Be positive and assertive in your words and actions. Help customers realize that you understand their issues, needs, wants and expectations and that you will do your best to assist in meeting them.
Assure customers through your words and efforts that you are confident, have their best interests at heart, and are in control of the situation.
Let them know that their calls or messages, questions, and needs will be addressed professionally and in a timely manner.
Reassure them that what they purchase is the best quality, has a solid warranty, will be backed by the organization and will address their needs while providing many benefits.
Assure them that their requests and information will be processed rapidly and promises will be met.

All of these things can lead them to the belief that they made the right decision in selecting you and your organization and that you will take care of their needs. They can also lead to customer satisfaction and brand and customer loyalty.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Three Simple Strategies To Encourage Customer and Brand Loyalty

by Robert W. Lucas

Three Simple Strategies To Encourage Customer and Brand Loyalty

Customer service representatives and all other employees in the organization should have one goal in mind when interacting with other…building stronger customer-service provider relationships.

The global economy of today is dominated by technology. That puts your competitors from around the world only one mouse click away from your customers if they decide that you are not delivering as the expect or you promised. No one in your organization can be complacent when it comes to addressing the needs, wants and expectations of your customers. Customer relations should be a high-priority effort for all employees.

Whenever and wherever a touchpoint (contact with a current or potential customer) occurs, it is a unique opportunity to show that you and your organization provide not only good or excellent customer service but that you provide the BEST customer service! Throughout any interaction, you should make it your goal to project a positive service image and that you add value to the customer relationship.

The following are three simple strategies that employees and organizations can use to help build the brand and organizational loyalty.

1. Recognize the customer. Whenever a customer enters, calls or contacts you electronically, stop what you are doing and make them the focal point of your attention. If you know their name, smile and use it immediately. If not, ask for the name and then use it occasionally throughout the interaction. This demonstrates that you are concerned about them on an interpersonal level and value them as an individual.

2. Show appreciation. Thank your customers at the end of a transaction and wait for them to leave, disconnect or close the communication before you do. Often customers will think of one more thing they want to say or ask at the end of a conversation. If you abruptly end the contract, they might feel cut off and lose the opportunity to get the needed information. In such instances, any positive good will earned for excellent service to that point could be lost.

3. Seek opportunities to demonstrate value. Never assume that customers recognize the value you provide. They have too many things going on in life on a given day to stop and reflect on what you provide for them. You need to continually do things to encourage brand loyalty.

Many organizations remind customers that they saved money, time, effort and other valuable elements whenever possible. To get an idea of how this works, look at your sales receipt the next time you make a retail purchase. Does it thank you and demonstrate value? For instance, at the bottom of an Office Depot receipt, you will see a catalog list price or what the product would have cost at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, Office Depot’s low everyday price, how much you saved, and a note thanking you for saving at Office Depot. Minor reminders such as this are a quick and easy way to encourage people to return for additional needs.

No matter what system you implement, make sure that you show that you are sincere in your appreciation for your customers.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Impact of the Recession on Customer Loyalty

by Robert W. Lucas

Impact of the Recession on Customer Loyalty

Many business owners and managers will tell you that they are struggling to maintain market share and service levels to guarantee customer loyalty. This has been a trend for a number of years and particularly became difficult once the recent economic downturn kicked into full swing. To off-set the trend, companies are striving to provide excellent customer service, create moments of truth that make the customer feel special and encouraging customer service representatives and employees at all levels to exceed customer expectations.

A big challenge is that companies realized that in addition to losing customers, they were also losing profits as many middle class and some higher-income customers retrenched on spending. To offset their reduced disposable capital, consumers have changed their spending habits, stopped eating out and traveling as much, limited their entertainment budget, shopped less for non-essential items, and cut services that they considered a luxury (e.g. grass, pool, and pest control services) and started handling those functions personally. They also started doing more comparative shopping, spent more time bargain hunting, attended yard sales and consignment shops, clipped more coupons, and in many instances traded down to less expensive store items or those that were not in the “status symbol” or name brand categories.

The result of all these cultural and societal changes has been that now that customers are accustomed to the “new economic normal.” They realize that they can actually live well and be comfortable at a lower spending level and using lower quality products. They even realize that in many instances they actually happy with their new lifestyle and spending habits. As a result, even though the economy has started a slow upward movement, consumers are now remembering the economic pain they suffered and are stashing away as much as they can in the event the recession comes back.

What all this means for retail businesses, service providers and product manufacturers are that they must retool their marketing and production mentality. They are reducing on-hand inventories, minimizing staff hiring and using part-time employees or outsourcing services and re-examining the way they deliver customer service in a changing world. In particular, they are changing the manner in which they show added value to their customers in an effort to gain and retain new ones.

The changing business environment has resulted in a winning proposition for many consumers who now feel that they are in a power position related to making purchases. This is especially true in instances of major buying decisions (e.g. cars, houses, property, recreational vehicles, and other higher-end items). Many realtors and dealers have experienced a large inventory surplus due to a slowdown in purchases and tightened lending policies from financial institutions. This has created a buyers market.

By doing adequate research and coming to the sales environment with knowledge of manufacturing costs, competitive pricing, and product and service details, the consumer is now often in a position to negotiate strongly and get pricing that is not only fair but also better than they could have gotten in the past. Retailers in nearly every type of product line and business are willing to negotiate and offer discounted prices when pressured by the customer to do so. They do this because they realize that their competitors will discount if they do not and the customer is likely to walk away, if not satisfied with an offer they receive. In addition, with a global economy and access to products from around the world only a mouse click away, companies realize that they must deal or die.

From a customer service perspective, it is imperative that managers develop a customer-centric mindset and that customer service representatives and everyone else in the organization adopt a can-do/must-do attitude when it comes to communicating effectively and working with customers. They must provide the best customer service possible in any instance where there is a of customer-provider interaction. Only through such initiatives will organizations be able to show customers that they offer the best value, care about their wants, needs, and expectations, and are willing to put forth the effort to help achieve customer and brand loyalty.

About Robert W. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Two Tips for Building Strong Customer Relationships

by Robert W. Lucas

Two Tips for Building Strong Customer Relationships

Customers like doing business with those who understand them and their needs and go out of their way to deliver timely and quality services and products at a fair price. This can lead to consumer satisfaction and that is a big factor for many customers in remaining loyal to a brand or organization.

Here are two simple tips that can help enhance customer retention and provide quality service to customers.

1. Pay Attention

As you listen to your customers, focus all your attention on them so that you can identify and address their needs. If you are providing service face-to-face use positive nonverbal cues (e.g. face the customer, smile, use open body gestures, make eye contact, stop doing other things, and focus attention on the customer) and language. Ask open-end questions to determine the customer’s needs. Also, use the active listening techniques to ensure that you get all the information you need to properly address your customer’s needs or concerns.

2. Deal with One Customer at a Time

You cannot effectively handle two people (on the phone or in-person) simultaneously. When more than one call or customer comes in at the same time, seek assistance or ask one of them to either wait or if you might get back to him or her at a later time. Then, give personalized attention to the other customer.

Providing stellar customer service is not always easy, but if you strive to gain and use positive customer relationship management knowledge and skills, you can effectively identify and satisfy customer needs.

For additional strategies on effectively providing stellar customer service, get a copy of Please Every Customer: Providing Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and Customer Service Skills for Success.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Three Tips for Developing Customer and Brand Loyalty

by Robert W. Lucas

Three Tips for Developing Customer and Brand Loyalty

Companies and customer service representatives are always looking for ways to develop a service culture that can increase customer and brand loyalty in today’s global competitive business environment. By exhibiting basic customer service skills and delivering excellent customer service with each customer-provider encounter, the chances that a customer will return and stay loyal are increased significantly.

Here are three simple strategies that can contribute to higher customer and brand loyalty in your organization.

Always act in the best interest of your customers. Listen to them, ask questions, anticipate their needs, deliver what you promise and exhibit high levels of professionalism in everything that you do whether your customers are present or not.
Take the time to personalize your customer interactions and to make each customer feel special. Use a customer’s name often during an interaction, listen, smile, ask questions to show interest and strive to project a positive image. This can all lead to enhanced trust and helps ensure that the customer returns.
Treat all customers as if they are crucial to the organization—they are! Do whatever is possible and reasonable to maintain a strong customer-provider relationship and keep the customer returning and recommending that others should do likewise. Whether someone is a new or existing customer should make no difference.

For additional ideas on developing customer and brand loyalty and on how to deliver effective customer service to your customers, get a copy of Customer Service: Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures by Robert W. Lucas.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Customer Service Skills for Success

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Service Skills for Success – Tips for Delivering Excellent Customer Service

In one of my books, Customer Service: Skills for Success, I feature how-to strategies on topics for customer service representatives that can assist in moving from good customer service to excellent customer service delivery. By applying strategies found in the text, customer service professionals can enhance their knowledge and skills and make them more successful in delivering service to all types of customers.

In the chapters of Customer Service: Skills for Success I cover the concepts and skills needed for success in the service profession. Strategies provided to readers include listening techniques, verbal and nonverbal communication, using technology to deliver service, addressing the needs of internal and external customers in any business environment, how to build customer loyalty and what to do when service breaks down and they need to recover. I also share experience and tips on how to use positive global service strategies for dealing with diverse customers.

Here are three tips for ensuring better service delivery to your customers:

If you seek trust; communicate it through your words and nonverbal cues.
If your supervisor empowers you to make decisions, that means he/she trusts your ability to handle various issues. Do not take this trust lightly. Before taking action, stop, weigh alternatives, and then resolve the situation to the best of your ability in order to send a message of competency and professionalism.
Unhappy people are still either customers or potential internal or external customers when they contact you at work. Your goal should be to try to serve them effectively them so that they return for future products or services. If you fail at this goal, you and your organization or department will potentially suffer financial and prestige loss.

I am always interested in hearing what is working and what is not in organizations related to customer service. If you have ideas, suggestions, tips or cutting edge practices in the professional that you would like to share with others, please comment.

For ideas and information on how to improve your own customer service skills, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success by Robert W. Lucas.