When it comes to customer service only remarkable service will do…

Why you need to deliver ‘Remarkable’ customer service and why does it matter?

• It will help you in an ever increasingly competitive market, if you aren’t delivering a ‘Remarkable’ service then somebody else will
• Give people something to talk about…Spread the word…’YOU ARE REMARKABLE’
• Help you stand out among competitors and get it right, every time, with every customer
• Likeminded customers will be drawn towards you and get people talking about the great things you do
• Builds strong customer and team loyalty; a great place to work and great people to work alongside

You need to start going the extra mile: you can’t just decide you want to be ‘REMARKABLE’ you have to act like it too. Start doing and create an experience for your clients … every time

It’s a talking point: to be remarkable, you need to be remarked on, so think about how you’ll do this:

• What are they going to talk about?
• What are your USPs?
• Do you go above what other business in your sector in your area?
• Are you the go to person in your area/sector?

Be different, be BOLD, you may not have an endless marketing budget or time but you can play a different game

• Be unconventional, be real, and be different – Why not?
• Stay true to your promise and your passion, but don’t be afraid to push the boundaries and experiment with new ideas.
• Above all, think of your customers, service with a smile is great, but you want to be remarkable, It has to be in in everything you and your team – do, say, think, and offer

 You first need to define what is your ‘Remarkable’ ?

Using this 5 step approach will give you a robust and structured process to start and continue to enhance your customer service each and every time:

1. Team – Enthused, pulling the same direction, focused on the customers experience

An engaged Team pulling in the same direction is key, creating a great team ethos and culture can have an equal impact for you and your clients’ experience.

Benefits –

• When a team member is motivated they do a better job, their workload will become easier, fun and become more enthusiastic
• Build your businesses culture and live by your values, keep your team engaged and working together
• Give your team a platform to gather ideas, nominate each other on a job well done
• In order to motivate your team to succeed, you have to be a great leader and give everybody a sense of purpose
• Understanding that you need to deliver a remarkable customer service experience every time!

2. Systems – Don’t leave anything to chance, a step by step for every task

How can you ensure your remarkable service happens every time and not left to chance?

 This is where a systemised approach is key, Michael Gerber the author of The E-Myth books wrote that up to 80% of a business can be systemised. With the right systems in place alongside an engaged team every task can be carried out with the same level of expertise and the outcome be the same, no matter who is carrying out the task.

 Benefits –

• Increasing standards, saves time and allows you all to work smarter – will give great customer service every time
• Empowers your team, rather than having to ask you
• Builds a culture – culture blame a system not a person
• Each customer will get the same remarkable service every time!

3. Wows – Exceeding your clients expectations every time

Wows in customer service and their experiences are about meaningful details, they are unique, and an expression of your company’s culture and shared values.

When a customer experiences a ‘wow’:-

• You are exceeding their expectations in an unexpected way
• It shows you are interest in building rapport and not just purchase a service or product
• It is about making personal emotional connections with empathy

 Let’s look at ‘wows’ that our clients experience when attending a training event and why:-

• All our car park space free and clearing marked with our company logo

Why: To help the clients clearly see the designated parking

• Football table

Why: to interactive with the clients in a fun way

• Charity donation to B1G1

Why: to help our clients see we care about others

• Toiletries and toilet twinning

Why: To refreshes themselves and see the poster that (2.4 billion people don’t have somewhere safe, clean and hygienic to go to the loo. That’s more than a third of the people on the planet) shows we care about others around the world

• Retro sweets

Why: Take the clients back to 1980’s and either eat themselves or take home for their children

With any wow its import to remember –

• Your client relationship is paramount, clients will remember and perhaps more importantly talk about, the ‘little things’ that you do more than the products you deliver.
• What was once remarkable becomes the standard very quickly, so it’s important to keep evolving and enhancing!
• If you forget a wow you have done with a client in the past, your client may notice!

 

4. Learning from others – Do not reinvent the wheel, what have been your experiences and read about what are other credible experts doing

We also experience good and bad customer service in our everyday life and taking the good and adapting it for your business is a great way of passing on what and how it made you feel.

Learning from others gives you a different perspective and it will gives you an insight to sectors and ideas for your business.

A great exercise is to brain storm with your team and all think of great customer service each of you have experienced and in true brain storming session pick the best idea which you and the team can implement.

There are many ‘customer service’ books which are recommend a couple:

• Feargal Quinn – Crowning the customeris a hands-on guide written in a simple jargon-free style
• Ken Blanchard – Raving fans that will help everyone, in every kind of organisation or business, deliver stunning customer service and achieve miraculous bottom-line results.

5. Gathering feedback – Ask and reflect to know you are remarkable and ensure you get candid feedback

How do you know that your clients think you are remarkable? What are other saying about you?

• The easiest way is to ask, many people don’t like to ask and if they do would you get an honest answer or would they just say the nice things!
• Think about using an App or software – these can be automated throughout the year or after each job.
• Don’t be put off sending a manual feedback questionnaire. You could sent in a bright coloured envelope, so it stands out and also printed on different colour paper e.g. yellow or green and you could also add a gift like a biscuit, tea bag. If sending through the post you must always enclose a SAE or a free post envelope.
• Social proof and what others say about you and your services, so gathering Testimonials is a must these can be used whole to display in your office or on your website and social media.

With any feedback good or bad ensure you share with your team, if good to celebrate, since we all like recognition or if negative think about and implement, what system needs changing? Do the team need training?

Your Client happiness should be measured either after each meeting, project or periodically throughout the year. Research shows that only 4% of dissatisfied customers will ever complain. The other 96% will quietly go away and 91% of those will never come back. Furthermore, a dissatisfied customer will tell 8-10 people about it. Asking your clients for feedback gives you an opportunity to address any issues before they become a problem.