Of course not. Should every customer/client be treated fairly, with dignity, with respect, and should they always get value for their time and money? YES, every time.
It is a simple rule.
This would be a short blogpost if that were all there was to building a positive customer/client experience. Entire books and magazines, blogposts and business presentations are dedicated to this topic. However, if you strip away everything, the essence of building a successful customer/client experience can be summed up in the following points.
PART A – Set the stage for success
Hire people who care. Virtually every skill and attitude save this one can be taught. An organization can find, nurture, and encourage associates who already care, but this is one trait that is almost impossible to teach. If your training does not foster a caring environment; even those who possess this attribute can lose it. It is perhaps the most vital piece of the puzzle when creating an organization, profit or not-for-profit, that truly offers the best customer/client experience possible.
Don’t lose sight of the importance of a positive customer/client experience. It is very easy to get sidetracked and lose focus when your associates are busy, over-worked, under appreciated and under pressure. Every organization is made up of people who do their best, but with conflicting demands and lack of time, the customer/client experience can fade from importance as organizations and associates struggle with the demands of every day work and life.
PART B – Execute a great customer/client experience every time
Make your customers/clients feel valued. Your organization is nothing without your customers or clients. The easiest way to accomplish this is goal is to always treat people the way you would want to be treated in the same situation. This is how you build your reputation. People will argue that sometimes people may abuse this philosophy and that will be true; however, by having a team of people who think, who are trained interactively, who are loyal, and who care about the organization; you will find abuse situations will be rare and the exception rather than the rule.
Provide the best service possible. Simple things like acknowledging customers/clients when they arrive. In a not-for-profit, understand the philosophy of “No wrong door”. In a for-profit, such as a retail store, people should be acknowledged when they first arrive, given the space they need, and then to be served when they are ready. This is true whether they are buying a house full of products or simply a small item, or even nothing at all.
Never lie or misrepresent anything, ever. The most important attribute any organization can have is integrity, without integrity nothing else really matters. I wish all organizations shared this philosophy but unfortunately, some find reasons and excuses to bypass this truism. If you want, your organization to succeed in the long run – integrity is the key.
Greet every customer/client with a smile, whether in-person, on the phone, or on-line. Clients and customers are the reason organizations exist; they are never an interruption to your time.
Customers/clients should receive prompt and friendly service. Regardless of the type of organization, every visitor should be acknowledged and served without delay. Each deserves the best level of service possible regardless of the reason for their visit. This attitude must be displayed and be in evidence from the top person right to the bottom person daily.
Every associate should ensure their customers/clients understand their organizations products and services. Customers/clients should never be surprised by something unexpected. Nothing ruins an experience more than finding out after their visit that an organization failed to disclose or include a vital product or service.
To have questions answered honestly. Any organization that values maximizing their customer/client experience will want their visitors to have the ability to make an informed decision. Each associate should always have their customer/client’s best interests as the focus of what they do. If someone asks a question and an associate doesn’t know the answer, then they need to inform the customer/client that they will find out as soon as possible.
To receive value. Each member of an organization should respect how valuable each customer/client is and treat never take their experience lightly.
To have inquiries responded to in a timely manner. All organizations dedicated to a positive customer/client experience must do what they say they will do. If a person is told that the organization will call them at a certain time, then this must happen, even if the organization’s associate does not have an answer yet.
To have problems resolved quickly, efficiently, and fairly. Customer/client’s who have issues and problems want to be listened to, acknowledged, know that the organization cares, be given choices, and then have that choice executed. This should happen in a timely manner and should happen without resorting to a confrontation. The solution should be fair and may not always be exactly what the customer/client wants or the organization wants, but the decision should be made interactively.
A successful organization is never perfect. Mistakes happen, people will be upset; however, how an organization deals with these “bumps in the road” is what matters. Any organization and its associates must care about its customers/clients, whether a for-profit or a governmental organization, or a non-profit charity. Fortunately, if the leaders of that organization keep a few simple guidelines in practice, it is possible to succeed and thrive.
Good luck,
Paul