| How to Improve Customer Service |
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By Dan Cavalli When you improve customer service you have the potential to increase sales. In this day and age customers want better and faster service and if you are in business you had better provide that or become extinct like the dinosaurs. The astute business person has to be on the improvement trail every day. Gone are the days for a business person to sit back and improve nothing. The key is getting customers to return and buy more of your products and recommend you to others to increase the traffic to your store. Ensuring these customers refer your business is a daily challenge to say the least. The answer is to invest in customer service training. Learning all about it becomes a wise business strategy. Which type of training and more to the point how do you identify which training won’t waste your money? The business owner should review the training in terms of money, time and what results can be expected. These three elements should be considered separately but in line with the overall business strategic plan. Even though customer service training is essential you must still watch what is being offered. Business coaches are a great way to provide hands on training but watch the cost and what you will get in return. Pick someone with a great reputation who has the runs on the board. Be careful of charlatans they are everywhere. Always look at training from the point of view of multi-skilling. Do not be the only person who is able to do a particular job. Ensure that others are trained in varying skills. This includes customer service. It is a false sense of reasoning if you contemplate whether or not to train with the attitude that it is faster and more accurately to do the job yourself. This thinking is the way of the snail slow, but sure failure in time. Time is a critical resource. If you don’t have the time to train, then that is why you must invest in training. When evaluating customer retention training you should begin with the expected outcomes if you truly desire organizational success. The other component of customer service is your staff. If you have someone who does not have the personality for dealing with customers, put them elsewhere in your business or get rid of them. The biggest killer of customer service is not the customer or their concern but the person who represents you and your business and the way the customer’s concern is handled. Ignore this at your peril. The way to identify the right personality is to ask others in your business who the nicest person is at work. Evaluate if this person is capable of being trained. If so, that’s your person who should be in customer service. About the author Dan Cavalli is an entrepreneur and expert on small-business success. He teaches customer service, essential marketing tactics and sales techniques. Get your copy of Dan’s free subscription for Business and Personal Development Tips at http://www.commandobusiness.com or for your free 5 day mini-course on “How to Get More Sales in 5 Days or Less” go to http://www.leadbuildingsystems.com |