Tip Sheet: Customer Care

20 Jun 2011 in Audience Development Blog, General

Customer Care

Customer Care

Customer care is what makes your customers want to come back.

A quality product can only do so much, in such a competitive environment the quality of customer care can be the deciding factor in determining success or failure.

You should really review your Customer Care strategy regularly. In order to do this you first need a benchmark to measure it against. 

Consider the following:

  • Who regularly and consistently monitors your Customer Care operations?
  • Can you clearly identify your customer groups?
  • What are your customer’s saying about you?
  • How is your organisation’s management engaged with your customers?
  • How quickly can you respond to changes in circumstances and how does this impact on your customers?

 

Putting the customer first

Putting the customer at the heart of your organisation means understanding the needs of your customer and ensuring that everything in the organisation is geared to their needs.

Facts to Bear in Mind

  • Bad news travels twice as fast as good news. Dissatisfied customers tell an average of ten people about their bad experience. Satisfied customers tell 5.
  • If 20 customers are dissatisfied with your service, 19 won’t bother to tell you.
  • Customers expect a certain level of service.
  • Most dissatisfied customers will become loyal supporters if their complaints are handled quickly and efficiently.
  • You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. The first 30 seconds of a phone call or meeting can set the tone for the remainder of the contract.
  • It costs an average five times more money to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.
  • Customers are prepared to pay more for better service.
  • Customers entering your establishment are enjoying a rare experience.
  • Most customer complaints are doomed to be repeated because when the problem is reported the symptom of the problem is addressed but not the root cause.

No business exists without customers and that applies to the public sector and non-profit businesses every bit as much as commercial organisations.

 Customer care or customer service plays a key role in customer retention. This is what separates long term customer loyalty and business success from short term and one-off purchases.

 

Establish a Customer Service Culture

Often displeased customers are not the result of a poor product or performance, but a disappointing customer experience.

  1. Customers are the reason for work, not an interruption of work. Be careful not to lose sight of the importance of the customer and become consumed by the lesser day-to-day tasks. Of course there are tasks that need to be accomplished but you can’t afford to sacrifice service to get them done.
  2. Train, Train, Train. Continual and cross training across all departments and staff is essential – so everyone in your organisation can deal effectively with customers rather then shuffle them between different people.
  3. Empower your staff to serve. Establish a system of resources for your staff to serve the customer – allow them to take necessary actions to provide exceptional service and resolve issues. Ask your staff what tools would enabled them to provide a better service.
  4. Make service personal. Greet customers by name when possible, introduce yourself, and thank customers for their patronage. Creating services that are personal will not only retain customers but help diffuse any difficult situations.
  5. It’s okay to say “yes” when you really mean “no”. Support your staff they should really work without fear of repercussion as long as they are meeting a customer’s needs. Saying “no” can have huge implications; are you willing to potentially lose 10 customers as a result of a single interaction.
  6. Offer solutions. Put yourself in the position of the disgruntled customer, shift a problem to the process of resolution and offer options for customers. Involving the customer in determining the solution, and explaining the constraints and limitations you are bound too, will help generate a more amicable solution.
  7. Recognise your staff for outstanding service. Taking the time to recognise them in front of their peers can make a real difference.
  8. Ask your customers what they think of your service. The best way to find out if your satisfying customers is to ask them – talk to them informally, collect surveys or questionnaires, conduct interviews or comments/ suggestion cards.

 

Loyalty Schemes

Good overall customer service is the best way of generating customer loyalty, but sometimes relationships can be strengthened or old relationships refreshed, using customer loyalty schemes.

 

Types of Customer Loyalty Schemes:

  • Providing fixed or percentage discounts
  • Rewards for customers for behaviour that benefits you
  • Encouragements to persuade repeat attendance.

 

Reward Customers for…

  • repeat custom
  • cumulative spend
  • group bookings or orders, high value bookings or orders
  • Advanced payment or bookings
  • Length of relationship.  

 

Customer Decision Making: Going to an Arts Event

Top Tip: People want to connect with humans.

Adding a personal touch to your communications, website, ticketing service and marketing is key to attracting and retaining customers.

In order to deliver the best in customer care it is important to consider the whole series of decisions customers make before and after attending your event, visiting your venue or interacting with your organisation:

1. Deciding to go

2. Agreeing with others

3. Check what’s on

4. Buying Tickets

5. Getting there

6. The building/ venue

7. The Event

8. Eating out/ drinking

9. Getting Home

10. Deciding to go again.

You can Download this Tip Sheet and many more by visiting out site HI-Arts Audience Development.