Reasons For Using Customer Service Policies Marketing Essay

Introduction

Maintaining customers’ satisfaction with the service they get helps an organisation construct and promote a priceless status for loyalty and quality performance. The results of service-based contacts in a straight line manipulate the awareness that the customer has of the product or service and the business itself. It is very important to help workforce increase service strategies that create an optimistic reflection, correspond successfully, and put together customer relationship to support the fundamental principles and philosophy of an organisation.

Customers love and cherish businesses that take care of them the way they want to be treated. They will even pay more to get excellent service. Survey statistics that prove the point:

Customers spend up to 10% more for the same product with better service.

A customer will tell anywhere from 9 to 12 people when he or she gets good quality service.

When that customer receives deprived service, he or she will tell up to 20 people!

So, how well you correspond and set up a bond with your consumers is the spirit of customer service. This liaison does not have to take a long time, it can often happen in a moment. E.g. your consumers will feel more acknowledged (and thus more related) if they receive warm welcome and are addressed by name. Easy actions such as these keep customers coming back for long. It undoubtedly pays to satisfy!

When employees are given the proper training and support, they are provided the necessary tools to achieve success. This collection of training activities, assessment tools, practical tips, and recommended techniques will provide a variety of opportunities to strengthen the capabilities and effectiveness of customer service representatives. They are designed to challenge employees to beat their personal best and constantly strive to improve skills and output. Remember, a properly trained and well-informed staff will help deliver a winning performance that keeps both internal and external customers satisfied. These interventions will help them stay focused, enthusiastic, motivated, and efficient.

Reasons for using customer service policies

Customer service matters because everybody in every organisation:

Either helps customers directly

Or helps colleagues (internal customers) who serve the paying customer

This policy applies for following businesses:

Commercial companies supplying goods or services

Public sector utilities

Central and local government departments

Voluntary organisations

Businesses and non-profit organisations need:

Sustainable competitive advantage: rival businesses might easily match your prices or products, but will find it harder to infuse the business with an outstanding customer service ethic

To be profitable: good customer service frees the company from the downward spiral of competing on price because people will pay more for great service

A productive, stress-free work environment: great customer service means happier customers, happier team members and less conflict at work

Cost-efficiency: satisfying customers first time means less money is wasted taking complaints and correcting mistakes – particularly important in public sector organisations where there is no obvious profit to track, but there can be a lot of hidden wastage

A good reputation: important for attracting future customers and investors, and essential for the credibility of non-profit organisations

Today how we deliver our products and services is as important as what they are. Competing goods and services do not differ greatly from each other, so customers will choose where to shop based on the service they get. Before they consider spending any money, customers will already know whether they trust us and like us. They will have judged what we look like, what we sound like and how responsive we are. They will have seen how we treat other customers. Often customers can only judge quality based on the service they get. How can a patient judge a doctor’s competence or a litigant assess the skills of their legal counsel? How can a novice tell whether a computer is right for them? They all depend on a service that inspires confidence and shows attention to their needs.

Assessing the quality of customer service in a business

There are most common methods now a day’s uses by the organisations or authorities, MCM (Mystery Customer Measurement) or MCS (Mystery Customer Standard), SAS (Serious About Service), and MS (Mystery Shopper). They all have single intention to conduct such survey. They are getting paid to inspect the service and standard set by the organisation are working well. As we know customer comes first, staffs must meet the all service and standard criteria. First impression is the best impression, is our shop well standard? Are we giving 100% service? We need to greet a customer with smile, making eye contact, listen to them carefully, take them to the product, offer alternative if unavailable, less queue on the checkout; staffs are presentable and keeping standard etc. Customers always look for good service, if they get it right they will keep coming back. Well, assume we are customers, will expect all the above service or standard from a business as we pay.

Purpose of evaluating the performance of customer service policy and how can assist staff training & development

It is very important to evaluate the performance of a customer service policy was set. We need to monitor the outcome of it and take immediate actions accordingly. As we said earlier, need to make sure customers are satisfied, to do so we must evaluate the current situation. We may need to find out the pros and cons from it, take initiative where necessary, it may include improve customer service or standard. Staffs should be fully aware of any service promise; they should be trained to making sure the service requirements. First of all, we need to find out the problems and then give remedy on those problems. So, evaluating is a must needed tool to give training for the staffs to develop their skills and giving customer excellent service. On the other hand able to bring some change in the policy if necessary, and good for all.

2.1 Communication types and their usefulness

Communicating with customer is very important in terms of customer service. There are many types communications exist:

E-mail

Message

Letter

Leaflet

Advertisement; TV, radio and newspaper

Feedback forms

Telephone etc.

Communications play a vital role in any businesses or organisations. Good communication can make sure good business. If we are not good at communication we can not satisfy customers’ needs, could be misguided or offering wrong product or service. In this case, customers will be unhappy and may not come back causing harm for the business. We will need to demonstrate understanding of what the customer tells you, and you’ll be looking for clues that the customer has understood what we have said as well.

Good communication is:

â- Appropriate to the medium: If you need to discuss a lengthy report, e-mail might be best so that you can insert comments in the report. If you need to discuss something which customers feel strongly about, it’s better to arrange to meet them or to speak to them. Don’t get locked into using one communication channel if it is no longer the best way to deal with a particular enquiry.

â- Appropriate to the customer’s level of knowledge: Do not use abbreviations or jargon they don’t understand, or waste their time explaining in great detail what they already know.

â- Clear and concise: Do not be blunt, but do get to the point when we are talking, and do delete anything that doesn’t clarify your message when you’re writing.

â- Friendly: Be approachable and interested in customers and use their name when you know it. Retailers often see customers’ names when they pay by credit card, and in business-to-business trade it’s increasingly common to use first names when dealing with people.

â- Convenient for both parties: Before starting a lengthy conversation, check whether the other person has time for it, or ask to schedule time. Do not let the communication suffer because one person needs to hurry it. To communicate well, we will need to develop listening skills and writing skills.

2.2 Central role of the customer in a business and service environment

We are running a business to provide service for the customers. If there is no customer there is no sale there in no profit!