Mistakes Are Going To Be Made
Mistakes are going to be made
in every business. Most customers are willing to forget about the mistake when
the problem is handled well. Customer service has two sides--reactive and
proactive.
Reactive customer service
comes after the fact--after a customer has had a problem,
complaint, or is generally dissatisfied. This type of service is in reaction
to your customer and therefore is likely to be affected by both parties’
emotional states.
Proactive customer service
may come either before or after the fact—but is always about taking action to
improve the customer’s experience and outcome. Proactive customer service
anticipates the customer’s current and future needs.
Not every utility finds them
self faced with competition. Some face competition on almost every
product/service while others only on a few. Then there are those who face no
competition.
Regardless of which category
you fit, you may find these statistics to be of interest:
- Only 4% of customers ever complain. That means your business may never hear
from 96% of its customers. That means 92% of unhappy customers may just
quietly go away because they feel complaining will not do them any good. In
fact, complainers are more likely to continue doing business with you than
non-complainers.
- Most customers who complain to you (54%-70%) will do business with you again
if you resolve their complaint. If they feel you acted quickly, showed
empathy, took ownership, and resolved the problem to their
satisfaction--loyalty will skyrocket. Up to 95% of these customers will do
business with you again and refer new customers.
Oftentimes customer service is thought of as a complaint-handling system
rather than a marketing technique. Complaint handling is only one small part
of customer service. If you make the decision to develop customer service and
retention programs that are proactive rather than reactive, you will reap the
benefit in many ways – increased sales/profits, happier employees and
customers, less stressful work environments and more time on your hands to
think creatively and proactively rather than dealing with upset customers or
employees.
Proactive service begins even before the customer walks in the door. It means
your company is already prepared to do everything to satisfy and keep the
customer. Review and involve all the activities your company and employees
perform to satisfy customers. Go well beyond just handling complaints,
providing refunds, and smiling at customers.
Customer service also means going out of your way for the customer, doing
everything possible to meet their needs, and sometimes making decisions that
benefit the customer even at the expense of the company.
People are loyal to a
business when they feel they've been treated well and receive good value for
their money. The reality of our economic times tell us that building loyalty
is more important now than ever before.
Take a close look at all of
your processes and procedures, and the interactions your staff has with your
customers both over the phone and in-person. If you were to step into your
customer’s shoes, would you be satisfied with the way you were treated?
Mistakes are going to be
made . . . are you doing everything you can to be proactive to serve your
customers?
Measure-X
888.644.5499
www.measure-x.com
The Customer Service and Sales Experts for the utility
industry!
