Consumers Want Low Prices in our New
Economy but Still Expect Service

In recent articles, I've talked about how consumers
are making buying decisions based on price.
Tighter credit and lower disposable income has
put Price/Value at the top of my five elements
of the customer experience:

• Price/Value
• Service
• Selection
• Convenience
• Ambiance

Even though customers need goods at the
lowest possible price, they still expect optimal
service. Do they want their cake and eat it too?

You bet! Income for the consumer is a limited
and precious resource. Great respect and
service is rightfully expected. Now you can
measure your service quotient and lead
your team towards ongoing improvements
to service as part of the entire customer
experience.

We've broken down the concepts of customer
service into 5 elements:

Reliability - The ability to provide what's promised,
consistently and accurately

Assurance - The knowledge level and courtesy of
employees, and their ability to convey trust and
confidence

Tangibles - The physical attributes of the facility and
equipment. Appearance and professionalism of employees

Empathy - The level of caring and individual attention
provided to customers

Responsiveness - The level of enthusiasm and willingness
to help customers and provide prompt service

Similar to the 5 elements of the customer experience,
these elements define 5 factors of stellar customer
service.

You can study sales people on the floor and how well
they deliver these elements of service as they interact
with their customers. You can even quantify these
elements by analyzing 10 consecutive customer
interactions. Give a point when you observe your
employee demonstrating one of the five service
elements. Add them up and multiply by 2 and you'll
have a percentage service quotient:

Reliability                6/10
Assurance -             7/10
Tangibles -               6/10
Empathy -                8/10
Responsiveness -    9/10

Total Score:  36/50 or 72%

Observing and quantifying your service
levels along these 5 elements is critical
because it now enables you to focus on
the weak elements and track service
trends from week to week.

Now you can quantify and improve customer
service by defining it and measuring it
through this simple strategy!

 

TAKE ACTION TODAY

1) Review the five elements with all your
employees.
2) Assign a senior employee to observe and
track your sales team on the floor. A simple
chart on one sheet of paper can be used to
quantify 10 or more customer interactions
throughout the day.
3) Share results with your team and reveal
your quantified customer service percentage.
4) Focus on weaknesses in general and by
employee and work at correcting issues to
generate weekly improvements.
5) Get everyone to live and breath delivering
a stellar customer experience supported by
unparalleled customer service.

HANG IN THERE!