You should be well familiar with the old phrase people buy from people they like. Is the sales process as easy as that? Well its not far off!
We have all been in a shop, restaurant, bar and had an unpleasant experience with not so friendly or helpful staff members and decided to never return. Following that same experience, yourself, how many people did you tell?
Research from ‘thinkJar’ shows that 13% of customers will share a negative customer service experience with 15 or more people. On the other hand, 72% of consumers will share a positive experience with 6 or more people. Research also shows that 55% of consumers are willing to pay more for a guaranteed pleasant experience.
From a customer service perspective each staff member is effectively a sales representative for their company. That’s the first message that needs to be driven by Management when hiring new staff. One person that had this right was Feargal Quinn, of the former Superquinn supermarket chain. He saw the importance of this message and was so in touch with what the customer really wanted from their local supermarket. It was a simple message that he gave, listen to your customers, see things from their view point not your own. He said, “your business will look totally different from your customers viewpoint so jump the counter and start to see things from their perspective.” Feargal identified with his customers and trained his staff to do the same.
The importance of effective staff training will be an asset to any business, happy staff lead to happy customers. This is what effects the bottom line for companies who want to succeed in a competitive market place.
Key qualities that staff must develop in order to offer effective customer service
- Exhibit effective communication skills
- Have excellent product or service knowledge
- Conflict resolution techniques
- Show appropriate levels of assertiveness
- Take responsibility
- Exhibit a sense of humour
- Stay calm and in control
- Possess the ability to not take things personally
Offer a suitable level of empathy.
