Does Your Technology Investment Outweigh Your Investment in Staff?
By David Saxby

In this rapidly changing economy, one of the biggest challenges companies face is how to keep pace with the constantly evolving business world. Many companies seem to think the answer is to throw more and more money into technology. Surely with the newest software, all the bells and whistles in hardware and, of course, all the cutting-edge Internet applications, profits will increase and they will soar to the top of successful companies! The thousands and millions of dollars spent on technology will help them "manage" their business.

Unfortunately, the key question most companies fail to ask is "How does this investment impact our customers?"

What if you called a fair cross-section of your customers and explained the purpose and cost of the past 12 months of technology investment? Would they feel that it directly benefited them? Would they attribute any of this investment to the way they are treated and respected? Would you even want to be the person asking that question of your customers?

Admittedly, customers do not fully understand all the intricacies of running your business. What they do understand, however, is that they have a choice of who they will do business with. In today's world, there usually is very little that differentiates us from our competition on the pricing front. The Internet has changed everyone's perspective on competitive pricing.

But your level of service is one area where you can clearly stand apart from your competition. It's up to you to choose which side of the line of mediocrity you want to stand. It really is a matter of deciding if it's important for your customers to feel as if they are valued and appreciated for their business. Clearly, customers that feel appreciated and valued are more likely to remain loyal (which, by the way, costs immensely less than acquiring a new customer). This decision has a significant impact on your bottom line, again, depending on which side of the line of mediocrity you choose to function.

So if it's easy to justify a sizeable investment in technology, why do so many companies find it difficult to invest in developing and polishing the skills of their employees? Employees with the fastest computers and most recent cutting-edge software systems drive customers away with poor service skills.

How many times in the last 30 days have you called a business and experienced a friendly, enthusiastic employee that created a memorable first impression, was willing to listen to your needs and did whatever it took to meet your needs? Better yet, at the end of that conversation, did the employee express his or her sincere appreciation for your business? Or encourage you not to hesitate to call back if there was anything else you needed?

In a recent study done by EITCON (Etiquette Consultants for Business), they found that of 1,281 people surveyed about telephone etiquette, people ranked the following behaviors:

Behaviors Admired	Behaviors Disliked
Friendly greeting Helpful, even if it was not the employee's job Appreciation of the customer	Rudeness Indifference, inattentiveness Ignoring the customer

Three questions that you need to answer are:

• What's important to the customer?
• What do they expect to happen when they call your business?
• How do they expect to be treated?

Customers simply want someone to take the time to be friendly, to treat them with respect and kindness. They want someone who will listen, hear their needs, meet their needs and show appreciation for their business.

So, with competition increasing and customers having more choices at their fingertips, what are you doing to create a memorable experience for the customer that makes them want to buy or use your service - over the competition?

Oftentimes employees have not been trained on the most basic of customer service skills. Let's take a quick review of the primary areas where your employees should be using exemplary skills.

Creating a positive first impression - The operative word in this skill set is first. We've all heard the saying "you only have one first impression." As corny as that may sound, it's so simple and so basic that it can't be ignored! We do have only one opportunity to create that first impression.

Customers often formulate their opinion within the first few seconds on the telephone. While a call may be the 50th for your employee, it is probably the first for your customer. Do your employees understand how vital those first few seconds are to creating a favorable impression with your customer? How they greet the customer, the tone and volume of their voice and the words they choose - all of these factors impact the customer's perception of your business. This, in turn, trickles down to their buying decision.

Active listening - Do your employees listen without interruption? Do they ask probing questions to better understand the customer's needs? Do they provide feedback to make sure they have clear communication? Do they confirm the details of the customer's request and does the customer know when they can expect to have a solution to their problem or have their product delivered?

Dealing with customers' emotions - Are they trained with the skills to communicate empathy when a customer calls frustrated or upset? Through active listening, can they identify the emotion level of the customer and react appropriately? Do they communicate sincerely that they care about the customer and their concerns? Does the customer feel like your employee is really there to help create a solution to their problem?

What to do when things haven't gone right - Do they know what to do with an angry customer? Do they understand how important it is to let the customer talk, without getting emotionally involved in the conversation? Asking the right questions to understand the customer's needs most times leads to the creation of a solution and, therefore, satisfies the needs of your customer. Do your employees know what these questions are? Do they thank the customer for taking the time to call and provide the company with feedback? Mistakes are opportunities for improvement!

People call companies every day angry, upset and frustrated for one reason or another. The skills your employees possess can make the difference between retaining a loyal customer and the customer telling 20 other people about their poor customer-service experience with your business. Research shows that 90% of customers with a complaint will still do business with a company if they feel someone really listened to their problem, even if they weren't able to solve it. Are you in this 90th percentile?

Empowered decision making - Are your employees empowered to make decisions on the spot to resolve customer concerns? Studies show that 96% of dissatisfied customers will still continue to do business with a company if their problem or concern is handled on the spot.

Expressed appreciation - Do your employees end every phone call by expressing sincere appreciation to the customer for their order and for choosing to pick your company to do business with? If the call was for support, do your employees suggest in a warm and friendly manner that the customer call back again if they have any additional questions or concerns? Do they communicate to the customer that they really care about them?

Many companies are looking at how they can be more cost effective. They track every conceivable statistic about phone calls - the length of the call, the number of calls per hour each employee handles, the length of time it takes an employee to connect to the next call. You name it, it's probably measured . . . with the likely exception of measuring the customer's perception of how the call was handled!

Measurement is an incredibly powerful tool. But one needs to measure beyond statistics. You need to measure the customer's experience. How would your customer rate their experience? How well did the employee listen to the customer's needs? How effective was the employee in handling their need or providing a solution? Did the employee express appreciation for the customer's business?

Here's a great indicator: If you asked your customer "Would you do business with us again?" would you be afraid of their answer? How certain are you of their answer? Have you ever asked that question of your customers?

Delivering a consistent level of service is one of the keys to success. If a customer calls your company in the morning and then calls back 10 minutes later, will they receive the same friendly service with both calls? Do you have a few "shining stars" and the rest are falling from the sky? Make sure your galaxy is full of shining stars!

Improve your odds for hiring shining stars! Invest in the tools to hire the right people for the job. The right person in the right job = Success! There are a variety of personality profiles available. Identify the skills you desire and hire those who are trainable in those areas.

Motivate, recognize and reward your employees for the behaviors you desire! According to a recent study by Purdue University Center for Customer Driven Quality, it costs $6,562 to bring on a new call center employee. How much is your company vested in employee retention and recognition? Do you have an ongoing program that continues to reward employees for providing excellent customer service?

Employees, much like customers, also can decide where they choose to "do business." If an employee can go across the street or across town and work for someone else, what separates you from your competition? Your employees are also your customers. Which side of the line of mediocrity do you stand with these customers, your employees?

The harsh reality is this - you can provide employees with skill training day in and day out, but what is it that motivates your employees to change their current skill sets to provide the kind of customer service that keeps customers coming back? What's in it for your employees?

Ask your employees what types of recognition would be important to them. Recognize them in a variety of ways for a variety of skills so that you demonstrate to them how important it is to provide awesome customer service. Develop a reward program that recognizes more than just the top performers! Recognize those who are improving their skills.

Exemplary customer service is not rocket science. But most people do not naturally possess the skills to deliver it and, fortunately, people are not computers. We cannot be programmed for performance. We must be taught! How much money are you willing to invest in helping your staff develop the necessary skills to become shining stars?

David Saxby is president of Measure-X, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based measurement, training and recognition company that specializes in customer service skills and employee retention. He can be reached at 888-644-5499 or via e-mail at david@measure-x.com. Visit the Measure-X Web site at www.measure-x.com.