Part Four Enhancing Customer Relationships
EXHIBIT 9.7 Checklist for Developing a Service Strategy
Questions a salesperson must ask when developing a service strategy:
- What is our business?
- Who are our customers?
- What do our customers want and what is important to them?
- How are our customers’ needs and perceptions changing?
- How are social, economic, and political factors affecting current and future customer needs and our ability to respond to them? How are competitors responding to these factors?
- How do customers rate us in terms of their expectations?
- What are we best known for?
- What do we do best?
- What can we do better?
- How can we position ourselves in the market to differentiate our services?
Customer Service Dimensions
The most important customer service dimension is communication. Most problems arise because the customer was not informed of a change in plans (e.g., late delivery, price increase). Salespeople are extremely busy and many times do not have the time to communicate with all their customers. Communication tools such as e-mail can be used to quickly do mass communication to inform customers of these changes. Over time, the telephone and personal visits can be used to confirm that the customers are aware of the changes.
Another customer service dimension is resilience. Resilience is the ability of a salesperson to get knocked down several times a day by a customer’s verbal assault (i.e., complaint) and get right back up with a smile and ask for more. A salesperson cannot lose his or her cool just because a customer does. A tired salesperson must treat late-afternoon, difficult customers the same way that he or she would treat an early-morning dilemma while he or she was fresh. They must both be treated well.
Finally, the most important customer service dimension is the motivation of a salesperson to service his or her customers. Salespeople must find time each day to deal with difficult customers and problems that exist. Ignoring these activities will not make them go away. Working diligently on behalf of the customer indicates to him or her that the salesperson truly cares about the partnership. If a salesperson has a complaint from a customer and gladly fixes it, the customer becomes a more committed customer.
Part Four Enhancing Customer Relationships
EXHIBIT 9.7 Checklist for Developing a Service Strategy
Questions a salesperson must ask when developing a service strategy:
- What is our business?
- Who are our customers?
- What do our customers want and what is important to them?
- How are our customers’ needs and perceptions changing?
- How are social, economic, and political factors affecting current and future customer needs and our ability to respond to them? How are competitors responding to these factors?
- How do customers rate us in terms of their expectations?
- What are we best known for?
- What do we do best?
- What can we do better?
- How can we position ourselves in the market to differentiate our services?
Customer Service Dimensions
The most important customer service dimension is communication. Most problems arise because the customer was not informed of a change in plans (e.g., late delivery, price increase). Salespeople are extremely busy and many times do not have the time to communicate with all their customers. Communication tools such as e-mail can be used to quickly do mass communication to inform customers of these changes. Over time, the telephone and personal visits can be used to confirm that the customers are aware of the changes.
Another customer service dimension is resilience. Resilience is the ability of a salesperson to get knocked down several times a day by a customer’s verbal assault (i.e., complaint) and get right back up with a smile and ask for more. A salesperson cannot lose his or her cool just because a customer does. A tired salesperson must treat late-afternoon, difficult customers the same way that he or she would treat an early-morning dilemma while he or she was fresh. They must both be treated well.
Finally, the most important customer service dimension is the motivation of a salesperson to service his or her customers. Salespeople must find time each day to deal with difficult customers and problems that exist. Ignoring these activities will not make them go away. Working diligently on behalf of the customer indicates to him or her that the salesperson truly cares about the partnership. If a salesperson has a complaint from a customer and gladly fixes it, the customer becomes a more committed customer.
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