Today we’re talking about how to create your customer service strategy. Let me give you a couple examples. I have two businesses. Actually, I have three, but two are customer-facing businesses. One is a very high touch, personal training studio, so customer service to us is anything that we need to do to delight the customer and really over deliver to them. That means giving them gifts or extra phone calls. It means a high level of touch and service. What that also means is that it’s a higher cost to me because now I have to employ more people to delight that customer.
First of all, delight the customer. Do whatever it takes to delight the customer and make sure that they feel happy. We might send out gift cards if we, oops, mess up their billing or something like that. We send out birthday cards, anniversary cards, wedding cards. We send out “I’m sorry your pet died” cards as well. I want those clients to feel really special when they’re here.
I have a strategy of what I expect my employees to do to delight our customers and given them examples, like phone calls and e-mails. We try to stay away from as much electronic communication as possible because people get really bombarded with that. Sending cards, e-mails, phone calls, gift cards and things like that is a high level of touch. It costs me a little bit more money, but it is for a higher level of service that we provide, and we charge appropriately for it.
The second business I have is more of a group training facility, so it’s a lower price point, but I still want to delight the customer. It might be special group events. We’re creating a community. Again, it’s still somewhat high touch, but it’s not about gift cards or phone calls.
Having a strategy for every level of customer interaction lets your employees know what kind of tools to use. You don’t want to dictate to them, but give them tools to be able to implement customer service at the level that you as a business owner want to provide.
In this economy, I would highly suggest that you provide a very high level of customer service. You do that by having a strategy in place that your employees can follow. Why are your customers staying with you? Most likely it’s because of the experience that they’re receiving.
A good customer service strategy will keep you in business for a very long time. You’ll be able to get a premium for the service that you provide because it’s something special that they aren’t able to get anywhere else. Those are my little tips for this week in creating a client service strategy. I would love to hear if you actually do it, and I would love to see some examples of what you’ve provided for your employees. Send me an e-mail: tom@tomjackobs.com and I’ll give you feedback and some suggestions.
