Marketing and selling in tough economic conditions:

Providing excellent customer service

Series by : Prasanna PERERA Marketing and Management Consultant, Chartered Marketer, CIM U.K

In a difficult economic environment, retaining customers is a challenge. The best method of retaining customers is to provide excellent service in a consistent manner. Quite often, organizations forget that service is a key differentiator. Hence in this article, my endeavour is to provide some tips on how to provide excellent customer service.

Customer or Consumer?

When providing service are we referring to customers or consumers or both. Basically, it is worthwhile differentiating between the two. Consumers are end users of a product or service.

Customers are intermediaries, who may or may not be the end user of a product or service. For the purpose of this article I will refers to both as "Customers." (In any case both customers and consumers have to be provided excellent service).

Customer satisfaction vs customer delight

Customer satisfaction refers to meeting customer expectations. Customer Delight is when you exceed customer expectations. Can you satisfy customers all the time? The answer is yes, because if not, you will lose the customer. How about Customer Delight? Can you delight customers all the time? The answer is no. Why? Delighting customers requires extra effort and hence resources. Further, when you delight a customer, the customer expects the service to be repeated, which is not practically and economically possible.

Hence, when delighting customers they should be informed that they are receiving something extra, which cannot be given all the time.

When should customers be delighted?

I have been asked this question many times, at different fora. The answer is straightforward i.e. when the customer is in a difficult situation and desperately needs help.

For example, providing an upgrade to a passenger who is unable to secure an economy class seat to attend the funeral of a loved one. Another occasion when delighting should be practised is when a service error has been made and the customer is dis-satisfied. For example, a restaurant has bungled a table reservation.

Something must be done to compensate the mistake and if possible go a step further to exceed the guests expectations.

Why do organizations need to delight their customers?

The bottom-line is to retain them and avoid churn. (defections). We are operating in markets, where competitive pressures are intense. Hence, delighting customers needs to be done more frequently than in the past.

What is the role of "employees" in customer service?

Employees are first and foremost "Internal Customers." You cannot expect your employees to provide excellent service to external customers, if they are unhappy and dis-satisfied. Hence, employees should be treated well and motivated. As a famous business personality once said, "If you treat your employees well, they will take care of your customers." How many organizations can truthfully say that they treat their employees well and consider them as internal customers?

Is customer care the same as customer service?

No, they are different but inter-related. Customer service is about handling a service encounter. Customer care goes beyond that and refers to managing a long term relationship for the benefit of the customer. "Care" is a powerful word. You cannot care for someone, without love, affection and commitment. The starting point of customer care is to handle customer service encounters effectively.

What is a customer touch-point?

Touch-points are interaction points between an organization and its customers. Take for example an airline. There are many points that passengers interact with the airline staff.

These are "touch-points", which if handled well, creates "moments of magic" or alternatively "moments of hell." The choice is yours. An organization would do well to map out the touch-points and provide excellent service, to create memorable experiences.

Do all customer expect excellent service?

Broadly yes. However, the term "excellent" may be interpreted differently, by different customers. Hence, it is important to research your customers, to find out what excellent service means to them. Once this is done, your job is to deliver it constantly.

Are customers willing to trade off price with service?

Yes to some extent. But no customer will put up with shoddy service, however low the price is. Take for example "Budget Airlines." In principle customers expect lower standards of service, since they are paying a lower price. But they do expect politeness, safety standards, good food and a guaranteed seat. The message is clear - there is no place for shoddy service in the world of business today. Basic service standards have to be maintained.

How are customer service standards in Sri Lanka?

I have been asked this question many times. It is a tricky question to answer, but needs to be addressed. In general my view is that customer service standards are improving, but there is more that needs to be done. The problem in Sri Lanka is the lackadaisical attitude of people, which flows down into the workplace.

Another problem is that employees are not treated well, resulting in them not caring about customers.

If the Sri Lanka economy is to develop, providing excellent customer service is a must, across all industries and businesses. For this to happen, attitudinal development is essential, which is not an easy thing to accomplish. The good news is that an effort is made by certain organizations but it needs to be broadened.

Any examples of world class customer service?

Many examples. Singapore Airlines has been acknowledged as an airline that is synonymous for service.

Ritz Carlton is undoubtedly the best in service when hospitality providers are concerned. We must not forget Disney for providing memorable experiences in entertainment. The National University of Singapore (NUS) is very professional in the way customer service is provided.

A few quotes to sign off :

"You start with good people, you train and motivate them, you give them an opportunity to advance, then the organization succeeds." J W Bill Marriott Jr. Chairman, Marriott International."

Everything, animate and inanimate, speaks to customers. Not only does everything speak, it also acts upon customers. Disney Institute