Building Customer Relationships by Understanding Them First

Customers come in all sizes, shapes, and descriptions. They all have specific wants and needs and all require a different degree of effort to address customer expectations and achieve customer satisfaction. Before a service representative can attempt to satisfy a customer, they must first determine what the customer expects of them related to products and services being offered.

To develop good customer relations be successful in the customer service profession, you must learn to ask open-ended questions, listen carefully to responses and carefully analyze what your customer tells you before attempting to provide a resolution.

The following are some of the more common customer expectations that you will likely discover in dealing with customers in virtually any type of situation. Keep in mind that since each person is different and unique, you will not be able to apply a cookie-cutter or one-size-fits-all approach to providing service.

Building Good Customer Relations by Identifying Customer Expectations

Expectations Related to People

Friendly, knowledgeable service providers.
Respect (they want to be treated as if they are intelligent).
Empathy (they want their feelings and emotions to be recognized).
Courtesy (they want to be recognized as “the customer” and as someone who is important to you and your organization).
Equitable treatment (they do not want to feel that one individual or group gets preferential benefits or treatment over another).

Expectations Related to Products and Services

Easily accessible and available products and services (no lengthy delays).
Reasonable and competitive pricing.
Products and services that adequately address needs.
Quality (appropriate value for money and time invested).
Ease of use.
Safe (warranty available and product free of defects that might cause physical injury).
State-of-the-art products and service delivery.
Easy-to-understand instructions (and follow-up assistance availability).
Ease of return or exchange (flexible policies that provide alternatives depending on the situation).
Appropriate and expedient problem resolution.

Source: Customer Service Skills for Success by Robert W. Lucas

About Robert W. 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.

Non-verbal Communication Quote – Robert W. Lucas

by Robert W. Lucas

Non-verbal Communication Quote – Robert W. Lucas

Customer service representatives are often the first people with whom a current or potential customer comes into contact when reaching out to an organization. Their role is to quickly and professionally use their customer service skills to assist in resolving issues or concerns or providing products and services that they are seeking. Communicating effectively with customers is the only means of gathering information from them that will allow a customer service representative to address and satisfy their needs, wants and expectations.

While verbal communication is a powerful tool for gaining customer input, their nonverbal messages often overshadow what they say and send their true emotional meaning of feelings in a give situation. If you learn to read these cues, you will often be able to more accurately deliver the best customer service possible.

Your non-verbal communication cues—the way you listen, look, move, and react—tell the person you’re communicating with whether or not you care, if you’re being truthful, and how well you’re listening. When your non-verbal signals match up with the words you’re saying, they increase trust, clarity, and rapport.

Here are some quick ways to improve your non-verbal communication asap:

Avoid slouching 24/7
Steer clear of nervous laughter when the message is serious
Display some animation with your hands and facial expressions to project a dynamic presence.
Eliminate fidgeting during a meeting
Establish frequent eye contact but never use a piercing stare
Focus on the conversation.
Introduce yourself with a smile
Offer a firm handshake
Listen carefully
Never interrupt the other speaker in a conversation

For more ideas and strategies on how to effectively read and sent non-verbal messages, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and Customer Service Skills for Success.

About Robert W. Lucas

7 Customer Service Trends That Impact Expectations

by Robert W. Lucas

7 Customer Service Trends That Impact Expectations

Due to the rapidly changing world in which we live, customer expectations continue to shift dramatically in the 21^st century. In many instances, trends in customer service expectations are being driven by the pervasiveness of technology, especially social media. The following are some of the customer service trends that I have identified by talking to workshop attendees, customers, friends, and conducting a survey of available research and publications. These trends have a powerful impact on customer expectations.

24/7/365 mentality. Today’s customers expect that they can get what they want, how they want it and when they want if twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and three hundred and sixty-five days a year. When service and product providers are not available or cannot meet this expectation, customers simply go to a competitor who can.
Efficiency in service. With the advances of technology, customers do not expect to have to repeat steps or be inconvenienced when receiving service. For example, some organizations require that credit card and personal information be entered on a computer screen or through an automated phone system when ordering or calling with questions or problems. When the customer is then connected to an agent, they are often asked to repeat their information.
Prompt response. Another one of the trends in customer service crucial in satisfying today’s customers is prompt service. The days of accepting “Someone will get back to you within twenty-four hours” are over. Customers see progressive companies using multichannel service response systems (e.g. online FAQ, customer care center 24/7/365, access through mobile technology, automated voice response systems, email, and chats) to ensure availability and response to customer needs, wants and expectations. They expect all companies to follow a similar model.
Human interaction. The automated response might be acceptable in some situations if it provides the information or satisfies customer needs. However, efficient human contact is typically the preferred means of response for most customers. The key is that the humans involved need to be well-trained, competent and knowledgeable, not scripted. They also need to be fluent in the native language of the majority of the company’s customers.
Service effectiveness over fluff. Incentive programs are nice, but what typically keeps customers coming back is that timely, effective and friendly customer service. This helps organizational efficiency and enhances customer loyalty. Meeting the needs wants and expectations of a diverse customer base will often win out over a free refill, discount off next purchase or a “buy 10; get one free” loyalty program offer.
Low tolerance for errors. In a world where companies like FedEx promised “When it Absolutely, Positively has to be there overnight,” computers have spellcheck to help catch errors, and many companies have unconditional guarantees to make it right when something goes wrong, customers are not as likely to accept excuses. They expect companies to live up to their promises and what they put on their websites. They also expect that all employees are empowered to make decisions and fix problems without having to get their supervisor.
Free shipping. For years, leading companies like Zappos, Amazon, L.L. Bean, Lands End have been offering free shipping, and in some cases free return shipping. This can result in big savings if someone regularly orders from a company or places large orders.

There are many other customer service trends of which you and your organization should be aware of in order to meet the needs, wants and expectations of your customers. Take time to search the Internet for additional articles, read books on customer service trends, and attend customer service conferences and training sessions on the topic. Do whatever it takes to better prepare to meet changing customer expectations and help ensure customer satisfaction.

What customer service trends have you identified in dealing with your own customers or talking to others? Share them with other readers.

Customer Incentives Lead to Customer Satisfaction

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Incentives Lead to Customer Satisfaction

Effective customer incentives lead to customer satisfaction if they are thought out and provide something that customers perceive as valuable to them. Unfortunately, many organizations create incentive programs that their marketing team feels would offer value. Such stimulants are often provided without asking customers what they would like to have. While such offerings might look good on a window banner or in a commercial, they often have little meaning for many customers.

If you scan local businesses for the discounts and inducements available, you will likely find some organizations offering little or nothing, while others provide a variety of options. The good news is that many organizations offer some type of incentive to try to entice customers to do business with them. The bad news is that they often waste money and marketing effort because they provide the wrong types of incentives.

While effective customer incentives lead to customer satisfaction, you should remember that customers must perceive value from them if they are to work. Most customers prefer to have something that really addresses their wants and needs; not what marketers decide that they should have.

The following are typical motivators that various companies offer in an effort to gain new customers and to get people to buy the organization’s products or services. As you will read, efforts to provide encouragement to customers often has the opposite impact.

2 for 1 special or buy one, get one free offer. If you have ever received mail or newspaper flyers offering these types of stimulants you know that they can potentially be ineffective. For example, buy one hamburger or meal and get a second one free. If you have someone with whom you can share the offer, then you may be motivated to buy. Unfortunately, this type of come-on is often useless to a single person or someone on a diet, since there is little incentive to buy. A more effective approach might be to offer this deal and also offer the option to buy only one meal at a reduced price.

Buy 2, get 1 free. Many supermarkets offer this type of incentive. The challenge again is that people desiring to make bulk purchases may not be encouraged to take advantage of the offer. Especially, if the products are perishable food.

Coupons for money off a product when purchasing two or more of an item. Similar to the last option, food manufacturers are now using this type of deal. Many people routinely cut and used discount coupons from the Sunday paper. In today’s digital marketplace, where coupons can also be accessed via smart phones and other devices, this multi-item enticement is less attractive to many people. This is because many coupons are now only valid if consumers buy multiple items. Additionally, the discounts offered are still around the same level that they used to be for the purchase of a single item.

Offer for money off the retail price of an item. An effective way to get people to buy something is often to offer a set currency amount or a percentage of the purchase price of an item. Clothing, department, sporting goods and other types of stores often take this path to discount. By making the discount a perceived value to customers (e.g. 25% off) or putting a minimum purchase amount (e.g. $50.00), sales often increase.

Free oil change when first visiting a car repair facility. Depending on the type of oil and filter being offered, this might appeal to some customers. A repair facility using this approach might want to add the option of a discounted price for those who prefer premium oil or a name brand filter. This can help attract a higher tier of customers who might be able to afford additional premium services on their vehicles.

$1,000 rebate or no/reduced finance charge for 36 months. Many new car dealerships now offer several financial-related options from which a customer might choose. Since most people appreciate the opportunity to save money, this approach often appeals to many car buyers. In effect, this choice of incentives puts the customer in control of what he or she gets.

Another type of incentive related to car buying is to offer a low down payment option. This inducement reduces out-of-pocket expenditure. It often appeals to many customers in a tight economic market and for money conscious and entry-level car buyers.

Online basket abandonment offers. Many online retailers now offer an emailed discount offer when customers abandon their shopping cart with items in it before completing a transaction. For this type of situation, many consumers will later opt to go back and make the purchase in exchange for an offer of a discount.

Email opt-in offers. In a world where email in-boxes are overflowing, it is often difficult to get people to provide their email address unless there is some type of financial enticement. A 2014 BlueHornet Networks, Inc survey, revealed that the top reason for giving up an email address is a discount. For consumers, in the 18-45 years old bracket a percentage off offer persuades an email surrender, and for the 46 to 75-year-old group, it was free shipping.

No matter what type of organization you have or for which you work, customer incentives lead to customer satisfaction. The key is determining your customer base, what they perceive as important, and then offering something to satisfy their needs, wants and expectations.

For additional ideas on customer satisfaction strategies, search this website for other articles on the topic.

In what ways do customer incentives lead to customer satisfaction in your organization or those that you patronize? Please share those with other readers.

Gaining Customer Loyalty

by Robert W. Lucas

Gaining Customer Loyalty

Gaining customer loyalty and getting repeat business is crucial for organizational success in today’s global business world. Too many managers and small business owners do not recognize that customer loyalty are not just about competitive pricing and product line offerings. With competition being literally a mouse click away, the differentiator between companies is often the level and quality of customer service that they provide. If companies fail to personalize service, empower customer service representatives to effectively and efficiently serve customers, and invest in the latest service technology, they are likely to suffer from customer churn.

Unfortunately, many organizational leaders have not recognized the need to adopt customer service as a strategic initiative. They also fail to identify consumer trends and go to the effort of meeting changing customer needs, wants and expectations. According to the 2014 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer, 62% of 1,000 American consumers surveyed believe that companies “meet customer expectations.” Only 5% of those surveyed said that interactions that they had with companies “exceeded their expectations,” while 29% thought that companies usually “miss their expectations.” Companies, such as Radio Shack, Borders Books, Blockbuster and Circuit City have paid the price of failure for failing to read and meet customer needs and expectations. Other organizations that are teetering and struggling to regain or maintain market share include Sears, JCPenney, Best Buy and the U.S. Postal Service.

The simple solution for gaining customer loyalty and getting repeat business is to make every customer experience positive. By investing in customer service skills and communication training for all employees, upgrading equipment, processes, and policies regularly, and looking at service through the customer’s eyes, customer loyalty and satisfaction is attainable.

For additional ideas on ways to improve customer service in any organization, check out Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service across Cultures, Customer Service Skills for Success, and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.

Time Management Skills in A Diverse Customer Service World

by Robert W. Lucas

Time Management Skills in A Diverse Customer Service World

Reliable time management skills in a diverse customer service world are crucial in order to take advantage of opportunities to effectively interact with customers from various cultures. For years, anthropologists and others have studied the use of time in various cultures to try to better understand why some people view it differently. Their findings can be very useful in today’s world when many customer service representatives and other employees must be concerned with delivering excellent customer service across cultures. By better understanding cultural differences related to time and applying sound time management strategies or time management tips, service providers are more likely to meet their customer’s needs, wants and expectations.

In a diverse customer service world, the perspectives that many people have of time perception are often based on religious dogma or personal and cultural beliefs. For example, in the United States where the Puritans brought ideas of efficient use of time and a focus on the future, their culture developed to where today people focus on change, moving forward at a fast pace and getting more done with less. Entire industries (e.g. fast food) have developed to support this driving mentality. The challenge is that because the United States has become such a “melting pot” of diverse people who have brought with them their own religious and cultural values, conflict with time usage sometimes erupts between people from various subcultures. An example of this within the U.S. population is that many African and Latin Americans, Middle Easterners, Native Americans, Hawaiians, and Asians have brought religious and cultural values with them that focus on revering the past or focusing on the present as opposed to the future.

As an example of how time perception differences are common, ask people from various cultures or subcultures what they perceive an acceptable time for being late to an appointment might be. You will likely receive very different responses. For example, people from Germany or Finland often pride themselves on being some of the most punctual people in the world and are normally always early and on time for meetings and social events. Late arrival is considered rude and potentially insulting. In parts of Great Britain and North America being five minutes late for a meeting might be an acceptable time, but fifteen minutes or more would definitely be considered late and possibly rude, depending on the event and the person with whom you are scheduled to meet. In the Pacific Island, Middle Eastern and many African cultures, tardiness of thirty minutes or more is perfectly acceptable for a business meeting in many instances.

Just as in business situations, if you invite international customers to a dinner meeting or social event, you can anticipate that they will arrive at different times. This is sometimes based on their cultural backgrounds and values. For example, someone from Japan or Korea might arrive half an hour early, a guest from the United States or England — five minutes early, a Honduran and Latin American might show up thirty minutes late, an Italian could be up two hours late, an Ethiopian might be even later and someone from Vietnam might not come at all. They only accepted your invitation to be polite and to avoid causing you to lose face if they said no. If you ever host such an event, make sure that you specify your expectations in writing in order to avoid confusion or embarrassment to guests. For example, your invitations might specify that dinner will be served at 7 p.m. sharp.

If you interact with customers outside your own cultural group regularly, one tip for effectively delivering customer service in a positive manner is to do research on how your customer’s from a particular culture perceive time. By raising your cultural awareness, you will be better prepared to effectively handle situations where customers are either early or late for meetings and social events. This will also prevent you from inadvertently violating a cultural norm when attending a meeting or event with your customers. The result is that you can potentially meet customer expectations, increase customer satisfaction and form more solid relationships with customers from all parts of the world through your knowledge and actions.

Source of this article: Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Delivering Excellent Customer Service as Part of a Service Culture

by Robert W. Lucas

Delivering Excellent Customer Service as Part of a Service Culture

Delivering excellent customer service as part of a service culture has become a pivotal determinant in the global competition between organizations. As the world has gotten smaller because of geopolitical changes, trade agreements, personal mobility, and connections via technology, the way that companies provide customer service and business has morphed. Customer retention and the establishment of customer service as a differentiating strategic policy is crucial in gaining and maintaining market share, especially for small businesses. Instead of just mouthing the words customer service to employees, they must ensure that the concept becomes part of the organization’s service culture. In order for any organization to deliver excellent customer service, it must adapt and embrace the new paradigm by investing in technology, attracting the best-qualified employees and then training them effectively.

In order to achieve customer satisfaction and reduce the customer churn rate, everyone in the organization must adopt a customer-centric approach in the way that service is provided. A paramount point for every employee to remember is that while vision starts at the top of an organization, it is the point-of-contact person who the customer reacts to and remembers. What that person says and does will often determine the outcome of interaction and what the customer says about his or her experience after it is over. Delivering anything less than excellent customer service during each customer-provider interaction can lead to the demise of customer service representatives and their organization.

All employees are involved in customer service today and must be open-minded and flexible when dealing with customers. They must embrace change, continually seek customer service training and upgrade their product and service knowledge while seeking to identify new, more effective and efficient ways to deliver service on a daily basis. This need is driven by the fact that the world is more diverse, automated and people move with a 24/7/365 (24 hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred-sixty-five days a year) mentality. Customer needs wants and expectations have changed dramatically. People expect things instantaneously and if they do not get it, they can become agitated or take their business elsewhere. Their desertion can often be accomplished with just the click of a computer mouse.

For additional articles and ideas on customer service, examine two of my books: Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures, Customer Service Skills for Success. You can also take the American Management Association self-study course, How to Be a Great Call Center Representative. All are available through the website www.robertwlucas.com.

What Is Customer Service?

by Robert W. Lucas

What Is Customer Service?

People often ask, “What is customer service and why is it important?” To answer this, you have to recognize that customers come in many shapes, sizes and types, and from a variety of diverse backgrounds. Each customer has his or her own values and beliefs and comes with specific needs, wants and expectations based on their perspectives, background, and lifestyle. The following is one definition of customer service:

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. – Source: Customer Service Skills for Success

The concept or practice of customer service is not new throughout the world. In fact, customers are the core of every business, and as such, should be the top priority. In reality, if organizations have no customers, their reason for existence goes away. This is why it is essential for companies to attract, hire, train and retain the most qualified and capable employees they can find. It is equally important that employees at every level of the organization take ownership of delivering stellar customer service.

For more answers on what is customer service and why is it important, explore the term “customer service” on this blog and check out: Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures, Customer Service Skills for Success and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.

Typical Customer Contact Center Representative Competencies

by Robert W. Lucas

Typical Customer Contact Center Representative Competencies

To perform well in a call center/customer care center, employees must possess some very special competencies or capacities/abilities to perform required job tasks. Because of the specific requirements of the job, organizations must look for candidates possessing many of these typical customer contact representative competencies as possible. It is essential that call center/customer care center personnel have strong interpersonal communication skills, be organized, able to problem solve, and have a strong sense of the importance of their function as the “face” of the organization.

The following are some common competencies that employers look for in applicants desiring to work in a call center/customer care center. These are listed in alphabetical order and vary in importance depending on the organizational mission.

Business acumen. An understanding of the relationship between their jobs and how they impact the business and customers.

Contact management. Ability to control customer interaction once they contact the representative through a variety of assigned technology.

Change management. Ability to adapt to and handle changing situations and customer and business environments.

Conflict resolution. Ability to use effective interpersonal skills to resolve difficult customer-provider interactions.

Cross-selling. In environments where selling of products and services is a business focus, the ability to recognize potential customer needs and opportunities to sell or up-sell to customers.

Decision making. Ability to gather and analyze information, then apply appropriate interventions to resolve and issue or come to a decision.

Interpersonal communication. Ability to actively listen, question appropriately, provide feedback, and use customer communication skills to build and strengthen customer relationships.

Managing diversity. Cultural diversity knowledge and the ability to interact with a variety of people from various backgrounds in the workplace.

Managing stress. Ability to maintain a calm demeanor and mental state when situations and emotions escalate to higher levels when interacting with a customer.

For additional call center/customer care center competencies, ideas, techniques and strategies for enhancing customer relationships, and information on ways to build solid interpersonal communication skills, check out How to Be a Great Call Center Representative. In this self-study course book, you will find hundreds of powerful ideas for improving knowledge and skills that can aid in meeting customer needs, wants and expectations and lead to greater customer satisfaction and retention. You also receive a certificate from the renowned American Management Association.

Is Customer Service Week the Best Time to Show Customer Appreciation?

by Robert W. Lucas

Is Customer Service Week the Best Time to Show Customer Appreciation?

Have you noticed how many articles and references are flying around stores and on the Internet regarding the importance of Customer Service Week? Service providers are wearing shirts and hats and articles abound on blogs and on various business sites stressing the importance of customer service. It all makes me wonder — “Is customer service week the best time to show customer appreciation?”

My question is, why do organizations and customer service representatives wait for one time a year to thank the most important element of their business – their customers? Without their customers, they could all pack up and go home. This negligent approach to customer service reminds me of a joke I heard many years ago about an old married couple sitting with a marriage counselor. The wife was very distraught and crying her eyes out as she told the counselor that their problem was that after fifty years of marriage that her husband never told her that he loves her anymore. The startled husband was dumbfounded to hear that. He turned to her and asked, “Didn’t I tell you I loved you when we got married?” She responded timidly, “Yes.” He countered with, “Well if that changes, I’ll let you know!”

Similar to the story above, many organizations go out of their way to court potential customers by offering discounts, special incentives, and promises to outperform their competition. Once a customer comes aboard, the company is off creating new campaigns to entice more new customers, while typically forgetting about the current ones or demonstrating how much they mean to the organization.

It is no wonder that most organizations experience such high customer desertion or turnover rates (customer churn). Why would you go to an organization that does not appear to respect or value your business; Especially, when a qualified, and sometimes better, the competitor is only a mouse click or phone call away.

Managers need to continually remind themselves that they should not wait for a customer to reach out to inform the organization that they are taking their business elsewhere before going into recovery or retention mode. Often their special retention department customer service representatives have special authority to grant customer incentives, offer lower rates, and take other actions to encourage the customer to stay. At this point, depending on how irritated the customer is, it might be too late and the damage is irreversible.

Here are five simple things companies can do to reinforce customer satisfaction or brand loyalty and reduce customer attrition:

Empower every customer service representative to offer customer incentives and help head off customer desertion.
Create policies that are customer-centric and are continually updated to demonstrate that all customers are crucial to the organization.
Continually look for ways to show that their organization really is the best value for the money and has its customers’ best interests in mind.
Regularly provide customer service training that focuses on customer service skills, tips, ideas and strategies to address customer needs, wants and expectations.
Treat every customer as unique and important and do not lump them into various demographic groups that receive generic approaches to service based on pre-conceived ideas of what they want or expect.

For hundreds of additional effective and proven customer service tips, techniques and strategies for creating and maintaining an excellent customer service environment that truly supports all customers, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success, How to Be a Great Call Center Representative and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.