In a BLR webinar titled “Customer Service: How to Build a Culture of Exceptional Service in Your Organization,” Gregory P. Smith, CEO of Chart Your Course International, described the success of Zappos, whose gross sales steadily and rapidly increased from 2000 to 2008 largely based on word-of-mouth and customer service.
The lessons learned from Zappos include:
- Focus on the culture.
- Know what makes people happy.
- Be part of something bigger than yourself.
Zappos also values:
- Autonomy
- Transparent communications and all hands on deck
- Training and continuous learning
- Progression plans and internal mobility
An organizational alignment should begin with a purpose that includes vision, mission, and values. From there, strategic planning and customer focus can advance toward talent management and process management, which ultimately lead to results.
Did you know that it could cost you 5 times as much to win a new customer than to keep a current one? That is why it is so important that you provide your customer service team with the skills they need to provide excellent service. Get Free Access to 20+ Customer Service Training Courses here.
When results have been achieved, it’s important to maintain pride in management via:
- Positive workplace
- Reward/recognition enforcement
- Involvement
- Development and education
- Continuous evaluation and improvement
According to a Gallup poll reported in Fortune (January 24, 2005), customers that are “emotionally connected” to a store spend 46% more than a customer that is satisfied but not emotionally bonded with the store.
Here are some key service training points:
- Successfully complete customer service training.
- Enter and exit all customer interactions on the human (personal) level.
- Treat all customers with dignity and respect.
- Make the workplace enjoyable. Smile and maintain positive eye contact.
- Use the customer’s last name whenever possible and first name when invited.
- Respond to the customer’s unspoken requests.
- Always use open-ended questions with customers. Say, “How may I help you?”
- Personally escort customers whenever possible rather than point and tell.
- Answer the telephone within three rings. Include the company name or department and your name in your greeting. Show enthusiasm.
The Training Today—Customer Service Library includes everything you need for your customer service team to provide world-class service. In today’s environment, it is more important than ever to build loyal relationships with your customers and a better working environment for your employees. Get Free Access to 20+ Customer Service Training Courses here.
Gregory P. Smith is a dynamic leadership speaker, author, and change agent. He combines story and strategy to teach audiences how to create great places to work that manage change in the workplace and, growth and drive innovation. As CEO of Chart Your Course International, Greg helps executives and business owners with managing change and transforming themselves into best places to work that attract customers, drive employee retention, employee engagement, and greater job satisfaction. He works in partnership with business executives and delivers a portfolio of employee development strategies and leadership transformation strategies that produce measurable results by strengthening the performance and productivity of individual employees and the organization as a whole.
Need help staying on top of critical HR and Compensation issues? See all the webinars BLR® has to offer.
In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll focus on training employees to give their coworkers great service, and we’ll showcase an entire online library of ready-to-use, interactive customer service training courses.