Customer Service is the key to any business industry. Whether its retail, corporate or the food industry the cornerstone of bringing people back into your store is providing good customer service. Recently some business have been spot-on in stepping up or maintaining the highest level of customer service. Other businesses I have had interaction with have a noticeable decline. Is it the recession? Could it be managers and business owners are more focused on keeping the business running than focusing on employee-customer relations?
Three years ago I read a book called Customers For Life, by Carl Sewell. Customers for Life is a book explaining the basics of offering a high level of customer service in the auto industry. After reading the book and seeing how simple imposing a standard for customer service can be it was easy to realize that Mr. Sewells philosophy could be applied to any business, not just the auto industry.
As a public relations professional suggesting a business to focus on customer service may seem like a small task or a task that may not be normally associated with a PR campaign but it is effective and necessary. I could get as much press about your restaurant as needed but if your restaurant doesn't have the customer service to back up the hype people will not return. It can be an integral part of PR campaign depending on your goals.
According to Carl Sewell it's easier to provide great customer service to one guest and have them become a repeat customer or a customer for life, rather than spending money on trying to bring in first time guests. During these difficult economic times business owners and managers must not forget the customer.
I walked into a local electronics retailer looking for information about a laptop. This retailer had many staff members who were very helpful and knowledgeable about their product. Because there were so many on staff during a busy Saturday afternoon, they were able to spend one on one time with each guest their interacted with. This lead to the eventual selling of the laptops not only to me but to numerous others. Every fifth person out the door had a computer of some sort. The price factor did not seem to be the deal breaker, the prices were comparable to any other electronics store but the high level of customer service provided by their employees created a relationship between consumer and seller. This relationship is what builds the foundation of a successful business.
All of this circles back to providing high levels of customer service to forge that relationship between business and consumer. Taking time now to make that connection will produce benefits down the road. This is clear in my retailer example, I was satisfied by the level of service provided and plan to return again the next time I am in the need of any electronics. I will tell my friends and family to visit this store because I trust them and trust their opinions and experience. Word of mouth has been proven to be the strongest form of marketing. Word of mouth is more trusted than celebrity endorsements or flash commercials.
Focus on cementing those relationships and you could be ahead of the game.
