Your Clients Expect Extraordinary Customer Service

May 05, 2009•Blog Posts• General Marketing• by jangelakos

Johanna C.

As the economy continues to tank, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) is steadily climbing, standing at 75.7 on the 100 point scale at a 9 percent increase from 2008’s fourth quarter. This means that more firms are amping up their customer service in order to survive the storm, and expectations for superior services are heightening.

While your competitors may be resizing, restructuring and cutting costs here and there, they’re putting an extra emphasis on exceptional customer service in order to maintain their customers’ loyalties. The result: individual companies compete for consumer dollars while index scores continue to rise.

The ASCI’s recent customer service index trends say a lot in this regard. Gas service stations, department stores and specialty retailers have all risen in 2009, while supermarkets have remained unchanged despite high food costs.

These increasing index scores suggest that snoozing on offering superior service could likely drive your clients into the arms of your competitors. Creating a customer-centric environment can attract new prospects while maintaining your current client-base. So what do you do in order to find the holy grail of customer centricity?

Step 1: Become knowledgeable about your consumer-base.

Acquiring a detailed knowledge of the behavior of your target audience can help provide an assessment for specific products or services they need. CRM and predictive analysis technology are great examples of worthy investments, as companies can view client purchasing patterns and use the acquired knowledge to further develop their relationships. By establishing better client rapport, firms can take comfort in knowing that they have created a consumer base that is more resilient to competitive threats.

Step 2: Use associative branding to your advantage.

Mediocre-case scenario: your branding serves just as an “image” that represents your firm. Best case scenario: your branding serves as an emblem that contributes to making your business widely recognizable.

A great example of an effectively-built brand can be exemplified by George’s Restaurant in Waco, Texas. The restaurant is self-proclaimed as the “Home of the Big O,” where the “Big O” represents a cold, tantalizing 18-ounce beer. The interesting thing about George’s is that they incorporate their tag-line into their logo and food products alike, i.e., integrating the “Big O Burrito” and “Big O Chicken Fried Steak” into their menu options. As a result, they fully utilize their brand and incorporate it within various areas of the business.

Step 3: Give your customers a great experience.

Those that go to George’s Restaurant aren’t primarily concerned about price, but rather, are more fixated on having a good time and getting superior service. By providing your current customers a great overall product or service, you’re ensuring that you’ll keep their business, even in a struggling economy.

Now that you’ve fully embraced customer centricity, taking a good, hard look at your firm’s current customer service best practices.

Are you regularly obtaining feedback from your clients regarding your service performance? Can your clients rely on you for good service?

If you’ve answered “no,” or even a hesitant “maybe,” then you may want to offer your firm some methods for improvement. By doing this, you could potentially serve as a key player in maintaining good business relationships during these tough economic times.