Could increasing your revenue this year really be as straightforward as encouraging your team of sales professionals to make three simple adjustments to their service? As it turns out, yes. The service that your organization provides to your valuable customers is directly associated with the revenue you generate – sometimes even over and above the quality or pricing of the product or service you provide. It sounds hard to believe, but it’s true.
The return on investment of providing customer service training to your team members really can’t be overstated. Businesses that provide above-average customer service are also those that are more successful financially. Take these facts for instance:
- According to NewVoiceMedia, companies lose around $14 billion per year in the US because of poor customer service.
- The Temkin Group reported that for a company with $1 billion in annual revenue, even a moderate improvement in customer experience can lead to an increase of around $823 million over three years.
- Customers are willing to pay more for a better service experience – 17% more, according to American Express.
Excellent customer service also helps to build brand loyalty, increasing customer retention. This has huge impacts for revenue as well given that repeat customers spend 300% more with your company, according to RJMetrics. These repeat customers are also much more likely to tell their family and friends about their great experience with your business, particularly since we know from Salesforce’s research that 72% of consumers will tell others about a positive customer service interaction.
Conversely, according to American Express, consumers will tell around 15 people about negative experiences. The potential reach is huge simply through word of mouth, helping you to passively recruit new business or, for businesses who don’t invest in customer service, helping potential new customers to avoid you. This is the impact that customer service, both good and bad, can have on the success of your business.
Attitude adjustments for maximum impact
While there are a huge number of components and skills to consider when working to improve your team’s customer service, there are a few simple attitude and behavioral adjustments that can be made today that will have a swift impact on the customer experience. These are adjustments made by the customer service representative that will help them to do their job better, therefore improving the service received by the customer. The well-evidenced knock-on effects of excellent service will soon follow.
First, service representatives should consider the type and amount of discipline that they bring to their position. In many cases, discipline can be the difference between barely getting by and being very successful as a salesperson. There are several different components that make up the concept of discipline though. These include:
- Being organized in your physical space and with your work
- Having excellent time management
- Setting goals and executing the necessary steps to reach them
Discipline is what sets very mediocre salespeople apart from those who excel at their jobs. By investing in the training to help your team members develop new skills or, in some cases, refine existing skills to enhance their abilities to demonstrate discipline, your organization’s customers will benefit from interacting with highly professional representatives who are prepared to do their jobs well.
Setting yourself up for success
One specific example of how team members can demonstrate their discipline in establishing great work habits is by leaving their workspace each day completely ready for the next. This includes tidying the space and writing a to-do list so you can get started immediately the following morning, among any other tasks that will help the employee to be able to do their best work right from the start of their workday.
Employees who sit down at an organized workspace are more likely to have a clear idea of what needs to be done that day. When handling customer inquiries, they’re also likely to be less scattered and more easily able to pull the information the customer needs since all their work materials will be in the correct places. This will undoubtedly enhance the customer experience. Additionally, it’s likely that this level of discipline and commitment to doing the best work possible will carry over into all other areas of their work-life; this includes the quality of service being delivered to the customer.
Positive people have positive impacts
Of course, it’s easier said than done, but employees, especially those dealing directly with customers, should endeavor to be always positive. When interacting with customers, there are often opportunities for salespeople to add their own comments or opinions into the conversation. When those chances arise, ensure that all additions are positive. These interactions will shape the customer’s perception of the company and influence their decision to do repeat business. It’s imperative that employees adjust their attitude to be as positive as possible, even if they feel differently on the inside.
To learn further specifics about how to implement these three simple but impactful behavior and attitude adjustments, contact a ServiceSkills representative today. You can request a free demo of the Basic Selling Skills series, which includes an additional 23 skills and techniques that are effective and easy to implement.
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