{"id":1013,"date":"2015-05-05T08:31:09","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T08:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/csm210469\/?p=1013"},"modified":"2016-01-04T16:08:50","modified_gmt":"2016-01-04T16:08:50","slug":"7-tips-for-delivering-customer-service-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/7-tips-for-delivering-customer-service-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Tips for Delivering Customer Service Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can your company or organization really deliver excellence to your customers? Now, more than ever is the time to try.<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Customer\n

Customer service excellence is nowhere near as challenging as people think, but an alarming number of companies don\u2019t bother worrying about it.<\/p>\n

They either don\u2019t understand how greatly it affects their profits, or they just don\u2019t know how to go about it.<\/p>\n

To make customer service a little easier, here are 7 tips for ensuring your company excels when it comes to serving your customers.<\/p>\n

1. Think Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t wait until you have a customer service breakdown to start thinking about how to handle difficult situations. Think about what constitutes good service and create a customer service manifesto. Establish a system for dealing with all sorts of customer-related issues.<\/p>\n

2. The Customer Is (Almost) Always Right<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the old clich\u00e9 goes, \u2018The customer is always right.\u2019 Of course, they aren\u2019t always right. But what this saying really means is that no matter how wrong a customer might be, you should treat them with the utmost respect. Even an angry customer is worthy of your focus and time. Create a culture of respect within your company, both for internal interactions among employees and externally when dealing with customers.<\/p>\n

3. Keep On Communicating<\/strong><\/p>\n

Broadcast your philosophy and standards loudly and clearly. Make sure that everyone who has a touch-point with customers, no matter how small, understands your customer service philosophy. All of your employees, whether full-time, part-time or consultants, should be on the same page.<\/p>\n

4. Listen and Take Action<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen to your customers and act on all feedback. Seek ways to get their opinions and have them share their experiences with you. A good company uses this feedback to improve its operations and products, and customers can see the difference. Always be attentive and responsive.<\/p>\n

5. Focus on the Customer<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you have a problems with customers, your goal isn\u2019t to get rid of them or to save your company\u2019s reputation. Your goal is to help them solve the problem. This is what it means to be customer-focused. Take on their problem as if it were your own and reach a solution that makes both parties satisfied.<\/p>\n

6. Always Under Promise and Over Deliver<\/strong><\/p>\n

While you should bend over backwards to help your customers, don\u2019t promise what you can\u2019t deliver. If you make promises you can\u2019t keep in the hopes of pleasing a customer, you\u2019ll end up doing more damage than good when you break that promise.<\/p>\n

7. Learn from Your Competitors<\/strong><\/p>\n

If your customer service beats that of the competition, you\u2019ll quickly gain a reputation for it. To know where you stand, keep an eye on your competition. Use the internet and read what customers are saying about them on Twitter, forums, review sites, and social media sites like Facebook. When you know what your competitors are doing, it\u2019s easy to figure out how to do better.<\/p>\n

Ian’s Bonus Tip<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember that customer service excellence is something that takes constant attention and improvement. You don\u2019t just create a set of standards, train your staff, and forget about it. Keep listening to your employees and customers, and change your policies and protocols whenever the situation demands it. Consistent and continuous improvement is how you keep your customer service at the highest level.<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ian Miller is Editor of Customer Service Manager Magazine – the leading resource and community for customer service professionals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can your company or organization really deliver excellence to your customers? Now, more than ever is the time to try.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1013"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1013"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6645,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1013\/revisions\/6645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}