In Jamaica, there are many businesses that are trying to keep their head above water in our current economy. Is Customer Service Vital in a business?
Here are some basic reasons Customer Service is needed:
- Customer loyalty leading to increased market share and return on sales
- Increased Sales and Profit
- Higher customer count and more new customers
- Savings in marketing, advertising and promotion budgets
- Fewer complaints in an environment receptive to complaints; more complaints resolved, customers stay
- More frequent sales, repeat business, larger sales, order upgrading, reordering
- Positive company reputation
- Differentiation
- Improved employee morale and productivity because customers respond positively to them
- Improved employee relationships: people talk to each other because they are in better moods, doing work they more often enjoy
- Fewer employee grievances, absenteeism and tardiness
- Less employee turnover
Customer Happiness… let us reflect on how we can create a happy environment for our customers: internally and externally!!!
Ken Blanchard said “Profit is the applause you get from taking good care of employees and customers.” As leaders we should “Lead with Luv”, make our intentions and actions have a tremendously positive impact on the lives of those that we touch.
Jamaica Money Market Brokers Ltd. (JMMB), a local investment company, is a true example of a company “Leading with Luv” with its “Vision of Love”. They value their team members, their opinions and they make an event out of each opportunity to promote teamwork and team ideas. The leadership at JMMB is dedicated to the personal development and success of its employees. The leaders Keith Duncan and Donna Duncan-Scott are visionary. Leadership is not about love- it is love. It’s loving your mission, its loving your customers, its loving your people, and its loving yourself enough to get out of the way so other people can be magnificent.
JMMB loves their customers, they make it very easy for you transact business with them, if you have a loan they call days in advance to remind you of the maturity date, they encourage you to invest in products that are applicable to you based on your needs not their needs but YOURS. Can you think of another financial institution that “Leads with Luv” like JMMB? Probably not.
Customer Service is about people. When the people who provide your service are happy and feel great about coming to work, they do a better job. When the people who purchase your products and services are happy, they make all kinds of amazing things happen at your company:
- They are quicker to forgive your company’s mistakes
- They spend more, increasing your bottom line even in tough times
- They refer colleagues and friends to you- there’s nothing like a personal endorsement for generating new customers
- They allow you to get to know them better as customers, which is a very inexpensive way to help you customize your goods and services
- They give you their loyalty, an invaluable gift
TIP of the Month
****Get personal with your appreciation. Who are your best customers- the ones who buy the most, refer the most, offer the most feedback (even if that valuable feedback comes in the form of a complaint)? A quick note, whether hand-written emailed, letting them know they are valued and appreciated goes a long, long way. Put your message on a pretty card that may be likely to hold on to, or create a link to a dynamic “thank you” web page that they can re-visit throughout the month for an instant smile.
