According to a Bain & Co. retail study, when customers view their interactions with sales employees positively, the customer will purchase – on average – 50% more items. Also, "The odds of repeat visits also go up significantly," Bain noted.
So how can you provide a great experience in that 1-on-1 “Moment of Truth?” Well, let’s start with a couple Don’ts:
· Don’t script…unless you can really ensure all staff sound sincere (Chick-fil-a does a generally good job with staff responding to a customer’s thanks with “My pleasure”), the script will hurt more than it helps.
· Don’t push…don’t push your product to the point of ignoring the needs of the person you’d like to purchase the item. Instead, pull information from them about the issues/needs/goals they’re trying to address. Then you can provide the solution in the form of your product or service.
· Don’t rush…in society’s often frenetic pace, patience with a customer is one of the greatest virtues you can have in conveying that you care.
How about a few Do’s:
· Do view the conversation as a sandwich. The meat is in the middle, but you have to have that great bread surrounding it all. Open positively, and close with appreciation. Make sure the last opinion the customer has is that you cared about them and appreciated them.
· Do ask questions. We do a great deal of mystery shopping at CSS, and invariably the employees who perform best are those who ask enough questions to specifically understand that customer’s unique perspective, issue, or need.
· Do paint a picture for staff of what is GREAT customer service. Companies need to stop assuming that employees know the difference between good and GREAT. In order to deliver GREAT customer service, businesses need to be very intentional about describing what it is, what it looks like, and how to do it.
To get more business, loyalty, and dollars from customers, use these common sense suggestions for improving customer service.
Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/
Listen to our latest podcast episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/
Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/
