Customer Service: How to Approach the Expectations of New Customers

Customers are increasingly savvy when it comes to making purchases, and increasingly demanding when it comes to customer service. With the abundance of choice available to modern consumers, it's more difficult than it's ever been to attract new buyers, and turn them into loyal long-time customers. Meeting expectations no longer means that customers are automatically satisfied; when a customer calls a service centre, they already have the expectation that their problem will be solved, which means that solving the problem doesn't guarantee repeat business. In this kind of context, what customer services skills are needed to encourage customer loyalty?

Consider your Customers

Understanding who your customers are is crucial, and thanks to the massive technological change of the past two decades, the average customer is virtually a different species compared to twenty years ago. Millennial customers who call an internet provider service centre, for example, are these days likely to know just as much as the call centre agent about their problem, and they tend to become frustrated when asked to perform routine troubleshooting tasks. And in general, younger customers are more likely to spend time performing basic research before calling a service centre, and they have the expectation that the agent they talk to will have a much higher level of familiarity with the product, and be able to quickly and competently solve whatever problem they have. All in all, the requirement for intensive customer service training is high.

What do Customers Want?

While technology has changed, and the concept of customer loyalty has changed, what customers actually want from service performance is surprisingly constant.

Seamless service: customers have always become frustrated when transferred multiple times in a single call, especially when they have to repeat their problem over and over again to each new agent. These days, however, customers expect that the person they first talk to is the one who will coordinate and solve their problem.

Attentive service: customers want to be dealt with quickly, politely, and respectfully, even if they themselves become frustrated and difficult. The nature of customer service is and has always been about making each customer feel that there's nothing more important than their particular problem.

Service that engenders trust: customers want to feel that the agent they speak to is capable of handling their problem, and by extension that the company is capable and trustworthy. They expect that their problem will be solved without errors or delays, and they expect that if a particular solution is promised, it will be provided.

5 Effective Ways to Increase Managers' Productivity

What's the difference between a good manager and a great one? There's no one single difference; rather, it's often the case that there's a whole host of things—both big and small—that truly excellent managers do differently. It's important to keep this in mind for team leadership training, because often, would-be and new managers are eager to find the one single key that will boost their performance, but there rarely is just one. There are, however, five different areas where managers can make changes that boost their performance and productivity to great effect.

Reflect on your Limitations

People make poor decisions for all sorts of reasons. Some focus on the details and fail to see the big picture, while others do exactly the opposite. Some people are unwilling to give credence to alternative views and opinions, while others are so busy trying to please everyone that they're unable to make decisions at all. For managers, these types of limitations can lead to serious problems, so it's crucial to have a high level of self-awareness, and understanding of what your limitations are and how they might affect you professionally.

Give—and Earn—Trust and Respect

It's increasingly expected of managers that they model ethical and socially responsible behaviour in the workplace. For example, it might mean challenging decisions and actions that are unethical, insensitive, or discriminatory, and making fair decisions even when they themselves are negatively affected.

Respect Difference and Diversity

People empathise and interact most effectively with others who are like themselves, but a great manager can interact effectively with people of different cultures and backgrounds. A great manager can lead teams made up of diverse types of people, collaborate effectively with others, and meet the needs of customers and clients of different backgrounds.

Encourage Innovation

Great managers foster a workplace atmosphere that encourages innovation and forward thinking by adapting to change, sharing their vision of a positive future, engaging with people to develop and execute new ideas, and improving their own capabilities as well as those of their team.

Connect with the Team on a Personal Level

A truly great manager can connect with people to inspire and motivate them. Forging personal connections is a vital part of this, because motivation is something that has to engage the heart as well as the mind. For sales managers training in particular this is important, because the ability to engage is a key aspect of sales as well as management.

Sales Force Training: The New Motivational Strategies

Keeping a team motivated and happy can be incredibly challenging for most current day managers. Tough economic times mean that teams are smaller, budgets for external rewards for employees are tighter, and employees can feel overworked or disinterested in the ultimate goal of their company. Managers, too, can be overworked and have less time to dedicate to individual staff members to keep them motivated. Yet, as AchieveGlobal notes, none of these obstacles are insurmountable, if we begin to view motivation in a different way. Research indicates that rather than aiming to motivate employees through external motivation (i.e. the reward or penalty system), they need to focus on what really makes employees tick: internal motivation.

Current-day internal motivation theory can be traced back to the findings of Abraham Maslow et al, who (in the 1960s), espoused that while external rewards could improve performance in the short-term, for long-term success, people reacted far more strongly to internal motivation. Currently, the leading authors in internal motivation are Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. These authors devised the Self-Determination Theory, which they define as “a theory of motivation… concerned with supporting our natural or intrinsic tendencies to behave in effective and healthy ways.” Deci and Ryan argue that external rewards wrest an employee’s creativity and ability to solve complex problems and aim to reward a worker for something he/she already enjoys doing.

Internal motivation results when a person is performing a job they find inherently satisfying, or when they perform their job to satisfy another inherent need (there are three basic needs employees possess: the need to show their competence, the need to relate to others in a team and the need to exercise autonomy in their job).

Good leaders need to create the right environment in which employees can fulfil these needs for themselves. This can be done by communicating efficiently with employees, adopting their point of view, creating opportunities for them to make wise choices and providing sales force training to those selling the company’s products or services. In the case of sales staff, receiving cutting edge sales training is particularly important, since these employees need to remain highly motivated, even in the face of rejection.

Leaders should give feedback to employees in a non-judgemental manner, clarifying any procedures or roles the employee may not understand and relying on the employee to find a solution to a current problem or issue. Leaders also need to recognise talent in employees, matching workers’ interests needs to the company’s needs and creating a plan to help the employee shine in their chosen area. Finally, positive contributions made by staff should be acknowledged, by showing how their actions have had a positive impact on the team.

Photo Credit: www.freeenterprise.com

Team Leadership: How To Achieve Success

When successful Managers are interviewed about their greatest professional achievements, they often place the establishment of a successful team at the top of the list. An organised team, one in which each is aware of the company’s goal, their specific roles and the procedures to be followed, is a critical aspect of success. Tightly knit teams respond to crises well, they react to situations in a unified and consistent manner and they always have the long-term aims of the company in mind. Teams can comprise employees, or employees and outsiders. They can be located within the same department or work across departments, located within the same office or online; teams can be permanent or ad-hoc; large or small. Regardless of their nature, their success depends on a number of specific factors:

• Efficiency: Each team member needs to possess the level of expertise required by their role, so that managers can rely on their knowledge and experience.

• Shared goals: Team members should know the ultimate aim they are working together to achieve.

• Correct size: Successful teams should not be subject to inordinate pressure to achieve their goals in a set amount of time. Managers should ensure that there are enough members of the team to complete required processes within a reasonable amount of time.

• Communication: Team members should feel free to communicate with others to request information, keep updated on new developments in projects and request changes in faulty procedures. A non-defensive atmosphere should be fostered, in which ideas and feedback are received and considered with the company goal in mind.

• Motivation: Leaders should not only lend their enthusiasm to team members; they should also give due importance to internal motivation – i.e. keeping the team enthused about their work by allowing them to shine in their areas of interest, listening to their feedback and showing appreciation, rather than simply providing external rewards (such as promotions or salary increases). All Managers should receive team leadership training, to learn how to work closely with all team members, empowering and supporting them so they can make their own decisions and feel free to take risks with confidence.

• Coaching and Training: Teams need to receive the coaching and training they need to stay motivated and feel that they are on the cutting edge of their respective fields, but leadership training for those managing others should be given equal importance.

Photo Credit: http://elfafrica.org/

Customer Service Tactics to Boost Customer Loyalty

If there's one thing that could be described as the Holy Grail of business, it's probably customer loyalty. Garnering such dedication that a consumer will actively 'fight your corner' is something that any sensible company should aspire to. We've got a few tactics you may not have considered; try slipping them into your next customer service training session, then just watch your customer loyalty skyrocket.

Tip #1: Create memorable moments

When a customer chooses your business to fulfil their requirements, they do so with an image of who you are as a business in their mind. In order to maintain this image and then build on it, you should try to create memorable moments for the customer. Examples may include: how cared for they feel when they enter your premises, the tone of staff members they speak to, any special treatment they receive as new customers.

Tip #2: Meet the three most important needs

Customers have needs, and tending to them is your core objective. There are three very important needs you may not know about, and tackling each one will boost your customer loyalty in new ways. The first need is that of meeting a customer’s business expectation (providing the basic service). The second is the need to interact with a person, and giving your company a face. The final need is more behind the scenes, and it manifests itself by way of your company processes, attitude and presentation.

Tip #3: Never forget about personal interaction

This should be a staple of all customer service courses: always providing a personal experience to the customer by actually meeting them face-to-face or at least over the phone. The internet is great for business, but it can alienate customers. By treating a customer as a real human being, you’ll win their loyalty fast.

Tip #4: Always meet service expectations

Don’t forget the distinction between services (which is what you offer) and service (which is how you go about providing what you offer). The customer will have a certain expectation of both the product or service, and the way in which it’ll be delivered. If you can nail down both of these areas, your customers will keep coming back.

Want A Thriving Business? Try The New Sales Coaching Approach

When it comes to motivating your work force and keeping them fully engaged, there have always been plenty of different choices for managers and trainers. But none of these are truly effective in the long-run, often leading to short-term boosts and nothing more. To really achieve a thriving business, you may need to revisit your approach to sales coaching – and we’d like to discuss that very thing in this article.

External motivation isn’t always the answer

Let's assume that at some point you've had experience of incentives. Many companies use them for lots of different reasons, and the assumption they make is that an external motivator (like money or a prize) will lead to long-term improvements in productivity. But this unfortunately is not the case. Rather these can stifle workers’ creativity and can cause more problems than they solve. The answer is simple: focus instead on internal motivation. This occurs when an employee finds something they really enjoy doing, or they perform a task and satisfy another need within them – such as contributing to a team. In both cases, it's all about satisfying internal needs, and the results are much longer lasting.

The psychological needs of staff

It's clear that the best workers will be those who feel comfortable, happy and valued in their positions. But to nurture this, there are a number of psychological needs that must be fulfilled. Studies have shown that these needs are: competence, relatedness and autonomy. The first, competence, refers to feeling like they have the ability to do their job to the best of their ability. The next, relatedness, refers to staff feeling like they are part of a team. The third, autonomy, ensures staff feel like they can do their job without external motivation.

Need-based leadership

The core of the new sales coaching approach is one that focuses on the three needs we mentioned above. By leading in a way that enables team members to feel competent, related to others, and autonomous in their role, helps staff to maintain peace of mind and confidence. This confidence will lead to increased job satisfaction and, by extension, productivity.

If you’re part of a business that’s striving to thrive, why not try out the new thought-based leadership approach? It might just change the fortunes of your company.