Customer Service Strategy
A company has a corporate culture, whether that is steeped in tradition over a hundred years or a new technology start-up with a casual approach, and that defines how business is conducted with the customer.
No matter what the corporate culture, the focus must always be on the customer. When determining how a company approaches customer service, they will often adopt a customer service strategy that is usually made up of a number of elements.
• Convenience - For a customer, there is nothing worse than having to accommodate the limitations of your supplier. For example, if a customer is open from 7AM to 4PM, they do not want to accept deliveries after hours because a vendor can only deliver after 5PM. Good customer service dictates that you will be available when it is convenient to the customer. If the customer wants a service call before they open for business then providing that is good customer service and will instill excellent customer satisfaction. The convenience also should be found in your online presence. A customer wants things to be convenient for them, so if they want to be able to review their order, check shipping and send a message, then they need that to be in one location and not spread over many pages, which is not as convenient and leads to poorer customer satisfaction.
• Dependability - The customer expects items they wish to purchase to be in stock. Good customer service should aim to have items in stock, as well as providing other services, such as accurate ordering, accurate pricing, and believable delivery dates. Dependability also relates to a company's online presence. If a company's website is not updated, shows the wrong prices, has dead links, or fails to process orders correctly, a customer will simply move on to the next vendor whose systems are dependable. A good customer service strategy should ensure that the company is looking at all aspects of its business to give a customer a feeling of dependability.