The customer comes first but it is true that not all customers are easy customers. So, the customer is the centre of the universe?
The first thing to bear in mind is proactivity. Customers need solutions. Customers need us to be proactive, not reactive. I learned this many years ago. I had a client with whom we had a very close working relationship and who, as with almost everyone we interact with, I learned many things.
Do you think it is exaggerated to say that the customer is the centre of your (our) universe? Well, if it seems exaggerated to you, think about what happens if a customer contacts your company because he has a problem, a doubt, a suggestion and does not find the right answer. And when I talk about an answer, I don't just mean the answer to their problem. I also mean that someone answers the email, the chat, the call, the message from whatever channel, in a timely manner. That you are responded to with assertiveness and empathy. That it doesn't seem to be annoying. Because if we give the impression that his query bothers us, that we don't have people to attend him when he needs it, if we don't give support precisely in the hours when he is free of obligations (work, children), it is very likely that he will not only not recommend your product but, in the next offer of your competition, he will abandon you.
And, if he abandons you, I remind you that it means that he stops buying, updating, using, recommending, promoting your product. With your friends, on social networks, at company dinners, having a coffee at the office coffee machine.
So I don't think so. It is no exaggeration that you have to go out of your way to offer excellent customer service, no, not at all. It is not enough to tell a customer :
- - I am sorry but I cannot help you with your query from here.
- - nothing appears in the application gentleman. I am sorry.
- - ...
The customer doesn't care about your application, or that the manager is having a bad day, or that your budget doesn't include enough money for customer service. They only care that they are calling the company with which they have just spent money, the company to which they have entrusted part of their income in order to have a service, a return, and that they find themselves up against a wall, or simply without a solution to their problems.
All decisions must begin with the question: how will this affect our customers?
The aim should be to exceed customer expectations, not to meet them.
