Statistics show 93% of customers will pay more if they receive high quality customer service when making a purchase.
'IN Focus' Newsletter - SEPTEMBER 2008
BRAND LOYALTY
In this issue we follow on from our Customer Retention issue and discuss Brand Loyalty. What are the most popular and trusted brands in Australia? Below are the category winners qualified from an independent survey conducted earlier this year.
The category winners:
Interesting to note that the only Australian company on this list is Bunnings (Qantas is only partly Australian owned).
What do your Customers think of you? Do you have the processes in place to be on next year's list? The most cost effective way to keep your Customer Service, Sales Processes and Customer Satisfaction in check is with a Customer Service Monitoring Program!
Statistics prove that 93% of Customers indicated that quality Customer Service was vital to maintaining brand loyalty. 68% of Customers stopped doing business with a company due to poor service. Yet 95% of dissatisfied Customers would continue to do business with a company if their problem was fixed quickly and satisfactorily.
This proves that Customers will remain loyal to a brand, product or service if they feel valued by those serving them and are offered good Customer Service.
Our Mystery Shopping Programs monitor and help improve Customer Service levels and our Customer Satisfaction Audits pinpoint most importantly why your Customers are remaining loyal or defecting to your competitors. Click here for more information.
Enjoy this issue!
It has been repeatedly shown that good service leads directly to increased Customer retention rates (Oliver, Nett Effect surveys). The emphasis here is on ‘good'. You can't expect Customers to stay simply because the service wasn't bad. In other words, their service has to be of a high standard to genuinely keep Customers.
One estimate suggested 95% of Customers that experienced no problems will remain loyal, and another suggested that over 90% said they would buy from the supplier again if they had no problems (SOCAP).
STRONGER POSITION IN THE COMPETITIVE MARKET PLACE
Studies have shown that companies identified as being good service providers tended to have revenue growth at twice the rate of their poor service competitors (De Vrye survey). A related finding was that the good service companies market share increased by around 6%, while poor service companies lost approximately 2% market share per year.
It has also been shown that good service businesses have a greater ability to hold market share during a recession (Lyons survey).
Source: www.business.gov.au
Sales Corner!
When your encounter with your customer is complete, he or she will say one of five things about the experience with you behind your back;
Ultimately, it's up to us as Salespeople to determine what that is. In Australia, most of the time it will gravitate between nothing at all (most frequently) something really bad and if we're lucky; something good. Rarely is it something great!
What are your Customers saying behind your back?
We need to be aware of this at all times because it will determine not only the fate of that relationship but the fate of other potential relationships with prospects in your Customer's circle of influence. Remember the six degrees of separation.
We need to aim at something great!
So how do we achieve it?
The single most important word in your game plan needs to be MEMORABLE.
Being creative, causing the occasional WOW in the hearts and minds of the client and passing the benchmark of what the competition does.
How many companies' mission statements say things like, "we want to be the No 1 company" or "we want to exceed our customers' expectations" without a dedicated plan or idea of how to go about it? Plenty; that's how many.
Here are a few tips on creating that point of difference:
Source: Steve Wren - Kingsway Training
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'IN Focus' Newsletter - AUGUST 2008
CUSTOMER RETENTION
In this issue we discuss the importance of good Customer Service in our article Good Service is Good Business. This article highlights how important it is for your Customers to receive high quality Service and why it is such an effective business tool.
Our Sales Corner this month looks at creating Customer Loyalty and generating a valuable client retention base. This return patronage is the ‘bread and butter' of you business and the referrals they offer are priceless.
The best way to manage and keep abreast of Customer Service issues is to use our Customer Service Monitoring Programs. These Programs allow you to deal with any Customer Service problems that may arise before they escalate into an irresolvable issue potentially costing more than just a financial downturn - most importantly your reputation!
Enjoy this issue!
GOOD SERVICE IS GOOD BUSINESS
Customers, and Customer Service. Both go hand-in-hand, and both are essential to the success of your business.
In today's competitive marketplace, if you don't provide good Service you won't attract Customers. And without Customers , you don't have a business.
Customer Service is real, it matters, and most importantly, it is achievable.
Providing good Customer Service is not as hard as it sounds.
Despite all the talk, there are only four simple things you need to know:
What is good Service?
Good Service is always doing the right things the right way for Customers.
Why should you do it?
Good Service leads to increased Customer Satisfaction. This satisfaction builds Customer loyalty, and in turn contributes to improved business profits. Good Service is good business!
What's in it for my Customers?
It makes it easier for them to deal with you, they are more satisfied with you and they will want to do more business with you.
How will you know when you are doing it right?
Your current Customers will keep coming back, new Customers will be referred to you from your existing Customers, and your business will show the returns!
Source: www.business.gov.au
Sales Corner!
WHAT CAN WE DO TO IMPROVE THE POTENTIAL TO CREATE CUSTOMER LOYALTY?
Source: Steve Wren - Kingsway Training
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'IN Focus' Newsletter - July 2008
The Team at Focus Plus Service Auditors are excited to announce the arrival of our new monthly Newsletter ‘IN Focus'.
In the coming months we will be providing you with up to date information, articles and statistics across different retail sectors on the standards of Customer Service in Australia.
We will also raise and discuss current affairs, points of interest and Customer Service issues relative to the Service industry.
A regular feature of our Newsletter will be the Sales Corner, providing Sales Tips and an insight into the world of Selling.
We welcome your feedback on any of the topics raised in our Newsletter and invite you to forward your comments to info@focusplus.net.au
We hope you find ‘IN Focus' enjoyable and informative and we look forward to the next edition!
The Bottom Line Impact of Customer Service
Service is important, but it is not just about satisfying the Customer. There must be a ‘pay off' for the effort, and there is!
Research and case study experience has repeatedly shown that there are many business benefits achieved by providing Customers with high quality Service (Harvard Business Review).
The benefits are certainly there to be gained but can also be quickly lost as the reverse is also true. Customers are becoming increasingly intolerant of long suffered poor Service. There are now serious business implications if you deliver poor quality Service to your Customers.
From a business perspective, the benefits of good Service are many, as it leads to greater revenue from Customers, reduces your operating costs and in turn provides for a healthier business.
BENEFITS OF GOOD SERVICE:
Increased Customer Retention Rates
Attract New Customers through positive ‘word of mouth'
Reduced Running Costs of the business
Reduced Marketing/Advertising costs
Stronger position in the Market Place
Able to differentiate Service as a competitive advantage
Increased Staff and Job Satisfaction
Increased Profits.
Source: www.business.gov.au
Sales Corner!
Your Real Point of Difference; Your Sales Team!
Why do we measure the performance of the agents we entrust our Customers to? The question answers itself; or does it?
On deeper reflection, the answer is more multi-faceted.
In business we often walk a fine line. The "chemistry of selling" is on one side and your process is on the other. Process alone lacks the ‘x factor' that often differentiates your company.
Your agents' ability to personify your vision relies on something a little harder to quantify and a lot rarer to find.
It is our contention that agent's skills sets need to include 5 areas that contribute to good ‘chemistry'. They are;
Historically, the agents' applications or shortcomings in the 5 categories mentioned above will be consistent with data you will gain through your Service Audits.
Much of my consultancy work revolves around unlearning old sales axioms that pollute an agent's willingness or ability to be on the offensive without being offensive.
This is an example of one of those fine lines we walk.
When our agents cross these lines it costs us money.
The perception and loyalty our customers have is totally related to our profitability. Happily, this is something that if we're prepared to monitor, we can control.
Goodbye for now and remember; when you're good, getting paid is incidental.
Source: Steve Wren - Kingsway Training