CUSTOMER CARE / RELATIONS COURSE

FOSTER AND MAINTAIN CUSTOMER RELATIONS

Customer care is at the heart of all successful businesses. It can help you develop customer loyalty and improve relationships with your internal and external customers of your organisations. Good customer service is about managing the perceptions of your customers and giving them a positive experience of doing business with you. Does your staff conduct business in a friendly and professional manner? Are your staff’s product knowledge and services delivery up to scratch? Does your business deliver on what it has promised?

It is important that your staff understand the terms “internal and external customers of the business”. Through understanding this concept they can build positive relationships with fellow employees and customers are interested in doing business with the firm. Through building positive relationships within the work place, employees will have a pleasant work place environment which will lead to higher levels of productivity and a more positive attitude towards external customers.

MORE ABOUT THE FOSTER AND MAINTAINING CUSTOMER RELATIONS

We have all heard the saying “First impressions last the longest”. This is very true in any customer service environment. In most cases, you will only get one chance to ensure customer satisfaction. It is vitally important that every contact with a customer must be treated as crucial to your organisation’s success.
When you come into contact with the same customer repeatedly, it becomes possible for a relationship to develop. But when it is unlikely that you will deal with a particular customer more than once, it is vital that he is satisfied every time he makes contact with the organisation. Therefore no allowances are made for errors.

WHY IS CUSTOMER SERVICE IMPORTANT?

The customer is the only one who brings money into the business! Everything else in the business costs money – production, delivery, administration, finance, and stores. All this costs money and not one of the employees is bringing his own money into the business. Or are you prepared to work for no pay?
So, where do you think the money comes from? From the customers buying your products or making use of your services, of course. If nobody buys the products or services that your business offers, where will the money for your salary come from?

A MOMENT OF TRUTH

A moment of truth is possibly the single most important item of this entire programme. During this delicate interaction with the customer, we as key staff members can keep a loyal customer satisfied, or hand him or her to the competition forever.

HIERARCHY OF HUMAN NEEDS

Understanding the hierarchy of human needs is important to know what your customers want, when they want it and why. Customers don’t want to wait for service; they want it as quickly as possible. We all know this is not always possible, but if you follow these tips, it should help you with your customer relations:

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission statement is the fundamental, unique purpose for the existence of a company that sets your business or organization apart from others of its type and identifies the scope of its operations. Aligning your organisation’s mission and vision is critical to delivering the service or product that is expected from your client.

CLIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Understanding your customer service from clients’ perspectives helps to identify where value can be added and how the experience of doing business can be improved.
High levels of customer satisfaction lead to a high level of sales. This then turns into high levels of income. Customers tend to return to a business where they had a pleasant purchasing experience.

COMMUNICATION

Communication is the interaction between at least two people, the communicator and the recipient. The message is that which the communicator wishes to convey to others by way of communication and can be used by the communicator to attempt to persuade someone to his way of thinking or it can be an idea, thought or feeling that the communicator wishes to share with others. This message needs to be communicated in some form, for while the message remains a thought in the communicator’s mind it cannot be received or interpreted by a recipient.
It is very important that your employees use good telephone etiquette. Should the client have an unpleasant experience over the phone, they might not be so optimistic to do business with your company in the future. Answering a telephone call must be seen as a very important procedure that should be handled with confidence and professionalism. Answer the call immediately

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LISTENER?

A very important communication skill is the ability to LISTEN to what other people are saying. Show a talker that you want to listen to: Look and act interested. Do not read your mail while someone talks. Listen to understand rather than to oppose. Remove distractions: Don’t doodle, tap, or shuffle papers. Will it be quieter if you shut the door?

PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE

Customers expect and deserve, to speak to someone who is knowledgeable about the organisation’s products and services, and who won’t waste their time. They want an immediate response to their problem, rather than a call-back at a later stage. There is often more than one product/service option that could satisfy a customer’s needs, each with its own benefits. Therefore they need advice on which option will best suit their needs. Your product knowledge and experience with other customers will help you to make the correct recommendations. Remember, it is in your best interest that the customer does not make a wrong decision.

INTERNAL CUSTOMER AUDIT

The purpose of an internal customer service audit is to assess the impact that changes will have (or have had) on the organisation. It means that the organisation’s current practices are reviewed in order to identify inconsistencies between what the company is currently doing and what the customers expect from the company.

WHY DO WE LOSE CUSTOMERS?

Research has shown that it costs five times more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one. We pour thousands of rand into advertising and promotion drives and then lose the customer a short time later because of poor, uncaring service

AFTER-SALES SERVICE

What is after-sales service? The service you give a customer after he has purchased your product or service and there is a problem with the product or the service. The service you give a person after you have taken his money in exchange for something you gave him and there is a problem with the something you gave him.

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