Customer Service Can Differentiate a Company in a Competitive Environment

Customer service is a lot more than just giving service.  That may sound odd at first, but customer service is not just an act of doing something a customer has requested.  True service is a marketing strategy which can differentiate a company in a competitive environment.  It is a way to create quality within the company which leads to new customers and higher customer retention.

When you talk about customer service, it may be tempting to focus primarily only on what has been defined in your company manual.  As a manager, you teach your staff the procedures and then spend your time insuring they are followed.  The problem is this is not quality service which necessarily benefits the customer or the company.

You can think of it in this manner.  Your manual may dictate when a customer can return a product and how the staff is to handle the request.  But simply processing the return of the product does not necessarily tell you why the customer wants to return it, how the product could be enhanced so the customer would not want to return it, nor whether the customer was satisfied with the return process.

In a successful company, customer service is much more than a set of actions.  It is a focus on the customer and what the customer wants in the way of service.  In other words, the customer defines customer service.  This looks at customer service from the viewpoint of the customer and not from management.  Customer service desires should flow upward to the company and then downward as a management response to customer needs.

Service Brands a Company

Branding a company is a process whereby the company name, image, products, and service are differentiated in the minds of existing and potential customers.  Many people choose a business based on brand recognition because they have found reliability and quality in what the company has to offer on all levels from product offerings to customer service.

High quality customer service enhances company branding.  It is amazing how many businesses lose customers because one employee in the call centre was having a bad day and failed to give good service.  It is also amazing how often companies fail to gather critical information from customers which can be used to enhance current service levels.  The customer does not forget when treated poorly or made to feel as if needs are not important, and in fact will share their experience and feelings with friends and family.  In their minds the brand becomes associated with poor customer service even if the product is of the highest quality.

In a competitive environment, providing true customer service can be the defining strategy which differentiates the company.  True or high quality customer service is a lot more than just implementing procedures.  Customer service training teaches staff how to listen to customers, extract the customer’s real needs during contact, convert those needs into management information for decision making purposes, and implement service tactics which meet those needs.  It is an ongoing cycle that begins and ends with the customer.

Quality Customer Relationships

Businesses need an influx of new customers on a regular basis and high customer retention in order to be successful.  In the best of times it is customer service which often becomes the deciding factor when someone is trying to decide between one company and its competitors.  In difficult economic times, offering quality customer service can actually be the company feature which leads to its very survival.

Excellent customer service includes the following.

• Creates a customer sense of ownership in or commitment to the company
• Inspires confidence in the company, its products, and its ability to meet customer needs
• Identifies customer needs or requirements
• Reflects company commitment to meeting customer needs

Through business training, company staff can learn how to integrate the concepts of exceptional customer service within the business structure.  This training can lead to more satisfied customers, improved branding, and a company better able to differentiate itself in a highly competitive environment.

In other words, customer service creates customer relationships so people return again and again.

How Customer Service Can Differentiate a Business

There was a manager who insisted that published company performance standards be met when it came to handling certain customer complaints. The problem was the customer was not satisfied with the results even though the standards had been met. This is a typical case of what happens when a company becomes regimented and fails to see the importance of customer satisfaction as opposed to rigid reporting against in-house performance measures.

In other words, a company exists to please customers through products sold and service, or services sold only. Companies which sell products still must provide good after-sale services in order to build a loyal customer base. Customers have certain standards in mind whenever they choose to do business with a particular company. How well you meet the customer’s standards as opposed to company set standards is the ultimate survival test for an organisation.

Training management and staff to understand this important difference is crucial to the long term profitability of a company. A customer may be primarily interested in the product reliability or is looking for a company which provides good service once the sale is completed. There is an old Beatles song which says, “All you need is love…” That is what a company wants their customers to feel like after any contact with the business…..loved.

Customer Ownership

Businesses used to create intense feelings of brand loyalty among customers. They did this by providing exceptional customer service that made the customer feel as if he or she is a partner in the business. The customer experience should result in feelings that include a sense of ownership and a desire for the company to succeed so products and services remain available.

In this age of impersonal internet selling and telephone service, developing a corporate culture which promotes this sense of brand loyalty is more important than ever. When a customer has developed this high level of loyalty, even problems with the product or services are more tolerated because the customer believes the company will handle such complaints appropriately and fairly.

Training company staff to handle all matters with customers in a way that is actually “brand loyalty selling” is one of the most important steps a company can take if it hopes to remain viable and competitive. Company staff must know how to respond to customer complaints, provide high quality direct selling service, and be able to always keep the overall organisation’s mission in mind.

A company that has a highly trained staff and well organized customer service functions is able to differentiate itself in a very competitive environment. By understanding the goals of high quality customer service, it doesn’t matter if contact with customers is through impersonal means such as the internet or through phone calls. Customers really don’t care how you contact them as much as they care about what you do once contact has been made.

An Adaptive Environment

Customer service is not a static principle. You cannot set up a customer service department and workflows and then never make changes. Organisational staff needs change. Customer requirements change. The marketplace changes. Technology changes. A business must create an adaptive environment which encourages company personnel to take leadership roles and the company should respond accordingly.

It all begins with a business mission which is then supported through effective staff training.