The art of customer service is becoming as extinct as the dinosaurs. To think a business would care about the manner in which their employees interact with their customers is ludicrous-right? It's not like people have a choice. It's not like business owners want repeat business. Who cares if the customer left satisfied. If this sounds crazy to you, guess what-you're right!! However with the steady decline of trained professionals or a work force who actually cares and values customer service, this is becoming the norm.
Ken Blanchard dives into the power of customer service in his book Raving Fans. It is the journey of an area manager guided by his fairy godmother as he bares witness to quality service. This "quality service" is focused on one principal.....creating raving fans! Good customer service is just not enough. Satisfied customers aren't good enough. You want customers who aren't customers....they are Raving Fans!
The book examines 3 principles.
1. Decide what you want
2. Discover what the customer wants
3. Deliver...plus one
Each principle is demonstrated by 3 different businesses. Each business utilizes the principles to create raving fans.
I am in the customer service industry. We have a vision and mission for our company. We know what we want and who we want to be. In alignment with the first principle.....Decide what you want.....we live everyday by our vision and mission. The choices we make and the environment we create is driven by our vision and mission. The message must be clear from the top to the bottom. Every team member has immediate influence on your customer and how they respond to the vision of your company. They respond based on how you deliver.
Our customers (in my case patients) have helped us discover what they want. We learn their needs and desires at the first phone call, during their visit and our goal is to train our team how to pick up on and recognize what the patient is telling us. As stated in the second principle......Discover what the customer wants......the goal is to determine the customers needs and identify how this feeds into our vision and mission. The purpose is to create alignment between what we want and what the customer wants. By doing this we are building our business with consumers who value who we are and what we provide.
The final principle.....Deliver plus one......is so simple but so difficult is seems to achieve. Quite often businesses will work so hard to "wow" the customer that they are unable to achieve the goal. One can over promise and under deliver. Implementing and following systems fosters consistency. When you are consistent in your behavior and actions you can begin to build and then deliver....deliver, plus one. My former CEO told me to give the customer what they want plus a little more every time. For me, that sums up deliver plus one. It is always about going the extra mile......consistently.
Imagine the world of customer service if every industry focused on creating raving fans. The benefits for the business and the consumer would be immeasurable!! It starts with vision, followed by customer needs, topped with a little more. Raving Fans would foster a society of happy, fulfilled people. Imagine that??!! You may not be able to change the world but you can change your company, your department, your team...one raving fan at a time.
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