Customer Service

Building Successful Customer Loyalty

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Building Successful Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty is an emotional rather than a rational thing. Each time there is contact at a touchpoint where the customer and service provider come together there is the opportunity for further cementing the customer relationship and loyalty or driving a wedge between the customer and organization due to failure to meet expectations or needs.

With every contact, service providers should strive to demonstrate a commitment to exceed customer expectations and provide an experience that is beyond anything for which they might have hoped. Tied to commitment, loyalty is typically based on customer interest in maintaining a relationship with your organization or brand. Often, customer interest is created and maintained through one or more positive experiences that lead to a relationship.

Buidling Successful Customer Loyalty

An important point to keep in mind about customer loyalty is that it does not happen as a result of a single customer-provider encounter. Nor does it happen just because of periodic special promotions, sales or passive loyalty programs that provide only minimal rewards. Rather, true customer loyalty stems from an organization’s concerted, ongoing efforts that are part of their strategic goals to meet and exceed the expectations and needs of their customers.

For more information on customer loyalty and how to create and maintain a solid bond with your customers, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

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.

What is a Service Breakdown ?

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What is a Service Breakdown?

Service breakdowns occur daily in all types of organizations. They happen whenever the product or service delivered fails to meet customer needs, wants and expectations.

What is a Service Breakdown ?

In some cases the product or service delivered may function exactly as it was designed or promised, still, if the customer perceived that it should work another way, a breakdown can occur. Additionally, when a product or service fails to meet what the customer wants or needs or does not live up to advertised promises or standards, dissatisfaction and frustration can result.

In addition, customer expectations can affect how service is delivered and perceived. Today’s customers are more discerning and better educated, have access to more up-to-date and accurate information. They are often more demanding than in the past. Their expectations about your products and services and the way that you will provide them may create a situation where little you do or say can meet their perceptions. In such cases, remain professional, positive and offer alternatives or concessions, if appropriate, in order to maintain the relationship and provide what the customer needs or wants.

Failure to fulfill some or all of your customer expectations can lead to dissatisfaction and in some cases confrontation and/or loss of business. Keep in mind that they also have many more options offered by your competitors.

For ideas on how to avoid and recover from customer service breakdowns and salvage relationships when customer service does not go as planned, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success by Robert W. Lucas.

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.

Customer Satisfaction Levels – Maybe Not as Bad as We Think

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Customer Satisfaction Levels - Maybe Not as Bad as We Think

Customer Satisfaction Levels – Maybe Not as Bad as We Think

It seems like everyone you talk to has a tale of a customer service situation gone bad. Is it because service is really getting worse or is it that people are just so frustrated with the economy, healthcare, politics, world events and other aspects of their lives that they need to vent about something.  Even so, customer service may not be all that bad after all in many instances.

In a survey by Robert W. Lucas Enterprises, people were asked the following:

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), what is the average score you would give based on customer service that you have received in the past week from various providers? According to over 82 percent of respondents, the range was 6-8.”

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), rate the general effectiveness of customer service in most organizations today.  According to over 71 percent of respondents, the range was “5-7.”

While not stellar in the implications, and while leaving an opportunity for improvement, maybe service is not as dismal as we sometimes think.

Want suggestions on how to improve the service that you and your organization provide to your customers? Get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success, Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and How to Be  Great Call Center Representative by Robert W. Lucas.

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 Trust in Customer Service

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The Role of Trust in Customer Service

The Role of Trust in Customer Service

Trust is at the heart of any customer-provider relationship, especially when there is an exchange of money for products or services. For a customer to hand over his or her hard-earned cash to you and your organization typically takes a bit of persuasion through advertising or word-of-mouth endorsements from previous customers. All of this is developed by an ongoing investment of time, effort, and money from your organization and commitment and initiative from each service provider.

For trust to start and grow, your customers must believe several things about you and your organization:

1. You and the organization have the customer’s best interests in mind before, during, and after the transaction.

2. You and the organization are honest and forthcoming with customers and your goal is to deliver the best products and services possible in a timely manner and at a fair price.

3. You have quality products and services that are backed by a guarantee that should something go wrong, it will be quickly and earnestly taken care of.

For customers to continue doing business with you, they must trust you and your organization. The thing about trust is that it has to be earned, and that does not happen overnight. Only through continued positive efforts on the part of everyone in your organization can you demonstrate to customers that you are worthy of their trust and thereby positively affect customer retention. Through actions and deeds, you must deliver quality products, services, and information that satisfy the needs, wants and expectations of your customer(s) when, where and how you promise them. Every touch point with a customer is an opportunity for you and your organization to influence customer loyalty.

Even when you win the trust and achieve customer satisfaction, the customer relationship is very fragile. It is easy to destroy trust quickly; an inappropriate tone, a missed appointment, failure to follow through on a promise, a lie, and a misleading statement or information to a customer are just some of the ways you can sabotage this relationship.

For more ideas on how to build a more customer-centric organization in which trust becomes part of the customer-provider relationship and can lead to customer and brand loyalty, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success by Robert W. Lucas.

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.

Dealing with Difficult Customers

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Dealing with Difficult Customers

You may think of difficult customer contacts as those in which you have to deal with negative, angry, demanding, or aggressive people. These are just a few of the types of potentially difficult interactions that you may encounter as a customer service representative.

Dealing with Difficult Customers

From time to time, you will also be called upon to help customers who can be described in one or more of the following ways:

  • Are dissatisfied with your service or products.
  • Are indecisive or lack knowledge about your product, service, or policies.
  • Are you rude or inconsiderate of others?
  • Are talkative.
  • Are internal customers with special requests.
  • Speak a primary language other than yours.
  • Are you elderly and need extra assistance.
  • Are young and inexperienced who might need to be guided in making a good choice.
  • Have some type of disability.

Each of the above categories can be difficult to handle, depending on your knowledge, experience, abilities and organizational policies. A key to successfully serving all types of customers is to treat each person as an individual. If you stereotype people, you will likely damage the customer-provider relationship and might even generate complaints to your supervisor or legal action against you and your organization based on perceived discrimination. Avoid labeling people according to their behavior. Do not mentally categorize people (put them into groups) according to the way they speak, act, or look—and then treat everyone in a “group” the same way.

Ultimately, you will deliver successful service through your effective communication skills, positive attitude, patience, knowledge, service experience, and willingness to help the customer. Your ability to focus on the situation or problem and not on the person will be a very important factor in your success. Making the distinction between the person and the problem is especially important when you are faced with difficult situations in the service environment. Although you may not understand or approve of a person’s behavior, he or she is still your customer. Try to make the interaction a positive one, and if necessary ask for assistance from a co-worker or refer the problem to an appropriate level in your operational chain of command.

For ideas and strategies on how to deal with a variety of different customers and customer situations, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success, Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.

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.

Effective Customer Communication Quote – George Ross

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Effective Customer Communication Quote – George Ross

“To be successful, you have to be able to relate to people; they have to be satisfied with your personality to be able to do business with you and to build a relationship of mutual trust.” George Ross

Effective Customer Communication Quote - George RossThe ability to build and maintain solid relationships, and ultimately develop a level of trust, is a key skill that customer service representatives must master if they are going to be successful in the business world.

As a professional service provider, you must study human nature and become adept at the interpersonal skills of verbal and non-verbal communication, listening skills, and assessing behavioral styles and personality. You must also be able to understand and interact with people from diverse backgrounds.

For more ideas on how to better interact with and serve the needs of diverse customers, get copies of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and 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.

Bob Lucas B.S., M.A., M.A, CPLP is the principal in Robert W. Lucas Enterprises, Inc and an internationally-known author; learning and performance professionals. He has written and contributed to numerous books on the subject of customer service skill training.

He regularly conducts workshops on creative training, train-the-trainer, customer service, interpersonal communication, and management,
and supervisory skills.

Learn more about Bob and his organization at www.robertwlucas.com and follow his blogs at www.robertwlucas.com/wordpress,
www.customerserviceskillsbook.com, and www.thecreativetrainer.com. Like Bob at www.facebook.com/robertwlucasenterprises

Customer Service Tip – Use Behavioral Style Assessments Surveys to Better Understand Yourself and Your Customers

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Customer Service Tip – Use Behavioral Style Assessments Surveys

to Better Understand Yourself and Your Customers

By better understanding yourself and why you behave the way that you do when interacting with customers and other people, you can work toward building stronger relationships in the future. This is especially true when interacting with customers and potential customers. The point is that the more you know about people, the better prepared you are to deliver excellent service, meet customer wants, needs and expectations, provide satisfaction and aid customer and brand loyalty.

Customer Service Tip - Use Behavioral Style Assessments Surveys to Better Understand Yourself and Your CustomersOne way to achieve better self-awareness is to use commercially available self-assessment surveys (questionnaires) that are available online or through consultants who specialize in their use. By attending training sessions that use and help explain these instruments you can be a more rounded individual personally. You can also start to recognize the behavioral traits that you display in others. In doing so, you can start to tailor your actions and reactions to other people in different situations in order to help mold a more positive situational outcome. This is especially true when there is the emotion or negative energy involved displayed on either person’s part during a customer-provider interaction.

Two popular commercially available surveys or questionnaires include:

For more ideas on how to improve relationships with customers and how to apply knowledge of behavioral styles for building stronger customer-provided relationships, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success (Chapter 6).

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.

Quality Customer Service Quote – Kevin Stirtz

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Quality Customer Service Quote – Kevin Stirtz

“Choose to deliver amazing service to your customers. You’ll stand out because they don’t get it anywhere else.” Kevin Stirtz

Quality Customer Service Quote - Kevin Stirtz

 

Here are a few more great quotes from Kevin Stritz…

  1. Providing great customer service is the most natural activity in the world. It’s fun to help others because it feels good.
  2. The secret to success in business, and in life, is to serve others. Put others first in all you do.
  3. Know what your customers want most and what your company does best. Focus on where those two meets.
  4. The easiest and most powerful way to increase customer loyalty is really very simple. Make your customers happy.
  5. The first step to success in any business is to ask your customers what they want.
  6. The best ideas in the world will accomplish nothing if you leave them on paper. Talk about them. Debate, discuss, argue. Put them into action. Then you can change the world.
  7. Focus your business on what you do best. Let everyone else worry about the rest.
  8. Always give your customers something.
  9. Choose to deliver amazing service to your customers. You’ll stand out because they don’t get it anywhere else.
  10. Every contact we have with a customer influences whether or not they’ll come back. We have to be great every time or we’ll lose them.
  11. Get your customers involved in your business. Make them your partners and they’ll never leave you.
  12. Make it easy for your customers to talk to you.
  13. Never leave your customers wondering.
  14. The best listener is the one who really cares about the other person.

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.

Bob Lucas B.S., M.A., M.A, CPLP is the principal in Robert W. Lucas Enterprises, Inc and an internationally-known author; learning and performance professionals. He has written and contributed to numerous books on the subject of customer service skill training.

He regularly conducts workshops on creative training, train-the-trainer, customer service, interpersonal communication, and management,
and supervisory skills.

Learn more about Bob and his organization at www.robertwlucas.com and follow his blogs at www.robertwlucas.com/wordpress,
www.customerserviceskillsbook.com, and www.thecreativetrainer.com. Like Bob at www.facebook.com/robertwlucasenterprises

Florida Hospital Altamonte – A Positive Approach to Customer Service

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Florida Hospital Altamonte - A Positive Approach to Customer Service

Florida Hospital Altamonte – A Positive Approach to Customer Service

As I often do in my books, articles, and blog, I like to share positive customer service examples like the one I am currently experiencing this weekend as a patient at the Florida Hospital in Altamonte Springs, Florida. It is always nice to encounter a positive, customer-centric organization where people really seem to strive to deliver excellent customer service and go out of their way to show that they do care about what they are doing, especially in potentially life or death situations.

Customer service in the healthcare business

I am always inspired by positive examples of customer service wherever I travel locally and away from home. That is because, too often, my service experiences are negative and sometimes lead to emotional confrontations. As a service provider and customer service author, the frustrating part of such experiences for me is that it does not have to be that way. My philosophy is that if you are not happy and do not like your job…QUIT! Why make your life and that of those with whom you come into contact miserable.

Hospitals are places for healing, compassion and sometimes death. No one WANTS to go to a hospital as a patient nor, in many instances, as a visitor. The latter reminds people of their own frailty and the fact they too may someday be a patient. Unfortunately, because in times of pain and heightened emergencies people often fail to recognize or acknowledge the degree of dedication and concern offered by the people who make hospitals work. These servants of mercy and concern work tirelessly for as many as twelve hours or more a day in an attempt to help comfort and heal the sick and injured.

After witnessing what happens at Florida Hospital – Altamonte Springs, first-hand as a patient and second-hand with members of my family have been cared for here,  I am impressed by the level of attention and devotion the entire staff seems to provide. From the frontline staff, such as Brittany (receptionist/check-in), Geneve, Mercia, and Maritza (nurses), and Ritchie and Nikki (Techs) there is an obvious attempt to meet the needs of each patient. Then there are the wonderful folks who work behind the scenes, such as, Linda (leadership team) Allie (housekeeping), Drake (food services), and Jonathan (housekeeping Intern) who help create an atmosphere of service that permeates the organization and makes the patient (customer) experience one that meets their wants and expectations.

Going above and beyond expectations

As you can see by the departmental titles, the organization has borrowed those names and practices from the hospitality industry that help a more professional and customer-friendly place to visit. Florida Hospital even has a Concierge Services group that can assist with things like sending flowers, arranging for car detailing, organizing spa services, getting hotel discounts for family and friends of patients, and much more. Not what one would typically expect at a house of healing.

The basis for quality customer service

In my forty years of experience in various types of service organizations, I have come to realize that the manner in which employees approach customers is typically driven from the decision-makers at the top of the echelon, It then filters down through directives, policies, procedures and customer service skills training. This is obviously true for Florida Hospital Altamonte. In speaking to numerous employees, they are enthusiastic about what they do and the organization and supportive of the management directives.

Florida Hospital – Altamonte is a great example for other organizations (especially healthcare) to model after in order to deliver the best customer service possible.

For ideas and strategies on how you and your organization can acquire the skills similar to those exhibited by the Florida Hospital staff and help create a more customer-centric organization, 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 Impact of Consumer Behavioral Shifts on Customer Service

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The Impact of Consumer Behavioral Shifts on Customer Service

In the past, many consumers took a “money is no object” approach to shopping because, if they did not have cash readily available, they had several pieces of plastic in their wallet that allowed them to spend (often beyond their means). This was possible because financial institutions were doling out these instruments of commerce in a very haphazard manner to virtually all who looked like they could potentially repay what they spent. Unfortunately, that practice proved to be highly flawed. As a result, the financial institutions that let credit practices run rampant fell like proverbial dominos and took along the world’s economy with them. In the aftermath of this economic carnage, many consumers have had a reality check and have learned that prudence is an important element of commerce. Plainly speaking, consumer behavior has changed and many customers now realize that “if they do not have the money, they should not spend it!”

To counter the economic recession, consumers did a turn-around with many of them cutting out non-essentials. They also began to reassess the need for certain brand name products and services that were not essential to health and well-being. In addition, many people made a conscious decision to switch to more generic products that met their needs but had a much smaller retail price.

The impact of such shifts in behavior on service is that customer service representatives and their organizations have been inspired to step back and examine their approach to meeting customer needs, wants and expectations. They are also strengthening their service practices, employee knowledge, and skill levels and revamping their policies and procedures.

For ideas and strategies on how to identify and address consumer behavior, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures

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.

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