Ensure Customer Service Improvement are "Fit for Purpose"

Making Sure that Tools and Methods Used for Customer Service Improvement are "Fit for Purpose"

Lecturer Broadcast

Click here to view an explanation about customer satisfaction and how to measure it.

Klik hier om na ‘n verduideliking van kliëntetevredenheid, en hoe om dit te meet, te luister.

Explanation by Lecturer Johan Kleingeld from Edge Consulting, expert on customer services.

It's very easy to be full of ideas when you first start working with a client but maintaining this enthusiasm and complementing it with your growing knowledge of their business is the key to maintaining a strong relationship. This can be approached from two angles:

Get Personal

Getting to understand your customer personally is a very important aspect of building your relationship. One of the key areas is understanding their career motivations, which can have an enormous impact on ensuring you are meeting the client's wants as well as needs. Whilst you might have the perfect solution to help your client achieve its objectives, that solution must also meet your contact's needs. The more you understand your client, the greater ability you will have to ensure you know what they want and are able to meet their expectations.

You can use very simple tools such as keeping a record of key dates such as birthdays in Outlook to give your contact a quick call or send them a card. Also keeping a record of special interests can have its benefits. You can use this interest to set up a social activity to help you get to know your client better. For example, your client might be a mad rugby fan and you can invite him/her to an upcoming game. However, this doesn't mean you have to love all your clients and become their best friends. The main aim is to understand your client and their motivations, as well as you can, to ensure you can meet their expectations and retain their business.

Deliver Fine Service

It is equally important to ensure you are providing service of the utmost quality, always focusing on attention to details, and meeting deadlines. Here are some examples of quality control measures you can put in place:

Double checking - It's essential to check all materials you produce for a client. It's easy to miss something yourself, so to make sure there are no faults. You can ask a colleague to check your work. If you don't have a colleague, use your network to set up a relationship with an appropriate business associate to help this process.

Templates - Set up templates for the work you have to create frequently, like client reports, invoices, plans, media releases, emails, etc. Templates can be created in all Office applications, or visit the Microsoft Office Template Gallery to explore the many pre-formatted templates available.

Job list - Set up tasks for work due for clients in Outlook to ensure you meet your deadlines. Print out the calendar version in Outlook and pin it to your notice board to highlight key dates.

*NB: Remember, if you're collecting customer information you must comply with all national privacy laws and obligations and make sure that any collection of customer information is permissible. That is, the customer has opted to receive your communications.

Once you've established a relationship with a prospect or client, what can you do to stay in touch with them? The following list will give you some different ways to keep that connection strong:

Use the above techniques to strengthen relationships with clients and prospects and increase the likelihood of future business.