Today, customer servicing is an integral responsible part of any business plan in capturing and more importantly holding a market share for whatever your business is. We have learned how word of mouth can reward and also poison your plans depending on how the retailer or offer-or of the service responds to complaints or criticisms
ANYONE WHO ARGUES WILL GET KISSED......THE KISS OF DEATH
Anyone who argues with a customer today is completely out of their minds. I have always maintained that the customer may not not always be right, but they are never wrong. Think other wise and you are swimming against the tide, arrogant or setting up your failure. Do not find this out the hard way
CUSTOMER SERVICE WASN'T ALWAYS AT PLAY
Many years ago, it was not necessary to woo customers. All you had to have was a product to sell that made sense. It then sold. Medicines did not need to market themselves. They only needed to work. Thus if you had a problem and a certain product helped it, you bought the product. You didn't need anything beyond that.
HOW CAN I INCREASE PROFITS?
But someone years ago thought to themselves, how can I increase market share? How can I sell more of what I have? How? Here are a few ideas that helped to increase awareness of the product and not necessarily serve the customer while doing it.
- Movie theaters were offering 12 piece cutlery sets and giving it away free one for every time you came in. After 12 visits to the movies, you had the whole set. It was advertised as part of the show and in the lobby
- Gas stations would offer either free drinking glass or eating dishes sets redeemable one at a time. Six visits and you had a set. Of course, you had to fill your tank
- Green stamps and blue chip stamps took it farther with free stamps given with the amount of gas purchased. Then, put them in books and go shopping in a live stamp redeemable store. I did it and it was great. To walk into a store with something other than money and leave with goods worked like a tonic
- Some guy in Egypt came up with an idea and hid a $50 bill in a pack of cigarettes. People went to him all the time to buy their smokes and once a week, someone would win the $50 bucks and he couldn't keep up
- Games of all sorts appeared and people looked forward to something more than just their purchases.
THE CUSTOMER IS KING IS INTRODUCED
Fast forward after-wards when all this has died down and played itself out. Why would anyone continue to come to you or how could you increase and hold business? Service the customer. Make him King and he will go out and do all the advertising for you. One person tells 10, ten tell ten more and in one week, 1000 people would now know about you that didn't
WHEN THINGS ARE SELLING...CUSTOMER SERVICE TAKES SECOND PLACE
From 2001 to 2007, a surge in consumer spending took place that was unprecedented. Trillions of dollars were spent and during this time, customer service didn't mean too much. Businesses were thriving by putting you on hold, letting machines answer, and giving refunds. They prospered no matter what they did. Now, we return and go full circle.
GUESS WHO IS BACK IN VOGUE
I don't want to talk with a machine. I don't want apologies and I don't want to be put on hold or ignored. I want to be thanked for my business via getting a good product and being treated in a reasonable, professional way. Today, retailers will have to earn my business or learn the hard way
Insist on it...!
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