What is Customer Service? 16 Ideas…

Customer Service is most relevant today. How does it apply to your team?

Customer Service Training

In a recent training session, I asked staff from a newly formed group of companies: “What is Customer Service?” There were at least 16 ideas that were shared:

1. Customer Service is about making sure that customers feel welcomed, appreciated and worth. They should feel valued. We do that by a friendly smile, greeting and a positive attitude.
2. Customers are the reason why we exist and remain in business. Peter Drucker has said, “The purpose of being in business is to keep a customer” Profit is a business objective – not purpose – and follows our purpose or mission.
3. The Customer is King. Whilst this may seem cliché, it is true that it is the customer who pays our salary. Our boss merely does the payment or EFT into our account.
4. Customer Service is about good communication. If you don’t communicate, how shall you inform, educate and persuade customers?
5. Customer Service is about satisfying customer needs. Some will say exceeding expectations or delighting the customer.
6. Customer Service is about being prompt. Speed and being quick matter.
7. Price can play an important role in customer expectations, although price is not the same as value (see point 16)
8. Customer Service is about being creative. It is about being playful, appealing to the right brain, heart or emotions of customers.
9. Customer Service can be linked to Quality principles e.g. “Meet specifications or requirements”
10. Customer Service is about Quality, and quality is “in the eye of the beholder” and perception. Perceptions matter.
11. Customer Service means that we should not discriminate. Non discriminatory based on “race, religion, creed, beliefs, appearance, a low paying customer, a high paying customer, disabilities, language and more”
12. Customer Service is about having standards, policies, procedures and protocols to assure the customer is satisfied.
13. Customer Service is about gaining customer loyalty. How do we keep customers loyal?
14. Customer Service is about Advertising and Marketing
15. Customer Service is about your product and service. Why do some sell more, and some less? Why are some spoken of and recommended more, or used more than others? What competitive advantages does yours have?
16. Customer Service is about Value. It’s more than price… it’s what is built into the price that the customer perceives. “Price is what you pay, value is what you get”

Perhaps mostly importantly, Customer Service is about Attitudes. This is the human advantage your company can possess over another, and bring about changes needed in difficult and competitive times. Customer Service is also a Strategy that leads to more sales, security and success in the team.