July 20, 2023
"Good customer service costs less than bad customer service."
— Sally Gronow
The key to great customer service is having a customer-centric focus. If your team understands that your purpose is more than selling insurance, pouring concrete, or making sandwiches, but that first and foremost your goal is building relationships, you will see growth.
We have a power phrase at our church, “The most important things in life aren’t things, they are relationships.” We put this phrase on our walls, in our emails, in our videos, to remind us not to get so caught up in the tasks that we forget the people. It really comes down to this: business goes where it is wanted and where it is appreciated.
Here are some principles to keep in mind when trying to keep your team focused on the customer:
- Continually evaluate your business from a customer’s point of view.
- Look sharp and act sharp. First impressions matter.
- Smile and be friendly. Make it easy and enjoyable for people to do business with you.
- Work on building long-term relationships with customers. Call them by name and learn what they like.
- Be honest. Never mislead anyone or misrepresent your product in any way.
- Keep your word. If you can’t make it happen, don’t promise it. If something unexpected happens that legitimately makes it impossible for you to keep your promise, do everything you can to make it up to the customer as quickly as possible.
- Continually look for ways to improve your product or service.
- Anticipate customer needs and questions and answer those issues up front. Give people as much information as possible about how to make the most of your product.
- Go the extra mile. Do more than what is expected or what everyone else is doing.
- Respond to complaints and problems calmly, quickly, and efficiently.
- Follow up with customers periodically to see how things are going.
- Always thank people for their business! Remember they can always go somewhere else.
Following these principles won’t guarantee that you’ll never lose another customer, but it will certainly put you head and shoulders above the competition and make people think twice before leaving.
Recommended Book:
Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service by Ron Zemke
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God is for You!
Pastor Blunt
Subscribe now for our weekly David M. Blunt Leadership Podcast on YouTube with new episodes every Monday at 7pm! This week Pastor has an engaging conversation with Isaac Bruce!
COTR Marketplace Ministry is a ministry for those in the marketplace and those interested in starting a business. Lifelong learners, entrepreneurs, and business owners meet to grow in their leadership and skills. This is a great place to network, build relationships and exchange ideas!
We are taking a short break this summer. However, please join us Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 4:15pm in the main campus lobby. We will have guest speaker, former Navy SEAL, Chad Williams! Drawing from his experiences as a SEAL, Chad grabs hold of his listeners, illustrating the SEAL mindset and ethos that revolve around leadership, teamwork, integrity, safety, mental toughness, discipline, overcoming adversity and grit.
If you would like to showcase your business services or products, we have a unique opportunity to set up display tables at the event. For $60 you can reserve a table where you will be able to tell others about the services you provide and sell those services and/or products. We will open this 45 minutes before and 30 minutes after the Marketplace dinner to display your business.
Dinner and childcare are included in the price of your ticket. Purchase your tickets online for just $15 or $20 at the door.