DialogueSA-purple-logo-2022-byline
DialogueSA-purple-logo-2022-byline
Are you in client-crisis mode?
Lesanne Brooke
June 12, 2012
D. The people factor
Are you in client-crisis mode?
6. Are you in client-crisis mode
Never mind how fantastic your product is and how much money you have spent on your brand - if you are not customer-centric, you're heading for problems. 69% of customers go elsewhere because of indifferent service, compared to 15% who leave due to bad product.
Repeat business and satisfied clients are worth their weight in gold. If you're unsure about this, take a look at the comparative cost of seducing new clients versus maintaining existing ones. It will convince you. Bad experiences make great gossip and spread like wild-fire, so damage control can be factored into these costs as well.
These are changing times. Can you afford a client crisis?
Below are five factors that are essential to service excellence with some of their indicators of a negative service environment.
Attitude
  • Negative attitude towards customers (“They’re always trying to get out of paying“/“So-and-so is always a problem”)
  • An “us” and “them” mentality
Climate
  • Many negative stories circulating about customers
  • High stress levels
  • Negativity and low staff morale
  • Lack of public celebration of success stories
Roles
  • Uncertainty about the exact role and responsibilities of staff
  • Competitive divisions within the organisation
  • High frequency of calls escalated to a higher authority
  • Unaware of how they offer an ‘added value’ to their customers
Systems
  • Organisation is more production focused than service focused
  • A limited number of individuals deal with customer problems
  • Limited processes and organisational structures to deal effectively with customer service and complaints
  • Focus on quick turn-around time
  • No customer satisfaction survey system in place
  • No service charter for the organisation (no service expectations or considerations to guide staff)
  • Service charter exists, but staff don’t live its values
  • Emphasis on bottom-line results above all else
Response
  • Customers are not made to feel secure
  • High frequency of customer complaints
  • Employees feel alienated from the client; the finished product; the purpose or the context
  • Quality of work not up to standard
  • Feedback is weak
  • Lack of repeat business
Each of the sections listed, is key to service excellence and any of the points indicates a problem area. Your organisation is in client-crisis mode if you are guilty of several. This is a definite call to action, because you are already losing valuable business. (Remember, most people do not complain about bad service, they just tell everyone else and don't come back.)
If you have checked YES several times in one section, for example: systems or climate, that is a perfect place to begin with focused change.
We'll be exploring service excellence over the next few weeks in this blog.
Please check in again and join the dialogue!
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter