S – Standards must be in place for all aspects of your customer experience and known by everyone in the business. Why? Because consistency builds trust and confidence in the mind of the customer and that translates into repeat business. Anything less and you’re playing a dangerous game using the ‘Hope’ strategy – “I hope my team greets the customer appropriately”; “I hope they ask the right questions”; “I hope they tell the customer about our specials”; “I hope they’re polite”. You get the picture.
Remember this – every touch point with a customer is an opportunity for success or failure in the customer service experience. If your team is not fully and completely aware and on board with your customer service standards, then you run a very real risk of doing damage to your customer relationships and your brand! Well-defined and communicated standards are essential for anyone facing or dealing with your customers. Let’s take a look at some, to get you thinking about yours.
What standards do you have in place around answering telephone calls, emails, and even face-to-face inquiries? What standards do you have in place around personal grooming, appearance, and presentation? If you were a customer of your business being served by your team (or you for that matter) what standards would you abide by to ensure that my experience as a customer is a positive one? What boundaries and authority does the team have to adequately perform their function in front of a customer? All of these questions are important to consider when establishing and embedding your standards into your business.
Another area becoming more and more important everyday is values! What are your values? What does your business stand for? What do you stand for? Does your team believe in the same things? If not, it’s unlikely that they’re going to demonstrate congruent behaviour that lives those values. And, this is something the customer is becoming increasingly interested in.
So what does a set of standards look like? Well, one example is a ‘customer charter’ and there is one I like here which is a statement of what the business strives for when dealing with customers. It comes from the Disney group of companies and it says:
“It is the responsibility of all Cast Members and employees who come in contact with our guests and customers to be courteous, to be knowledgeable about our products and services, and to help our guests and customers enjoy the highest quality experience we can provide.”
Another example is a set of brief statements in list form that is displayed throughout the business and is even carried around by team members to remind them of what’s important when dealing with customers. Here’s an example.
- We will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (if applicable)
- We will respond in detail, by phone or in writing, to all written customer enquiries within five working days
- We trust each others integrity and ability. Our only rule: Use good judgment in all situations
- We are proud of our professional appearance, language and behaviour
- We will always put the customer first
You don’t need to have 20 statements. You can have as few as three so long as they embody the absolute standards and values you want your customers to experience and appreciate. Oh, and remember, you don’t need standards to fit every type of customer. You only want customers that believe in the same set of standards that you do. Display your standards and values and you will attract the type of customers that will buy into that and stay with you for the long term.
If you already have some standards in place, review them and see whether they’re still current and valued by your customers. If you don’t have standards clearly articulated, write some down, share them with your team, discuss them, agree on some that make sense, and then display them in your customer service experiences.
Have a small card made up with your list of standards that everyone can carry around in their pocket. Make sure everyone in your business understands them and has bought into them or else they will merely pay lip service to them!
With your standards in place, and a better understanding of what your customers want and need, you need to make sure your team has the skills to deliver.
Next week, I’ll share the T – training areas that will massively assist you and your team stand out in the mind of the customer!
Build massive momentum!
