Customer Needs and Expectations

Customer need is largely driven by two factors:

1.  Complexity of using a product/service, and

2.  Experience or expertise in its use or application.

If you don't know what your customers want, you will not produce what the market requires.  Think about the following:

Customers have different needs, depending on the service or product that they require and thus each business will have customers with different needs.

See how your customer service standards rate against this brief, but comprehensive list of key customer expectations published by the Incoming Calls Management Institute (ICMI).

Be Accessible

Many managers adopt a ‘my door is always open’ policy with their employees. Now's the time to make sure this extends to those wanting to invest in your products and/or services. And by this we don't just mean physically accessible (i.e. ensuring your staff aren't catching up on gossip in the back room or making personal calls in front of your customers); but accessible in the sense that customers feel comfortable bringing their business, questions, comments, and complaints to you. Where possible, reduce red tape and streamline your processes so that all of these can be addressed as efficiently as possible.

Do it Right the First Time

...and if you don't, make sure you take decisive measures to correct it, and ensure it doesn't happen again. The good news: customer loyalty is often strengthened on the basis of how you deal with a problem, rather than whether the problem happened in the first place.

Keep Your Promises

Delivering on your promises are essential to continued customer loyalty. After all, if your customers are giving you their commitment, they expect yours in return. You'll often hear ‘dialogue’ exchanged about in loyalty circles, and there's a reason for that: dialogue is about a two-way exchange, where customers are prepared to tell you about themselves in return for more targeted, benefit-driven and responsive service. Keeping your promises is one important way you can demonstrate that you're holding up your end of the dialogue bargain.

Tell Me What to Expect

Customers come to your store with expectations, and they feel it's up to you to meet them. So, the best thing you can do is to be as clear as possible about how you're going to do business with them, from payment and returns policies, to the rules on your loyalty program. Some companies have service matrices, where policies are different depending on the value of the customer. This empowers staff to make decisions based on the customer they're dealing with – but always make sure that your customers understand where they fit in this matrix. That way they'll know up-front what's available to them, what isn't, and the steps they can take to resolve any queries or complaints.

Follow Up

When you're dealing with low-value, high-turnover items such as groceries or clothing, it doesn't make sense to follow up on every sale you make. However, if a customer has spent a considerable sum of money on a high-value item such as a luxury car, it's in your best interests to find out whether they're happy with their purchase and the back-up service they're receiving. Even more important is your follow-up to complaints or product or service enquiries – all of which should be resolved without exception. Your reputation stands or falls on your customers' perceptions of you, and a disgruntled customer can do much to create negative associations with your brand.

Ensure I Deal with Trained and Informed Employees

In the words of Kristin Anderson, co-author of Customer Relationship Management and Great Customer Service on the Telephone: "It's time to integrate customer service training with technology training. Integrate it with manual and email system training. This communicates that good customer service is integral, rather than in competition with other policies."

It's also important to empower your front-line staff to make decisions based on specific circumstances. Employees often feel torn between accommodating a customer's needs and wishes, and the consequent fallout with their superiors for having made an exception or breaching protocol. Don't create an environment that punishes your people for acting proactively.

Do What I Ask Promptly

In a competitive environment like retail, where a customer can quite easily find a similar or identical product/service further down the street, it's important to follow through on your promises as swiftly as possible. This is true whether you're dealing with purchases, returns, repairs or complaints. Your product or service aside: little impresses a customer more than efficient (and friendly!) service. Moreover, a high turnover business will benefit considerably from prompt service delivery.

Be Responsive to What I Need and Want

In other words, listen, and then act. Understand what it is your customer wants, and do your best to meet their expectations, or to suggest alternatives if those expectations either cannot be satisfied, or they fall outside the scope of your business. Train your frontline staff to be able to respond to customers on a one-to-one basis, rather than supplying them with a list of stock answers that often do little to resolve the situation.

Treat me Courteously

An obvious one, but it's indicative of service levels when it needs repeating time and again.

Be Socially Responsible and Ethical

Always make sure that your interactions with customers are above reproach. For example, an overly familiar service style can be as potentially damaging as one that's dismissive or off-hand. Strike a balance - and one that's entirely appropriate to the circumstances.