5 Most Important Steps to Improving Customer Service

First impressions have the power to make or break sales opportunities in service-oriented organizations. With an excellent interaction, customers are more likely to make an initial purchase, become a loyal customer and refer a business' solutions to others. A bad experience, on the other hand, drives customers to the competition.

Given the huge impact on a company's success, AnswerNow outlined how to boost customer service in its latest white paper titled "5 Most Important Steps to Improving Customer Service." The document provides industry research highlighting the enormous costs of bad service, along with the dependable tactics you can use to ensure your business doesn't miss the boat when it comes to making good on customer expectations.

The Impact of Lost Customers

A company's call center is the major player in service delivery. It has the power to develop and maintain favorable customer impressions for the company and its solutions. Conversely, just one bad service encounter can cause a hit to your bottom line. For example, it costs far more to replace customers than it does to retain them. According to findings reported in a Parature Customer Service blog, poor service encounters cost U.S. companies approximately $83 billion each year!

Tried-and-True Tactics for Stellar Customer Service

Fortunately, businesses have several ways to elevate service levels. The top five things you should do to improve customer service and protect your financial well being include:

1. Establish a solid "front line" for your business.
You don't want to water-down the efforts of your support teams. So, consider transferring front-line duties to a call center provider. Then, you don't have to risk escalating costs and plummeting profitability because you don't have adequate resources to serve your customers.

2. Lower your customer service wait times to a bare minimum.
Nobody likes to waste time on hold for service. If your customers are waiting long periods, you're causing their frustration to build and increasing the odds the encounter will be less than positive. To ensure interactions have the best opportunity to get off on the right foot, you can outsource customer service to an experienced call center with the expertise and technology to answer calls within seconds.

3. Utilize contact services centers to assist with call volume during peak periods.
If your call volume fluctuates, you must address service levels during peak calling hours. Otherwise, the bottleneck created from backed-up calls can turn into a service nightmare. Investing in additional customer service personnel is an expensive option. Why hire additional service reps when you really only need additional staffing during certain times? Instead, you can maintain service levels and keep costs down by relying on an outsourced call center to handle the overload.

4. Provide live chat support.
In today's online world, customers expect services such as live chat. A chat application is an economical way to raise service levels and reduce costs. It's much cheaper to "talk" with a customer online than it is to participate in a phone conversation. And for those customers who don't want to waste time on the phone, chat is a perfect solution for addressing their needs.

5. Create a company-wide culture around customer service.
A customer-centric organization lives and breathes service. The customer service culture is highly valued and engrained throughout the organization, from top to bottom. And when the company's leaders set the right example, the rest of the organization follows suit.

You need your existing customers to help your business grow and prosper. Therefore, make sure you do everything to support them at the highest levels so you can count on long-term relationships and positive word-of-mouth. Every company should set a goal to deliver "WOW" customer service in each encounter. By doing so, you'll build stronger brand loyalty, create deeper customer engagements and be on target to achieve your overall business goals.

Working with AnswerNow

By partnering with AnswerNow, companies ensure a results-driven first impression on each and every customer interaction. Businesses of all sizes and types leverage AnswerNow's real-time accessibility and highly trained team members. Our focus remains on reducing costs and contributing to profitable growth. Companies can expect a WOW customer experience and measurable returns in our contact call centers.

AnswerNow solutions offer:

* A multi-touch contact center with bilingual engagement 24/7/365
* Full service staffing and training
* Quality assurance and recorded interactions
* Immediate data access that leads to actionable information
* Sophisticated reporting to identify trending and alerts
* Customizable applications for all service types and levels
* Personalized service and dedicated account management
* Demand forecasting and overflow
* A branded extension of a company's in-house team

By Michelle Weiss

Michelle Weiss is Vice President of AnswerNow, a premiere answering service and bilingual call center service provider. Learn more about Call Center Services by visiting http://www.answernowinc.com/.

Customer Service - Tips On The Best Way To Treat People

Customer service is a key component for any business that wants to remain relevant and build long-term relationships. The biggest challenge for most business owners is developing a consistent way to reach and provide great service to their clients while continuing to operate the business on a day to day basis.

One way to keep customers is to clearly explain to your staff the service expectations that you expect them to implement. It can be as simple as purposely making eye contact with customers and smiling at them, the way everyone in your company answers the phone, to the level of empowerment your staff has in working in the best interest of the customer and how to handle customer complaints.

Your business can have the perfect products and services, offer the best prices, provide excellent customer service and you'll still end up with an unhappy client. How will you deal with the complaints is crucial to the health and reputation of your business.

As a basic rule, everybody knows that whenever a potential customer is interested in a business for various reasons, they will reach for the customer service. The way the representative will assist the customer will further develop the business or the business is repelled. Or, for instance if a customer is not satisfied with a service or an issue is there to be taken care of they will turn towards customer service representative.

Please keep in mind as a more advanced strategy this is not about finding out what customers liked about your service, would they buy again, etc., but about who they are, what are the primary issues in their business, who are their competitors, what are their major concerns, and so on. Knowledge is gathered to predict what your key customers might want and need, that they could buy from you which in turn keeps them more competitive and more loyal to you.

When a business clearly defines its customer service culture in its mission statement, values and goals, great things can happen. The right words inspire, motivate and encourage people to achieve excellence. A lot of effort is made by companies operating in customer service environment to ensure that along with the products that they are selling; they are also able to provide a wonderful and world class experience to their end users so that they continue to do business with them.

By Colon Bolden

Colon Bolden is a full time internet marketer who works with other industry leading internet marketers from around the globe. He specializes in helping families build full time home businesses on the internet quickly and with leverage. For more information on leveraging massive team work and online success, visit => ROI Unlimited

Custom Services Marketing: Is Your Business Leaving Money On The Table?

Custom services marketing continues to meet the demand of a growing market starving for more personal service. In an impersonal world, where most people are numbers, statistics or ratios, people crave more personal service.

There's a growing demand for services that can meet individual needs. Are taking advantage of this growing demand? If not, make sure you read this message carefully. Why? Because if you're not taking advantage of this demand for customized service, you're leaving money on the table.

As this recession tightens it's grip on global economies, companies who ignore custom service marketing will have to close. No longer can businesses ignore consumers individual needs and expect to prosper.

A glaring example is the American auto industry, who failed to react to the changing demands of their customers. If you're a small business you have a powerful advantage over your larger competitors. Are you using this advantage to your benefit?Â
If you're smaller, leaner and meaner you can change, adapt and adjust much faster than your larger competitions. This is an enormous advantage, especially in a recession. The key is to find out what your target markets current needs are. The quickest and most effective way to do this is:

1. Surveys.
2. Questionnaires.
3. Personal Contact Interviews.

In a recession peoples buying habits can stop, turn and even reverse on a dime. Now it takes a business who can do that with their target market. Those who fail will soon stand scratching their heads and wondering where their customers went.

When the truth is their customers still exist, but they failed to adjust to their customers changing buying habits, needs and demands. As a result they failed to provide the customized services to meet the needs and demands of their target customers.

Customized service marketing helps you keep a closer hand on your target markets pulse. Often the business who fails is often the last one to know their target customers buying habits have changed. The business who succeeds is often the first one to know, even before their customers.

Today's savvy buyers are more educated and demanding that ever before. Therefore, the days of the cookie-cutter and one size fits all products and services is slowly going the way of the buggy whip.
The successful products and services of the future will come from companies who focus on catering to their customers individual tastes and needs.

Find little ways to customize your products and services to meet the individual needs of your customers. Why? Because it's also an effective way to build customer loyalty.
Personally, the companies I gravitate back to are the ones who know my individual tastes and bend over backwards to meet them. Don't you? In fact, I'll drive past similar companies to go to one on the other side of town that meets my individual needs.

In the past, people expected to pay extra for custom services and products. But as the business climate grows more crowded and competitive, customized products and services will come with the territory. The businesses who can provide it will have an edge over those who can't or won't.

Shame on the business or person who ignores the individual needs of their customers. They'll soon have to step aside and make room for the business or person that fills the personal needs of their customers. Why?

Because customers continue demanding customized services more and more. Are you preparing to meet the demand? If not, your customers will eventually find the business or person who does.

By Roy Primm.

TheNicheMan.com - Get the free Market Niche couse everyone is talking about.

Create A Vision For Your Customer Service Training

During a cold winter season, smart organizations get busy preparing for spring.

One way to prepare is to create (or confirm) a clear and motivating vision of what you want to become. Back this vision up with customer service training and other measures and you can transform your business

for the better. Your engaging service vision is one of the "12 Building Blocks for a Superior Service Culture" we teach at UP Your Service! College. This vision can serve as a guiding light for customer service

training and to focus your efforts now and in the future.

1. Why do I need an engaging service vision to assist with customer service training?

An engaging service vision is fundamental. It gives people a sense of purpose, value and meaning. It provides a platform on which to build customer service training programs.

An engaging service vision is inspiring. It arouses feelings of ambition, enthusiasm and commitment that lasts well beyond customer service training.

An engaging service vision gives direction. It provides an unmistakable idea of what is sought, and what is not, delivering valuable customer service training in the process.

Many organizations have some statement of commitment to service. And most of these statements fall flat and do nothing to bolster customer service training.

An engaging service vision captivates attention. It is distinctive, motivating and clear. It is unique, and powerful, and yours.

Customers should hear your vision and say, Yes! That is who you are.

Staff members should read your vision and say, Yes! That is who we want to be.

2. Why should my service vision be different from others?

How do you want to be known? Why are you different from the competition? What makes you stand out from the crowd?

Promising "excellent service" is no longer enough to interest customers or staff. Excellence sounds good, but you intend to be excellent at what? A vision guides your actions, customer service training and can even

mold your future.

Discover the style of service your customers value most, then craft an engaging service vision to address and fulfill their needs.

For example, excellent service in a hospital should be warm and caring, but that's not what you want at a computer store or car wash. You need a unique vision to guide customer service training for your distinct

business.

Some restaurants are known to be elegant and expensive, but that's not what most customers want when the whole family goes out for dinner.

A leading Roads and Transport Authority promises "Smooth and Safe Transportation for All."

Think smooth roads and railways, but also smooth licensing procedures. Think safe travel, but also safe handling of your personal details and data.

The Raffles Hotel has a mission statement that includes this vision: "...delighting patrons with many memorable experiences." People go to Raffles for good times and great memories, and Raffles staff members are

delighted to make them happen. The vision backs up customer service training for the unique environment.

Wipro, a world class IT services provider from India, who caters to both domestic and international markets, promises to be the "Proactive Value Adding Service Partner" of choice.

Their customers get new ideas from a company they can partner with for the future, not just a low cost vendor who only meets minimum specifications. This vision guides customer service training and inspire staff

to perform.

Singapore Airlines has a tag line that sets an extraordinary standard: "Service even other airlines talk about." Annual service awards praise those who go beyond the call of duty to make this tag line real. Customer

service training programs back up the vision and help reinforce it.

Xerox Emirates promises to be "Much Better than Expected." They are always coming up with new ways to surprise their customers and excite their staff.

The Japanese have twenty different words for "quality," each with a different meaning: craftsmanship, design, durability, efficient use of materials, packaging, power consumption, presentation and more.

Your customers have as many different words and meanings for "excellent customer service". Which ones are right for you?

3. What guidelines should I follow when writing an engaging service vision?

Create a mantra to motivate your team and incorporate it into everything from daily work life to customer service training. Your engaging service vision must be easy to remember and act upon, even in a crisis.

Mantra means "a tool for thinking". Make sure yours really works and incorporate it into your customer service training.

Align to the core values of your brand. The service vision of "UP Your Service! College" is: "A world where people are educated and inspired to excel in service, to customers and to one another." This is consistent

with our core values of Personal Responsibility, Continuous Improvement and Abundant Generosity (among others). Does your service vision match and magnify your values?

Align to your customers' values. A budget airline says "We make flying fun!" Their customers want safe and inexpensive flights from point A to B. But they value an experience that doesn't make air travel a chore,

even on a low cost airline. By sharing jokes with passengers, being playful with each other and even singing songs, crew members add value for customers without raising costs. They make their own work lives

more enjoyable, too.

Be clearly understood throughout the organization. An engaging service vision must make sense for those in the front office and the back office and at every level from top to bottom. Use clear and practical

language, not theoretical and intellectual prose. Be sure to reinforce the organization's vision through customer service training.

Easily translate into action. When you hear an engaging service vision, you know what it means and you can figure out what to do. If someone reads your vision and asks "What does that mean?", then keep

working. When they say "I get it. Let's do it!", then your vision is already in action.

Keep your vision up front. Put it on the wall and website. Put it in the wallet of every employee. Print it on your stationary. Pin it on your chest. Record it on your voice mail. Store it on your screen saver. Bring it

up in every message, meeting and conversation. Use it in your customer service training.

Finally, make your vision a challenge. Meeting expectations and complying with specifications will not turn your people on. You need bolder language to drive them UP and onwards. Your vision should challenge

and offer a lesson in customer service training on its own.

A teacher was told that a few of her students had exceptionally high intelligence. Naturally she expected them to excel. Although their IQ was in fact similar to other students, those few performed much better.

You are the teacher of your team and the principal of your future. What service performance do you want? What expectations do you require?

Make your service vision a challenge your team will deliver. Include your vision in your customer service training to help send the message home.

By Ron Kaufman

UpYourService

Ron Kaufman is the world's leading educator and motivator for upgrading customer service and uplifting service culture. He is author of the bestselling "UP! Your Service" books and founder of UP! Your Service. To enjoy more customer service training and service culture articles, visit UpYourService.com

Sales Training - Four Poor Sales Skills Not to Ignore!

Procrastination, like a car's noises, is sometimes only heard on occasion for salespeople and independent professionals. Because it may be infrequent, the temptation to ignore it is big. What potential selling noises are you possibly ignoring?

Take procrastination, a noise similar to applying the brakes on your vehicle. You plan your day the evening before or the morning of and then you just cannot make those follow up calls or those get acquainted calls. You reason with yourself why. Before to long, way too many days go by and it's the end of the week. Now you complain about not having enough business. Procrastination, like brake noises in a car, needs a check up. Get to the heart of your procrastination, then implement the best remedy to get moving again. Whatever you do, just get started on doing at least one thing!

Does your sales presentation squeal? Like a loose belt squealing noise which is heard only when the engine is running, you can only hear your presentation squealing when you either debrief a call or record a presentation. If you are too focused on yourself, your products or your services, then your presentation can squeal a prospect right off of the road! Unless you get some self-assessment or feedback from a sales coach or sales manager, you won't know about the squeals. Use techniques and skills that keep you talking more about the customer and create less noise.

Sales follow up can be noisy just like noise you might hear when turning a car around a corner. How noisy is your follow-up? Since 80% of salespeople don't follow up after up to a third contact, this noise is a difficult one to diagnose. From a recent survey I read, here's how it breaks down: 34% feel like they are bothering people so they don't follow up; 32% have a hit or miss process; 14.9% say they are too busy with other things, and just 17% say they persist with a series of planned actions. Just like driving a car, turning corners in sales follow up is necessary, as most of your sales are realized in the follow-up process. Your lack of follow up is a must action to pay attention to.

Creating a lost sales strategy can help from falling into a sales slump. Tim Connor, sales trainer since 1973, suggests that a lost sales strategy is an often overlooked sales skill. Central to his strategy is an attitude to treat lost clients like new prospects. What might happen driving in a pre-owned car if you didn't have regular maintenance? Like with a car, soon enough things might come to a halt. If you don't analyze why you lost a sale, if you don't take a lesson away from a loss, and if you don't reframe the loss to something positive for yourself, then your car will slow down some day to just die at the side of a road! A lost sales strategy can help improve your sales overall.

Pay attention to the sounds of procrastination, listen for too many me-centered presentations, watch out for lack of follow up and be careful to ensure that you have a no lost sales strategy in place. These skills may not be found in every sales training program, but you if you want to accelerate your sales results you seriously need to develop them.


By Patricia Weber
http://patriciaweber.blogspot.com