Creating “Ultimate Customer Experience”

Here are the six principles that would help you to create a customer experience that is unmatched;

PRINCIPLE #1:   PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS.

The truth about customers is: they are just like us! They like dealing with people who sound like they are smiling, who appear to enjoy their jobs, and who make customers want to deal with them. The perfectly processed and delivered order experience can be marred by a less then enthusiastic attitude. Though Inside Sales handles many calls each day, every call should demonstrate an energetic and positive 'can do' attitude. Don't underestimate the power of your tone or voice on the telephone. Like it or not, we judge others and customers judge us that way. Do you sound harried, bored, bothered or too busy to care? Or does your voice project an attitude that makes customers want to talk with you?

 

PRINCIPLE #2:   QUALITY PRODUCTS AND QUALITY SERVICE BEGIN WITH QUALITY THINKING!

Customer service consists of a series of 'moments of truth' your customers experience with your company. Every person in the organization - even those you may not think of as customer service personnel - has the ability to make a positive impact on customer relations. This could be the way the telephone is answered, to your use of Voice Mail, to error-free orders, accurate billings, realistic promises made and kept, to the integrity of the information you provide; these are all moments of truth that affect sales relationships.

Customers expect Inside Sales to help them do business with your company, to solve problems, to coordinate with other people and departments. "What's the reason for the price difference between this order and my last one?" "Who should I talk with about a billing problem?" "How should I handle this return?" "Do you have a catalog you can mail me?" "Can you send me a sample of that?" "Can I get freight paid on that order?" Quality thinking means focusing on the customer's needs and making sure those needs are met.

 

PRINCIPLE #3:   Make it “Easy to do Business”!

You have probably heard of the KISS principle: keep-it-simple-stupid. As funny as it may sound, it is really just good business practice. When customers find it easy to do business with you, they keep coming back for more. There is no secret to what keeps customers coming back for more, thereby contributing to the growth and profitability of your company. It’s all about service and creating the ultimate customer experience.

Consider what it takes to gain a new customer. Prospecting for new accounts is the most costly of all selling tasks, yet new business is the lifeblood of the company and must be sought. Time must be invested into finding new customers, getting acquainted with their needs, selling them on the benefits of doing business with your company versus a competitor, and eventually getting that first order. 

Remember; if you don’t take care of the customer --- Somebody else will!!

 

PRINCIPLE #4:   Do It Right – Do It Right The First Time!

What does an order taking error cost your company? How about the cost of a return goods authorization because the customer got the wrong product? What does an order pricing error cost? What is the real opportunity cost of a lost customer due to poor quality customer service?

Each time an order is handled more than once, handling costs increase through what is called cost-redundancy, i.e., doing the same task over again, only this time doing it right. An error can mean the order must be corrected and re-entered, a credit may need to be issued, another delivery must be made, the wrong product must be returned, and both you and your customer are inconvenienced.

Quality errors such as these can result in the ultimate loss to the company: a lost account. The real loss to the company is not just the value of the order in question. It is the life-long value the customer represents to the company presuming you did maintain repeat business with the customer.
Many times quality errors that cause accounts to become inactive go unnoticed for some time by the company. No one realizes the customer is gone and no one works to get the customer back.

 

PRINCIPLE #5:  Understand Your Value Propositions

What is the difference between your company and your competition? When that question is asked of some Inside Sales people, a common answer is: "We're about the same. We all have about the same products. Sometimes we have something in stock that the competition doesn't, so that's one difference I can think of."

Every company needs to determine their value propositions! These are the 'unique propositions' that set your company apart from the competition. Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience means you must employ your vale propositions. Customers buy expectations when they do business with you, not products which can be purchased from any number of sources.


 

PRINCIPLE #6:  EVERY JOB IS A SELF-PORTRAIT OF THOSE WHO DID IT!

Whether taking an order, preparing a quote, sending a sample, handling a complaint, or coordinating with other internal customers (did you know others inside the company are your internal customers?), paying attention to the details, doing timely follow-up, respecting the other person's time as well as your own all create a professional "self-portrait."

This is something which i earned through my experience and it is not only applicable to Hotels and Restaurants only but also to anyother serice organisation. So make sure you follow these and do tell me the benefits you got.