Author: Mark BW McDermott, Account Director
Original Article published by Prosell UK
Customer Service in Australia has a poor reputation compared to the other countries around the world. An international study across 10 countries exploring public attitudes towards customer service has found that 40 per cent of Australians feel that businesses fail to meet their expectations. Only the French are more dissatisfied.
The American Express Global Customer Service Barometer also shows that Australians would happily spend, on average, an extra 12 per cent if it meant they received better service.
Two-thirds of consumers have abandoned a purchase because of a poor service experience in the past year but more than half have spent more with a company because of a history of good service.
In a world where on line purchasing is booming and customer expectations are higher an organisations’ value proposition and the customer experience it delivers will be the difference between profit and loss.
Peter Fullbrook Managing Director Prosell Australia
Why should I care? Customer services manager’s checklist
It’s your team – lead by example
As a customer services manager, you play an important role. Your team will imitate your language, behaviour and the manner in which you handle clients. So it is you who sets the standard for your team. It is important that you communicate clearly with the team - defining customers’ expectations, your minimum service levels and then ensuring that you and your team deliver a service that exceeds the required level.
How motivated is your team?
Success breeds success. An employee, who knows that they are valued and that good performance will be recognised, is much more likely to deliver great customer service than an employee who feels undervalued and demotivated.
How engaged is your team with the business goals?
To be a good leader you need to be able to clearly communicate the goals of the organisation and how they can be achieved. If your team are not committed to these objectives and are not convinced that the planned strategy will be effective, you are destined for failure.
How equipped is your team to deliver great customer service?
Your team needs to be confident that they have been given the tools to offer a great service. Not only should this include customer services skills training and coaching but should also ensure that your teams have an appropriate working environment, good equipment as well as effective systems and processes to achieve the required service standards.
How equipped are you to drive your teams performance?
Do you feel equipped to develop and motivate your team to achieve the objectives that you have been set by your line manager and the business. Are you confident that you can effectively coach, appraise and build your team to deliver great results? How do you identify your gaps in skills and knowledge so you can develop a personal development plan to address these areas?
So why should you care?
The benefits are clear. Satisfied, loyal customers are the cornerstone of profitable organisations. Superior profits are achieved by those businesses that offer a high quality, consistent service that matches customer expectations. And it is you, as an effective customer services manager that plays an important role to ensure that frontline staff delivers exceptional service – the key to a successful organisation.
If you would like to discuss customer services skills training to improve the performance of your teams, please do get in touch. We would be delighted to hear from you.