First-Class Customer Service: Your Follow Through
The standards of customer service today are quickly deteriorating, which means that companies that deliver first-class customer service are miles ahead of competitors that fail to deliver the sort of service their customers’ crave. Our five Moments of Magic are strategies that help you deliver the first-class experiences your customers want and deserve. In my three previous posts, I discussed MENTAL PSYCHE and THE GREETING and MEETING THE NEED. Today, I will cover step #4.
#4. FOLLOW THROUGH
Following through is an absolute necessity to a great customer service experience. And it’s the easiest way to exceed a customer’s expectations because it takes such little time. The follow-through experience is like the cherry on top of the sundae. If you don’t do it, some customers who haven’t experienced it, might not notice. But, if you always do it, you will consistently give your customers an unforgettable experience.
Follow-up and follow through come in various forms. First off, if you want to follow-up with a customer to see how happy he is with his purchase, or how her experience has been with your service, or how much value your product has provided him – in most ways, you are soliciting qualitative feedback. But, my question to you is – what do you do with this information?
Even if you just ask the questions or follow-up as part of your routine – you will exceed their expectations. But, if you really want to go the extra mile, you will actually DO something with the information they give you. That is how true first-class customer service experiences are created. If you take action based on the answers you receive to the questions you ask – it puts weight behind your words. But, if you do the reverse and fail to do anything with what you learn, you are sending the customer a message that communicates that you aren’t really interested in doing anything extra, but you’re fine pretending you care. So, put your customer service mantra where your mouth is – follow through with what you value.
Another type of follow through is when you thank the customer. Thank you cards and emails are great avenues to extend this effort. The reason these are so effective is because they show the customer that he/she is worth your time – you are taking the time to check-in with someone that already made a purchase. In other words, if you hadn’t sold to them yet, customers could discredit your call or card, assuming your actions are only in hopes to snag their sale. But, when you are going out of your way – after the fact – it speaks volumes to what you really value.
Again, this step isn’t critical, if you simply want to give your customers a sub-par experience. But, if you follow through, and you do it right, you can exceed a customer’s expectations in legendary ways. And this is where every business should want to be: at the top, set apart.
