Customer Service is a Profit Center
Austin, Texas: After being put on hold by my cable provider for nearly 40 minutes, only to then be disconnected-- it got me really thinking about how big a mistake poor customer service is.
The weakest link theory applies to customer service, as well.
Your organization works hard. You train hard. Your marketing team and sales team delivers.
But unfortunately, if a complaint then arises, too often it is not heard by a party that truly wants to resolve the situation.
Many times a client just wants to vent-- and hear a simple apology. By simply acknowledging how delivery or something might have let them down, that is often all the customer may want to hear.
Other times, it may be a persistent issue that management needs to hear about. Whether it is a product flaw, deliverability problems, personnel issues, etc. -- it is best to learn of these short comings and to adjust, fix and or pivot. ignoring these issues can damage your reputation-- so they must be addressed.
We look at every complaint as an opportunity to grow as a company - and as an additional touchpoint with the client that can leave a positive feeling.
How we deal with problems when they come up (and every business has problems come up from time to time) -- is directly proportionate to how we retain our customers - and whether or not they refer us to other clients.
If you look at customer service as only a cost center, you will be missing a tremendous opportunity of improving your business and satisfying customer needs moving forward.
How are you handling customer complaints?
Are you listening to your service team to hear of patterns that may need addressing? We have monthly meetings with our customer service team to hear about each call or email, how it was handled, listen to suggestions, ask for constructive opinions and to try to detect patterns so we can nip them in the bud -- before they fester.
Fix your customer service team and you will increase sales and referrals. It is that simple.
