In this interview with Randy MacLean of WayPoint Analytics, I explain to Randy how using a two-pronged strategy or approach to concierge-level customer service will easily result in an increase in profitability. The first step to creating the strategy is to determine the true profitability of each customer.
First Prong: Your Most Profitable Customers
These are the companies to be laser-focused on delivering exceptional service to. Provide dedicated concierge reps who will:
– Have a mindset of service
– Take ownership of problems
– Make the company referable
– Create an incredible customer experience
Serve these customers well so that you can retain them and attract more business like them. Remember, these are your most profitable customers. This is where you want to roll out the red carpet service.
Second Prong: Everybody Else
The second prong of the plan ensures there is a floor to your level of service; the best you can provide, given profit, that puts you above the competition. The first step to determining the best you can do is to find out what is currently happening. Most companies have no real good data on this and have no finger on the pulse of what customers want and need.
How do you solve this? Get data. Find out what their biggest problems are, what keeps them up at night. Once you know this, you know how to sell to them, you know how to market to them, and you know how to serve them.
In setting up this second prong of a concierge level service program, you must gather feedback. This can be done with a continuous process improvement approach. For example, using a survey every 9–12 months as an ongoing source of information about how a customer feels about your service would be a powerful approach; it will arm your company with valuable information to help you serve your customers better than your competition can.
With a solid concierge level customer service program, you can beat service expectations for every customer, while giving personal service to those who are creating cash flow for your company.
Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert, President of Hurlbert Consulting, brings to her role as STAFDA’s endorsed customer service consultancy expertise in sociology and survey research. After spending more than 25 years in academia, she now uses her extensive behavioral science expertise to help companies like yours distinguish yourselves through customer service. What sets her approach to customer service apart is that she begins by helping companies meld research and marketing to find out exactly (a) what their customers want and (b) how well they’re succeeding in giving customers what they want. Jeanne provides STAFDA members with 30 minutes of complimentary consulting per year; please identify yourself as a STAFDA member when you contact her. You can schedule a consult with her by going to www.ConciergeCustomerService.com or you can call her at 888-590-9677. And, if you’d like to complete her complimentary assessment, just go to www.FixYourService.com.
