Shep Hyken's Blog, page 189

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of May 23, 2016

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

Get Your Executives to Invest in Social Customer Service by Jaclyn Fu

(Conversocial) To deliver a socially mature customer care strategy, there must be both Investment and Innovation. This chapter focuses on insights and practical tools you can use to demonstrate social care ROI and build the business case you need to propel your efforts to the next level.

My Comment: Social (media) customer service/care is a hot topic. Yet, it surprises me that more companies aren’t as active as they should be on monitoring what their customers (or anyone) are saying about them – both good and bad. What do we have to do to make the case for leadership to care (as in make the investment) into social care? This article will tell you how.

8 Business Tips from the Top Customer Loyalty Program Trends of 2016 by Bea Hernandez

(Avail.it) You have to keep track of the latest trends and developments to make sure that your customer service stays competitive. Here are the essential takeaways that businesses should keep in mind when assessing their customer loyalty programs this year.

My Comment: Here are some great tips about what’s working in a customer loyalty program. I was intrigued by a few of the ideas, such as connecting to the IoT (the Internet of Things), use of mobile devices and more.

Service with an Actual Smile by Susan Reda

(NRF) Stella Connect lets customers “see” and reward customer service representatives.

My Comment: This article is about a new program that comes from our friends at StellaService. Their new The Stella Connect program takes satisfaction surveys to another level. It not only allows you to share feedback, but also rewards the excellent work of the customer support rep who gave you the great service. And you, the customer, get to choose the rewards. Very cool!

Why do we have multiple loyalty cards for the same category in our “digital” wallet? by Osman Khan

(LinkedIn) After years of being a passive consumer of ideas, I decided to take the plunge and “write” my first blog post.  I didn’t think I could add to the conversation around loyalty and customer service that hasn’t been said before.  Since I’ve spent the majority of my career in consulting, my primary exposure has been as a road warrior with status in many of the iconic programs.  Now that I’ve transitioned into a virtual role with limited travel, I’ve started to look at these programs more objectively.

My Comment: Osman Khan has written his first blog post on customer service/experience, and it is worth a read. He addresses why satisfied customers don’t come back (one of my personal favorite topics), that customer satisfaction might be overrated, some tips on employee engagement and more.

The  Crave  Report by Nicholas J. Webb

(What Customers Crave) After two years of researching my new book “What Customers Crave”, I discovered some interesting attributes of the best organizations in the world. These attributes turned out to be the secret to their overwhelming business growth and customer loyalty. In this short report, I will provide you an abstract of these attributes so that you can begin to fold them into your organizational strategy.

My Comment: I just came across this excellent special report on “What Customers Crave” by Nicholas Webb, which is also the name of his new book coming out later this year. You’ll find some valuable ideas on touch points, different types of customers, why customer experience initiatives fail and more. I’m looking forward to reading this book when it comes out.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

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Guest Blog: 7 Reasons You’re Underperforming in Customer Service

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post Brittany Torano shares seven reasons why your organization may be suffering from poor customer service. All of these reasons are important to providing amazing customer service.  – Shep Hyken

Customer service is give and take. It’s a relationship between the employee and the customer. That relationship is on a scale and the balance can be easily tipped. The effects of the right customer service are exponential. Magical even, pulling in customers to return for more. However, the scale is always in question and where it leans can mean rainbows and sunshine or plain old doom. The doom meaning poor customer service, which in turn is a tarnished reflection on your business.

If you see that your company is looking a little rough, it may be from customer service underperformance. Reasons being:

You’re not hiring the right people

Any type of business requires customer service. Customers are a key to the success of your company, but an even greater key is your employees. Employees are the core of your product, in a sense. Even if you’re just a startup and you’re only one person, you, the CEO, the lone gunman, are the customer service. However, if you’re a bit larger and can afford employees, that person representing your brand has to be the right fit. If you’re just hiring whomever, while it’s great to give an opportunity to everyone, can be your downfall. You must find those willing to work and fit the mold of what you’re selling. They must be able to work, adapt, learn, and interact. Your employees must fit the culture you’ve created. During job interviews, grill your potential prospects, be upfront, truthful; they have to know what they’re getting into.

Employees being unfamiliar with the product

Customers walk into any place willing to buy something and assume, this goes for the internet too, that employees are all knowing. In hindsight, that’s impossible for anyone, plus things are always changing. However, employees should have vast knowledge of the product(s). If a customer walks in or tweets a question, they should get an immediate response.  Those working for you should be able to give an answer and the right one too. Of course, if the question is a bit out there, it’s always best to ask those on top for the appropriate response. Being unfamiliar with a product gives off the air of unprofessionalism and customers might see the situation as time consuming.

The company vision may be unclear

When hiring new employees, drill in their heads the company vision. The company vision is an extension of your product and customer service. If you’re unsure, as the owner, what direction your business should take, it will rub off onto your employees. An unclear vision means an unclear path on how to communicate and aid customers. How should employees approach a customer? What do YOU stand for? If all of this is a hazy mess, your customer service will be just that, a mess.

Ignoring customer feedback

Criticism is hard. It’s like a blow to the heart, especially if the criticism is for your job. It’s how you make your income, it’s something you want to excel at, especially if you’re a small business. Customer feedback can be similar to that of getting sand in your food at the beach: catastrophic, emotionally. However, customer feedback is just part of the package and it can be beneficial. Hearing the voices of those consuming your product can help improve your business and it also shows that you care about your customers. If you ignore them, it comes off as egotistic and money hungry. This goes for contact center solutions. Call centers are an extension of your company and those employees have to know your vision, with an attitude to match and answers to give.

Not using online platforms to hear customers.

Online platforms, such as social media, is an extension of customer feedback. If your company doesn’t have an online social media presence, now’s the time. These platforms allow you, the owner/employee, to hear live reactions from customers. They’re going to send you questions and just like the point above, you need to answer in a timely manner. You’re most likely going to get a great influx of feedback due to an online presence and that will boost your customer service. Just don’t ignore what the public is saying and take what you feel is truly beneficial in order to grow your business.

Lack of empathy.

Sometimes, as a person from the 9 to 5, you have to be in the customer’s shoes. If they come in rushed or with a bit of an attitude, you, as the employee and the employer cannot throw the same emotions back. If one were to react, it would be horrible customer service. This is where empathy comes into play. You have to put yourself in the customer’s head space and you have to help them in the best way possible. Assess their situation, see how you can help, and if they need anything else. Empathy is key.

Long waits

Long waits can be an ultimate mood killer and can result in negative customer feedback. Though, at times long waits will be unavoidable. If long waits are caused by some sort of incompetence or dealing with a customer, it will turn away shoppers and potential buyers. Word of mouth and the power of the internet can spread and you’ll be known for waiting times rather than your product. Long waits can also result in neglecting other customers. If your business is relying on a call center, make sure they’re in top form. They’re notorious for putting people on hold for large amounts of time. You have to balance the scale and send customers out in a timely manner, while assisting others.

Star worthy customer service is achievable. It’s all about the balance and the right people. Once you have that, with some trial and error, you’re well on your way on becoming a top dog in customer service.

Brittany Torano is a creative writer and currently writes content on behalf of the call center solutions specialists at KOVA Corporation. On her down time you can see her swimming laps in a pool, running around her neighborhood, or holed up in a movie theater with a bucket of popcorn. You can connect with Brittany on LinkedIn.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com .

Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article: Seven Ways To Use Email To Build Your Brand And Create A Better Customer Experience

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An Amazing Customer Service and Leadership Story to Learn From

A recent segment on the CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood had an amazing customer service story. Krystal Payne, at a Starbucks in Leesburg, VA, noticed that one of her customers, Ibby Piracha, was deaf. One day Ibby came to get his usual coffee and Krystal handed him a handwritten note, which read:

“I’ve been learning ASL, American Sign Language, just so you can have the same experience as everyone else.” 

Wow! Now, this is a customer service story worth sharing – and learning from!

CBS News correspondent, Steve Hartman, interviewed Krystal and Ibby.

Ibby said, “I see that she gets out a piece of paper out, and I thought maybe she had a question for me or something, but it really wasn’t a question at all. And as I read through it, it shocked me.”

Apparently the note shocked him so much that he posted a picture of it online and then had it framed.

Krystal said, “If he’s a regular, and I want to make that connection with my regulars, I should be able to at least ask him what he wants to drink.”

Even more impressive is that Krystal took three hours of her own time to go on the Internet to find information about ASL, just so that she could ask a customer what he wanted to drink. Just one customer!

And, these are the stories that customer service legends are made of.

Several things worth noting and learning from were happening:

First and foremost, Krystal Payne is obviously an exceptional person. She understands what customer service is about. She gets people. Nobody told her to go home and learn sign language. Nobody offered to pay her to do it. She did it, simply because she knew it was the right thing to do.


Second, Starbucks hired her. Working for Starbucks is a good job. They don’t take everyone that applies. They treat their employees well, and in return the employees work hard to give their customers a great experience. After all, how else could they charge $3.00 (or more) for a twenty-five cent cup of coffee? The experience counts, and people like Krystal are the ones in charge of that experience.


Third, Krystal set an example for everyone else. At that moment, she demonstrated incredible leadership qualities. Not that she was the manager. No, she simply acted like a leader. She became a role-model for the other employees she worked with to aspire to. Krystal is someone you want on your team!

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright © MMXVI, Shep Hyken)

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Amazing Business Radio: Marilyn Suttle

Marilyn Suttle Shares “Fierce” Customer Loyalty Tips

Shep Hyken speaks with customer service expert, international speaker, best-selling author, and business owner, Marilyn Suttle about customer loyalty. They discuss mistakes leaders can make that hurt customer loyalty, and explain the different expectations customers have, and the level of importance each expectation plays in gaining customer loyalty. She also shares tips from her new book, “Taming Gladys: The Busy Leaders Guide to Fierce Customer Loyalty.” This episode will get you one step closer to gaining more loyal customers.

Click here to listen and subscribe to Amazing Business Radio on iTunes.

“The leader is the guardian of the culture of customer service.” – Marilyn Suttle

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For The Week Of May 9, 2016

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

For free or a fee? Why more retailers are launching premium customer loyalty programs by Jason Ankeny   

(Retail Dive) The success of Amazon Prime and other programs has many retailers rethinking their approach to customer loyalty.

My Comment: Amazon.com has a loyalty program. It’s called Prime. And, members pay to be part of it. Why? The perks are more valuable than the fee to join. When someone pays to be a part of a program, they are more likely to use it. Is it a loyalty program or a marketing program. Either way, it’s brilliant.

Customer Retention; what can you do to ensure customers return to your business? by Heerd

(Heerd) According to Harvard Business Review it costs as much as seven times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one.

My Comment: Looking for a great recipe for customer retention? Here’s a simple one — but remember, simple doesn’t mean easy. The four ingredients are incentivize, empower, strategy and relationships.

Make Social Media Trolls Go Away With These 5 Tips by Blake Morgan

(Forbes) Successful people are often targets for trolls—that said, successful brands are huge targets for trolls. The bigger the brand, the bigger the target. In customer service we like to think that the customer is always right, but on social media that’s not true.

My Comment: Over the past year or so (probably longer as I lose track of time) I’ve received many questions about how to deal with the complaint that’s posted on social media. This article shares five tips to help deal with the “troll” who decides to go public with a rant or negative comment.

3 HIDDEN COSTS of Poor Customer Experience that could Kill an Organisation by Vivek Jaiswal

(Customer Guru) With the power of product and price falling with time, companies need to critically assess their current customer experience situation, because overlooking poor customer experience today could cause irreparable damages in future.

My Comment: Another great article about the cost of a bad customer experience. Filled with stats and facts, it makes the case for why companies must shift their thinking, if they haven’t already done so, to emphasize more than just the quality of their product or their competitive price. They must emphasize the customer experience.

Making an Impression: How to Create Memorable Customer Experiences by CGS

(CGS)So, what exactly makes an experience memorable? Here are some ways that you can create good customer experiences, avoid bad memories and put a rest to just plain forgettable interactions.

My Comment: Good customer service is good, but memorable customer service is even better. How can you go from good to memorable? Start with this article. And, I appreciate that they used one of my favorite sayings, which is about more than “taking care” of a customer, but taking it to the next level and “helping” the customer.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

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Guest Blog: Love the Ones You’ve Got: Retention Vs. Acquisition in the World of Mobile Marketing

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my colleag ue Sophorn Chhay writes about how mobile marketing will impact the world of customer service. This is an important technology we should all be paying attention too. – Shep Hyken

Customer service is undoubtedly an essential part of achieving any kind of success, but what happens when you have limited resources and have to make a decision between focusing on the customers you already have and acquiring new faces – with newer, perhaps deeper, pockets? The battle between customer retention and customer acquisition is both universal and unflagging, but when it comes to mobile marketing, customer service, and the best way forward…well, we clearly have a favorite. Here’s why you need to love the ones you’ve got, and more importantly, how to do it.

The Bottom Line

Depending on the source, experts estimate that, over the lifetime of a consumer, it costs between 3 and 30 times more money, time, and energy to acquire a new customer than it takes to retain an existing one. Those who favor acquisition likely hang on to the old “the grass is greener” argument, but the potential of the unknown just can’t compare to the proven potential of those consumers you already have on your side. Focus on fostering those relationships, upselling, and encouraging satisfied customers to spread the word on their own, and you’re thinking smart in more ways than one.

If Want Loyalty, Reward it When You Get It

Relationships are funny things; love is supposed to be unconditional, but nobody wants to shower affection on somebody who shows them little consideration or care in return. Business relationships aren’t so different. If you have consumers who have been with you for years, shop with you regularly, or frequently refer customers, a loyalty club or other rewards program is a stellar – not to mention mutually beneficial – way to recognize their allegiance and prove that you are, indeed, paying attention. Some 90 percent of mobile users enrolled in SMS loyalty clubs said they felt they had benefited from their participation. They’re getting pre-launch access to products, invites to VIP events, coupons, and so on, and you get their continued business. Truly a win-win situation.

Open Up a Dialogue – and Keep It Open

Much like your significant other, most consumers just want to be heard. That’s why Yelp has gotten so incredibly popular – not because people love to vent, although they certainly do, but because so many businesses didn’t care what their consumers were saying until those same consumers had the ability to say it in a very public way. Now people will Tweet their discontent or plaster it all over your Facebook wall, but instead of a looking at that as a negative, look at it as an opportunity to become a better business and please the people who have already invested their time and money in you. Not keeping up your end of this conversation is one of the biggest mobile marketing mistakes you can make.

Above All, Believe in Customer Support

Experts say that you can’t script sincerity, and that’s especially true of customer service, but you can figure out ways to make your customer service more sincere. That may sound circuitous, but it’s not. Customers can sniff out fake sincerity faster than you can roll your eyes on the other end of the line, but really put consumers first – and build your business practices to reflect that – and clients well sense that, too. How can you get ahead, customer service wise, in the digital age? Try converting to SMS. Some 61 percent of call centers will offer some type of text-based support in 2016 because that’s what consumers are asking for. Think about it: no hold music, no waiting for an answer to a simple question, and on the business’s end, no employing a room full of people to go through a series of greetings and questions just to confirm a delivery date or supply a product spec.

When you’re running a business, it’s hard not to focus on building your client list as big as it can possibly be, but if you’re running a successful business, you know that the smart bet is on loving the clients you’ve already got.

What’s Next?

Have you implemented SMS as part of your client retention strategy? Make sure to share them with us in the comments below!

Sophorn is the marketing guy at  Trumpia, the most complete SMS software with mass text messaging, smart targeting and automation. Follow him on Twitter at @Trumpia, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+. Jumpstart your business by grabbing your free copy of his powerful Mobile Marketing Success Kit.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com .

Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article: Have You Thanked Your Customers Today?

 

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Bad Customer Service or Incompetent Customer Service (They Are Not the Same!)

Create Confidence

We all know what bad customer service looks and feels like. We hate the customer service rep that is just going through the motions without any sincere care for the customer. We try to avoid the employee with an attitude (a bad one) that doesn’t understand that his or her job is to help ensure the customer wants to come back the next time he or she needs whatever it is the company sells. We all have stories of why we won’t go back to a place of business.

But what happens when a person has a good attitude, but just can’t deliver the service we want and expect?

Just the other day I was having lunch at a local restaurant. The server was very pleasant. She warmly greeted us and smiled as she took our order. She even joked with us. I ordered a salad with grilled chicken and a vinaigrette dressing. My friend ordered a similar salad. When she brought the salads, mine had a creamy blue cheese dressing. My friend’s salad was a small side salad, not a regular size. We pointed this out to the server, and she wasn’t sure how to react. She just said, “Sorry, I don’t know how that happened,” and took the salads away.

Both of our meals came out the wrong way, but our server still had an engaging smile and friendly personality. She eventually brought out a second round of salads. Mine was correct, but my buddy’s was a completely different salad than what he had ordered. She said, once again, “Sorry, I don’t know how that happened.”

In the end, I wouldn’t call it bad service. I’d call it incompetent service. And there is a difference.

Now, some of you might blame the kitchen staff for sending out the wrong food. Yes, we can assign some of the blame to them, but, the biggest assignment of blame goes to our server. Nice as she was, she didn’t check to see that the order was correct when it came out. She should have noticed before she placed the food in front of us.

This is a classic case of incompetent service, which some might say is the same thing as bad service, but again I think there is a difference.

Bad service doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t get what you want. It can be that the attitude of the person serving you might not meet your expectations. Using the salad story, if the salads came out right, yet the server had a bad attitude, no matter how good the food was and how flawless she was in her technical serving abilities, her attitude would ruin the experience.

Incompetent service is about mistakes. The attitude can be great, but the execution doesn’t meet expectations. The good news is that a good attitude can help overcome mistakes, unless the mistakes keep piling up.

Either way, bad service or incompetent service is not acceptable. It erodes confidence and could cause a customer to not want to come back. The remedy: A great attitude and flawless execution. Isn’t that what every customer wants?

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright © MMXVI, Shep Hyken)

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Amazing Business Radio: Steve Miller

Steve Miller on Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Shep Hyken interviews marketer, speaker, author, and “The Idea Man”, Steve Miller about Marketing. Steve shares common marketing mistakes, and offers non-traditional ways to improve your marketing and avoid mistakes. So, don’t make a mistake and miss this episode of Amazing Business Radio!

Click here to listen and subscribe to Amazing Business Radio on iTunes.

“When it comes to marketing, look at what everyone else is doing, and don’t do it.” – Steve Miller

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of May 9, 2016

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

The Ultimate Service Recovery Implementation Guide by Adam Ramshaw

(Genroe) This guide provides the latest information on the benefits of service recovery and practical best practices on its implementation in your business.

My Comment: Adam Ramshaw has written a very comprehensive article (or short book) on service recovery. There are lots of ideas, strategies and tactics shared throughout the article. If you want a deep dive into how to recover from service failures, this is a must read.

Are Your Customer Service Metrics Telling the Truth? Sandy Rogers and Fred Reichheld

(FranklinCovey) If your relying on receipt or email surveys to measure customer service, there’s a good chance your promoting, praising or paying the wrong people.

My Comment: Peter Drucker preached that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. When it comes to customer service, you should not only measure, but be sure to measure correctly. The authors of this excellent white paper are Sandy Rogers, the former VP of Marketing for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Fred Reichheld of Net Promoter Score fame, who are consummate experts in measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. The link takes you to a page about Net Promoter. Go to the right side and click on the third article under Explore This Product. It is worth the effort!

3 Retention Tips from The Boss by Ian Luck

(Customer Gauge) Getting an audience is hard. Sustaining an audience is hard. It demands a consistency of thought, of purpose and of action over a long period of time.

My Comment: What does rock-and-roll have to do with customer loyalty and retention? Apparently quite a bit! Here is a fun article with three customer service lessons we can learn from The Boss, Bruce Springsteen.

Why Facebook Messenger Is a Big Deal for Customer Service by Joshua Gans

(Harvard Business Review) After using Messenger to speak with Rogers, my internet provider in Canada, I believe the new service and others like it could have positive effects on customer service. What it also demonstrates is that small changes can have a potentially large impact, especially when a company like Facebook is behind them.

My Comment: Social media customer service (or social care, as some call it today) is becoming increasingly popular and important. Twitter has even taken this to a higher level by creating tools that businesses can use to better support their customers using Twitter as a communication channel. Facebook is becoming more popular as well. This article focuses on how to using Facebook Messenger is a powerful customer support channel.

the queue. by thecustomer

(THECUSTOMERWEB) I’m glad I did, as in the following 10mins of queuing, I’d witnessed another example of poor customer experience which inspired me to write about my customer service experiences that I encounter in my daily life.

My Comment: Customers want the people they do business with to respect their time. Time is precious. Once it’s gone, it’s really gone. This short article has some great comments about how a company (or retailer) can manage the wait.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

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Guest Blog: The 3P’s You Need to Make Your Organization Truly Customer Focused

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my colleag ue, Tema Frank shares her term PeopleShock and how it can destroy a business. I love her three P’s: Promise, People and Process. These are keys to any successful business! – Shep Hyken

Clothing retailer American Apparel was riding high in the stock markets in mid-2013, but by October 2015, with its shares having fallen to pennies, it filed for bankruptcy. It was brought down by a number of things, not the least of which was the appalling behaviour of its ultimately-fired CEO, Dov Charney, which got magnified on social media to the point where the board had to fire him.

In fact, it had been hit by PeopleShock™. PeopleShock is what crushes businesses that don’t get the three key elements of customer experience right at a time of:

increasing competition, surging social media power,
an overwhelming pace of technological change, and
masses of workers being replaced with automation.

The only way to compete sustainably in this era is by truly understanding people, what motivates them and how to deliver what they want, when and how they want it.

Most companies claim to understand this and believe they do provide great customer experience. But a lot of their customers disagree

Usually they’ve gone wrong in one or more of the three key P’s: Promise, People and Process.

American Apparel seems to have messed up on all three.

Promise

Powerful brands stay powerful because they make an appealing promise to their customers that they deliver consistently.

Underlying the brand promise are core values that are central to everything they do. They affect who gets hired, how they are trained and rewarded, and how the business is run.

American Apparel billed itself as being an ethical manufacturer, hiring American immigrant workers to sew its clothes and paying them well. But they couldn’t square that with a CEO who was allegedly sexually molesting female employees.

Think about it: what promise do you make to your customers? What values underlie it?  Are your living those values?

People

Next, look at how you hire and train your staff. Are your staff aware of your company’s core values? Do they buy into them? Do the company’s leaders and managers show a real commitment to them? Do your salary, promotion and other reward systems encourage behaviors that are consistent with those values?

But wait, there’s more! People doesn’t just mean staff. There’s a whole range of people outside your organization who influence its success. Apart from prospects and customers, there are the people who work for your suppliers and distributors, the politicians and civil servants who make laws that affect your business, the public and media who influence them, and the people who finance you. How are your relationships with all of them?

Processes

You can have the best, most empathetic, friendly front-line staff in the world, but if they keep having to apologize for mistakes in the back end, ultimately customers will give up. And these days, they’ll likely vent online, so the spin-off damage can be huge.

This is where many organizations run into trouble. Review all your processes to see if they are consistent with your promise. The best way to do this is from the outside in (customer perspective) and the bottom up (front-line staff perspective). Find out:

What frustrations do your potential, past and current customers have?
What frustrations do your front-line staff have?
What frustrations do those who support your front-line staff have?

Then start moving up the chain. What would we need to change internally to fix the problems that have been identified? What could we change to give front line staff the freedom and safety to do memorable things for customers? What blockages in our system slow things down? Where do things fall through the cracks?

Every business has its own approach to systems and processes. But to make sure you consistently deliver service that customers will rave about (or even just not complain about), you must:

Have guiding core values (promise).
Work with people who share those values (people).
Have processes that are helping, not hindering (process).

Promise + People + Process = Profits

This article is based on Tema Frank’s new book, PeopleShock: The Path to Profits When Customers Rule. International speaker, author and omnichannel customer experience consultant, Tema Frank also hosts the weekly Frank Reactions podcast on customer experience. Find her on Twitter @temafrank.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com .

Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article: How To Use Twitter For Customer Service

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