Customer service gets serious in 2008

February 7, 2008 | Matt Marshall | Comments | |

customer.jpgI attended the Customer Service is the new Marketing Summit in San Francisco this week (VentureBeat was a sponsor), and I was surprised by the richness of discussion.

Every company and product is different, and some are going to need different levels of customer services than others. A mobile phone carrier doesn’t have to respond to your needs, because they’ve got you by the cajones; its tough to jump to a competitor, and there’s not that many competitors to jump to (although even here, Sprint offered such bad service, it essentially “fired its customers,” including me).

Then there’s the example I gave recently of Tony Hsieh, the San Francisco entrepreneur who started online shoe company Zappos. Operating in a highly competitive environment, Zappos excels by offering superior customer service. Some 75 percent of purchases come from returning customers, and repeat customers order more than 2.5 times every 12 months. Repeat customers also have higher average order sizes. Tony told me he’s aiming to break $1 billion in sales this year, from nothing in 1999. That’s amazing. Tony stressed the need to invest in your company’s culture.

Some of the main threads of the Summit were that the Internet can make the conversation with your customers much easier, that you can invite customers in to help you, and that you as the company should engage in the conversation with customers even if you’re not in control of where it takes place.

Christine Herron, who is consulting for Satisfaction, the company that hosted the conference, has done a good job of writing up the conference themes and sessions here:

1. Company-customer pact
2. Leading brands
3. Zappos
4. Geek Squad
5. Google-Flickr
6. Virgin
7. Alex Frankel undercover
8. Top 5 tips

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Matt Marshall is editor and CEO of VentureBeat. Follow him on Twitter at @mmarshall, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • I think the marketing base on the customers service satisfaction is not a new things for now on. i just don't know why they said that this is a new marketing service summit.
  • Customer service is the utmost concern for established companies. With the current economic climate, it will be tough to source for new customers. The easiest way to generate quick and constant revenue would be to work on your existing clientele base.

    Guess what, in order to achieve that, you would very much need to have excellent Customer Service Skills as organizations with lousy ones would have lost their customers already. Here are some good customer service tips that I think would be helpful.

    1. Remember there is no way that the quality of customer service can exceed the quality of the people who provide it. Think you can get by paying the lowest wage, giving the fewest of benefits, doing the least training for your employees? It will show.Companies don't help customers... people do.

    2. Realize that your people will treat your customer the way they are treated. Employees take their cue from management. Do you greet your employees enthusiastically each day; are you polite in your dealings with them; do you try to accommodate their requests; do you listen to them when they speak? Consistent rude customer service is a reflection not as much on the employee as on management.

    3. Do you know who your customers are? If a regular customer came in to your facility, would you recognize them? Could you call them by name? All of us like to feel important; calling someone by name is a simple way to do it and lets them know you value them as customers.

    Recently I signed on with a new fitness center. I had been a member of another one for the past ten years, renewing my membership every six months when the notice arrived. I had been thinking about changing, joining the one nearer my home and with more state-of-the-art equipment. So when the renewal notice came, I didn’t renew. That was eight months ago. Was I contacted by the fitness center and asked why I did not renew? Did anyone telephone me to find out why an established customer was no longer a member or to tell me they missed me? No and No. My guess is they don’t even know they lost a long-time customer, and apparently wouldn’t care.

    4. Do your customers know who you are? If they see you, would they recognize you? Could they call you by name? A visible management is an asset. At the Piccadilly Cafeteria chain, the pictures of the manager and the assistant manager are posted on a wall at the food selection line and it is a policy that the manager’s office is placed only a few feet from the cashier's stand at the end of that line, in full view of the customers, and with the door kept open. The manager is easily accessible and there is no doubt about "who's in charge here". You have only to beckon to get a manager at your table to talk with you.

    5. For good customer service, go the extra mile. Include a thank-you note in a customer's package; send a birthday card; clip the article when you see their name or photo in print; write a congratulatory note when they get a promotion. There are all sorts of ways for you to keep in touch with your customers and bring them closer to you.

    6. Are your customers greeted when they walk in the door or at least within 30-40 seconds upon entering? Is it possible they could come in, look around, and go out without ever having their presence acknowledged? It is ironic it took a discount merchant known for price, not service, to teach the retail world the importance of greeting customers at the door. Could it be that’s because Sam Walton knew this simple but important gesture is a matter of respect, of saying "we appreciate your coming in," having nothing to do with the price of merchandise?

    7. Give customers the benefit of the doubt. Proving to him why he’s wrong and you’re right isn’t worth losing a customer over. You will never win an argument with a customer, and you should never, ever put a customer in that position.

    8. If a customer makes a request for something special, do everything you can to say yes. The fact that a customer cared enough to ask is all you need to know in trying to accommodate her. It may be an exception from your customer service policy, but (if it isn’t illegal) try to do it. Remember you are just making one exception for one customer, not making new policy. Mr. Marshall Field was right-on in his famous statement: "Give the lady what she wants."

    9. Are your customer service associates properly trained in how to handle a customer complaint or an irate person? Give them guidelines for what to say and do in every conceivable case. People on the frontline of a situation play the most critical role in your customer’s experience. Make sure they know what to do and say to make that customer’s experience a positive, pleasant one.

    10. Want to know what your customers think of your company? Ask them! Compose a "How're We Doing?" card and leave it at the exit or register stand, or include it in their next statement. Keep it short and simple. Ask things like: what it is they like; what they don’t like; what they would change; what you could do better; about their latest experience there, etc. To ensure the customer sends it in, have it pre-stamped. And if the customer has given their name and address, be sure to acknowledge receipt of the card.
  • Totally agree.Customer is always right (even if it's not true).
  • Yes i agree with you Seo Singapore. Keep up the good work.
  • This is totally understandable. After the quality of a product, I chose the best customer services and I guess that a lot of customers do the same.
  • I always go for good customer service over anything else. Too many annoying, time consuming experiences.
  • After the quality of a product, I chose the best customer services and I guess that a lot of customers do the same.
  • Well, I think the marketing base on the customers service satisfaction is not a new things for now on
  • All of us like to feel important; calling someone by name is a simple way to do it and lets them know you value them as customers.
  • I chose the best customer services and I guess that a lot of customers do the same.
  • Calling someone by name is a simple way to do it and lets them know you value them as customers.