Tag: customer service training

“The Customer Is Always Right” Principle Does Not Always Work

Posted on | by Sienna
By Glenn Dobson of the KONA Group. “The customer is always right.” This is a platitude often heard around Australian businesses But regularly the question is raised in many Australian sales management training, sales training courses and customer service training programs, with limited resources and budgets it’s near to impossible to get every piece of customer feedback and incorporate it into this business principle. So it makes sense to stop making the claim “the customer is always right” and instead clearly define specific customer experience values which you and your team will incorporate and demonstrate on a daily basis to align with your core service values. Sure, you’ve got to listen to customer feedback but we are in a ‘blame era’ where customers and employees are having less accountability and responsibility for their own actions and are looking to blame someone else whenever they can Therefore it is important you don’t respond to every conflicting piece of advice and feedback from customers In Australian sales training and call centre training in Sydney and Melbourne we often hear sales people complaining that they missed target because “accounts didn’t collect the customer’s cheque; the warehouse doesn’t stock what the customers want; the CRM doesn’t work when…” While it’s good to get feedback from customers, you should determine to what extent you will be using them in making business decisions and how much is just customers exercising their ‘right to complain’ where their feedback is based more on emotion than practical logic. Don’t be like todays politicians who are making decisions that affect the majority based on a minority voice or group!! So What Exactly Is Your Organisation’s Customer Service Philosophy and Strategy? Customer service strategy involves how you are going to have customers experience your brand in a differentiated way so regularly review and ask these 3 questions:
  1. What are our core service principles and values?
  2. What exactly do we want our customers to experience?
  3. How can we best communicate our brand through every interaction?
From day one, you should define your customer experience values. (i.e, easy to do business with, competent, professional service, always ready to lend a helping hand, etc) and set benchmarks for your team as to what is acceptable and what is not That way you reinforce that everything you say and do aligns with your core values. When you have decided on your customer experience values, your business operations should work across the sales, service and support groups to ensure all of these people are able to deliver the desired customer experience with each interaction with customer. How Do I Know If My Customer Service Strategy Is Not Working? When your customer base remains static or is contracting instead of expanding something is wrong. Every sales and customer service interaction with customers is an opportunity to delight them not to disappoint them. When these customers don’t come back to you for repeat purchases it’s logical to conclude that the previous experience they’ve had with your company wasn’t what they were looking for. So it is important to invest in your people and not just systems Hire the right people, not just the best of who was available, then develop them through a practical, customised and results oriented sales training courses and customer service training programs to set them up for success. Then proactively monitor customer engagement via CSAT’s and other KPI’s which help to keep you abreast of how your customer base sees your brand. Keep in mind that the worst customer experiences generally come from companies where its sales or support staff  focus only on the beginning and end of the interaction. You should go beyond these major touch points and think about things that will help with customer growth and retention. To learn more about KONA’s Australian Sales Training, Call Centre Training, Customer Service Training and Sales Management Training and Coaching in Sydney and Melbourne, telephone Glenn Dobson on 1300 611 288, or email Glenn@KONA.com.au  

5 Tips to Show How Customer Centric Your Company Is

Posted on | by Sienna
By Glenn Dobson of the KONA Group You might say that “THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT” is an overused cliché. And you could be right.It’s been there for years and has invoked many differences of opinion. Customer CentricThrough all these years many things have changed in the way businesses interact with clients and customers but making them a priority continues to be crucially important. In Australian customer service training, call centre training and sales training courses, customer centric organisations stand out as making every customer interaction a chance to build and strengthen relationships with their customers and in the process, impress them. So here are 5 ways to make sure your team don’t forget to put customers at the centre of everything they do on a daily basis. 1. Get everyone in your business involved in customer service. Ideally every employee, from the CEO to the receptionist, from accounts to sales, should be able to pitch in and lend a hand with customer support.Smart companies include ‘none sales’ departments in on customer service training and sales training in Sydney and Melbourne as they realise that not only will participation equip them with the right communication skills, it will also show none sales and service departments how important you regard this working philosophy. 2. Work out a schedule for all staff members to meet with key customers. Customer service training should be a continuing aspect of every employee’s job and organising face to face meetings is one of the best ways for them to really get to know your customers and how your products are used. Sure it may be unrealistic to expect everyone to do 20 meetings a week, especially with small customers, but at least free up the time to work with the sales and customer support people to meet with important customers 3. Make your customers the centre of your business You and your management team should define the kind of company culture you feel is needed for the business with customer service an integral part of it.Set the tone by including customer service training and call centre training updates, issues and concerns during company meetings. Also, as you work out your vision and mission statements make customer service a critical part. 4. Reward service excellence For excellent support from your frontline people, offer performance based rewards and incentives. It shouldn’t just be the sales people who get the rewards.Your office bound top performers should likewise enjoy such rewards of being customer centric by recognising them publicly. Ensure all internal communications reinforce to everybody they need to understand that this concept of being customer centered is important to your business and share real life examples of where employees have made a difference. 5. Make sure everyone has access to customer information. Entering information onto your CRM should not be just the domain of sales people. All departments and every employee should be in a position to know about your individual customers and by entering and sharing information they will become more productive and build more positive relationships. When you make customers central to your business operations, you have a real opportunity to differentiate your organisation from your competition, and by putting these 5 tips in place you will establish the key corporate value that customer service is everyone’s responsibility To learn more about KONA’s Australian Sales Training, Call Centre Training, Customer Service Training and Sales Management Training and Coaching in Sydney and Melbourne, telephone Glenn Dobson on 1300 611 288, or email info@KONA.com.au

What Kind of Listener are You?

Posted on | by Sienna
What Kind of Listener are You? by Mary Morris, Customer Service Training Specialist Effective listening is the key to understanding customers and providing exceptional customer service. However effective listening doesn’t just “happen” when delivering customer service, it is a skill.  And the skill of effective customer service listening must first be learned and then practiced as it requires a change in the way we think and act. Most of us have experienced “mental wandering”, especially on the phone and if there is a lot of noise around. The reason is most people speak at a rate of 125 words per minute. However the problem for listeners is that the brain is capable of handling almost five time that number, giving us ample time to fill the space with other activities. Customer service agents will usually use one of five common listening styles and each can be used in its functional and dysfunctional forms.   Each style has a time and place, but the use of one style in isolation can become dysfunctional So ask yourself, how well do you use these listening styles?  
  • Directing Listening
The listener directs the speaker by establishing the focus and direction of their behaviour.
  • Judgemental Listening
The listener introduces their own opinions and value judgements into the conversation often in the form of advice or prescribed right and wrong behaviour.
  • Probing Listening
The listener asks questions in an attempt to get to the heart of the matter.  In the process he/she tends to lead the conversation to satisfy other objectives.
  • Smoothing Listening
The listener tries to make light of the problem and this person believes that conflict should be avoided at all costs.
  • Reflective Listening
The listener works to develop an atmosphere in which the speaker can express his/her problem easily.  The listener feeds back neutral summaries of what they hear ensuring that understanding has occurred and allowing the speaker to keep talking.   The key to effective customer service listening is to understand the time and place when to use these styles to get the best outcome from any situation for the customer and your company For more information on how Mary’s Customer Service Training and Sales Training  in Australia brings these listening styles to life with real life examples and hands-on practice please contact us or 1300 611 288.