Being passionate about your business is certainly important, especially when you are the owner. But does that passion come through to your customers as a service differentiator and do your employees reflect that passion during the moment of truth - when your customers contact your company?
I was sitting in the office of the president of a small women-owned service business the other day and while I was there it was obvious what a busy and growing business it was. I admire the owner, who is a perfectionist and has high standards for herself and her employees. During our meeting, she was very organized and able to retrieve documents relevant to our conversation in seconds. I was duly impressed...and then she answered the phone. While this engaging and charismatic woman had the "total package" in person, she was missing a very key element to business success. That key element is insuring that customers not only receive accurate information and quality products, but also receive a world class experience while interacting with every single representative of the company, including the president.
The experience I had begs the question, "how can women business owners who are strong, confident and have high standards also insure that their staff and they consistently leverage the service experience as a differentiator for their business? In today’s self-service, global market, products can be had easily and inexpensively. The only difference is the experience with the company and its employees.
For those business owners who want to create an outstanding experience for customers during every interaction, here are some tools and suggestions that might help:
1. Create a standard greeting for your employees to use when answering the phone. Make sure it includes the following components:
o “Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening,”
o “This is <employee name>, how may I help you?”
A standard greeting sends a subliminal message to customers that will receive consistent answers and prevents them from calling back to “shop” for the answer they want. Additionally, it lets the caller know they have reached the correct company.
2. Create a standard ending for your employees to use when ending the interaction. Make sure it includes the following components:
o “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
o “Thank you for calling ABC Company.”
o “Good-bye”
A standard ending helps to bring the interaction to a natural close and provides the customer with a perceived choice.
3. When hiring employees, conduct a phone interview and listen to the candidate’s vocal tone and quality. Ask yourself if the candidate sounds pleasant and sincere. Can you understand each word and how rapidly does the candidate speak?
Vocal tone and quality has an extremely strong impact on the perception of the customer’s experience during the interaction. In many cases, it is not what is said, it is how it is said. For example, apologizing to a customer can sound insincere when delivered in a flat, monotone voice.
Implementing these three standards, while seem small, will make a huge difference to customers as they experience the moment of truth when calling into your company.
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