Do you and your staff regard your business as having one or more products or services that you sell – or that you are a brand? You may have competitors that are selling almost identical, or very similar products or services, however it is what your potential customers think about what you do, produce, sell and serve that is your brand. A brand is your unique identity.

Branding should be central to your Marketing strategies.  It also needs to be integral to your customer service so that your service levels stand out against competitors so that it leaves a lasting impression on your customers.

Unless your customer service leaves a positive lasting impression on customers you can undermine trust and begin eroding your brand. This can translate into a negative effect on marketing campaigns and therefore, the future financial performance of your business.

Unfortunately many businesses today still fail as ‘brands’. Often a major cause of this is that too many of their branding strategies are based on advertising, marketing, promotions, etc. – rather than acknowledging that brand ownership is required from all areas of the business.  This can only happen if the right investment is made to get the message through in such a way as to foster ownership.

So what is Customer Service?

Put simply, it’s all about how to communicate in any situation with your customers – so that all parties receive a positive outcome. Often it is simply a case of changing what you say to customers that allows you to achieve a very different outcome.

Handling negative situations

The simple reality is that the customer is not always right however, we have been conditioned to treat them as if they are right.  Times are tough for businesses as well as customers and there are situations when you have to say ‘No’ to a customer. This could be in situations such as returned goods, damaged goods, or rudeness.

The important point to remember in these situations is that dealing with negative expectations is one of the most important things you can do in creating a first impression with customers.  The key is not letting emotional triggers in ourselves take control and instead maintaining a positive and professional approach to handling these situations. Try and remain neutral rather than reacting emotively.

Why 1st Impressions are so important

Society tends to make judgements on one another based on 1st impressions.  This is true in many areas of life, for example – going on a date, a job interview, or dealing with a customer.  You only have 30 seconds to gain the interest and trust of that other person – to make that all important 1st impression.

Good impressions are vital throughout your entire dealing with a customer but if you can master the first 30 seconds you can have greater control on how the remaining conversation will flow.

The three most important things to convey in this 30 second period are:

• Be sincere.  Fake stands out a mile.  Don’t be a robot or just read a script.
• Use appropriate language.  Remember the context, the situation and your audience.  Don’t use big words and fancy language to sound important.
• Remember things that benefit the customer.

It is also vital to use active listening skills – so that you actually hear and understand what the customer is saying or asking.  It’s not about having a scripted response to repeat back, or already thinking of an answer before the customer has finished speaking – it needs to be tailored exactly to what is required, once they have finished speaking.

Part of conveying that you are using active listening is to show interest to your customer and in providing them with feedback.  This can be through mechanisms such as paraphrasing, demonstrating your expertise and in using questions back to the customer if you need additional information.

Remember – use a style that is comfortable so that you build in confidence and so that the customer builds trust in you and what you are saying.

3 Key Steps to Getting the Message Across
Customer interaction is basically about a transfer of information between the parties.  You want customers to respect you, cooperate with you and to be satisfied with you – no matter if it is a different message to what they wanted to initially hear.

The key here is to use a staging technique that uses 3 Key Steps:

• Introduce what you are going to say before you say it. This allows you to get on side with the customer before the next stage.
• Explain.  You need to explain the situation and information on how it can be resolved.  This can seem counterintuitive at first but it allows the customer to be at ease with you, to gain perspective of the situation and is a logical move towards them gaining closure.
• Empathize.  This is probably the most vital step.  Sometimes the message conveyed may not be what the customer wants to hear but rather than defending yourself or your company, using empathy is a powerful and effective way of gaining closure.

Remember – Customer conflict is created by how we handle situations rather than being about the initial situation.

Closure

You need to guide the conversation through a natural closure point.  It can actually be easier than many people think.

Customers tend to fall into four types and closure techniques can be tailored to suit:

• The Needy Customer. These are the ones that need an inappropriate amount of time for the situation. Often this can mean repeat contact from them even after the sale.  The key here is to refer them to more appropriate resources or training, selling them on the benefits of these resources, and letting them retain their dignity.
• The Talker. They miss all the normal cues of closure and when the conversation is about to end.  Sometimes the best way is to use a pause in conversation to break in and positively acknowledge what they have said, follow this up with a closed question and another series of closed questions until you gain closure.
• The Silent Customer. Because they provide little feedback it can be a natural response to try and question them to gain further information.  Often their behaviour is because they are intimidated by your products or services, could be embarrassed to ask for help, or have inadequate communication skills to convey what they want to ask.  The keys here are to listen actively, respond using a mix of questions, feedback and reassurance, using time to avoid information overload and regularly checking for understanding from them.
• The Unpredictable Customer. This could be due to things such as a short attention span, a high intellect or a determined need to figure things out themselves.  This customer type often makes us draw on all our reserves of diplomacy and patience.  The keys with this customer type are to acknowledge their tangents, explain your point of view, bring them back on track and repeat and reinforce as needed.

The message here is all about responding appropriately to the person you are dealing with, but ultimately it allows you to be in charge – not the other way around.

Summary

The content of this blog can essentially be summarised into three core things:

• The use of understanding (an appropriate response) from the customer’s own perspective.
• Using positive responses to difficult situations.
• Avoiding responding to feelings and instead using precise techniques to manage the situation.

It’s all about treating the customer with respect and as an equal yet still operating within the boundaries of your specific role or your corporate policies.

Get all this done right and aligned with your marketing strategies and your business will be on the way to creating a much stronger brand.