THE holy grail for anyone in the customer service industry is to ultimately give each customer an experience that leaves them happy. The maxim is ever so true. Keep them happy and they will come back for more, perhaps bringing with them other customers. It’s a formula that helps your bottom line because when a brand gains advocates, then half the work is done.
But the secret to making customers feel special doesn’t just lie in how well the product is made. It isn’t how excellent the service is or how quickly complaints are addressed.
Rather, it’s your employees. When you want your customers to feel valued, you have to make your employees feel valued first.
Take the happiest place on earth… Disney.
Institutional lore has it that once upon a time, a little girl dropped her favorite doll into a mud puddle. The doll was a mess. But the park staff gave it a wash, a new hairdo, outfit, and had photos of the doll taken with other Disney princesses before giving it back to its worried owner. It was a fairy-tale ending and “pure magic” as her mother described the entire experience.
But remarkable here is what the park staff DIDN’T DO. They didn’t go by any corporate script or protocol for situations like these. They didn’t escalate the mishap to the manager nor consult the company handbook. What they did, however, was to respond to a small (but very real) crisis with what they felt was the proper response.
True or not, a story like this can still serve as a good example of how company culture should be cascaded to frontline customer service. The benefits are mammoth huge. The customer is happy and their loyalty will pay dividends (figuratively and literally). When a customer is engaged, they are twice likely to recommend a product or service AND purchase it another time. It is because of this knee-jerk reaction that organizations are making CX (customer experience) a top priority. So much so, that C-suite executives are in place specifically with this title/designation just for this purpose.
What’s your CX like?
Technology has made it easier for companies to understand customers as individuals, not just as demographic groups. And rightly so, because customer care is still a matter of “personal contact”. There is absolutely no shortcut to creating that emotional connection. Every interaction should be geared towards leaving a positive experience.
This means that it isn’t enough to have a product or service that works. Companies should also ensure that the frontline employees – those who directly interact with customers are empowered and motivated.
Customer experiences require an energized and engaged workforce. They should be able to translate individual experiences into end-to-end customer journeys. Further, they should be able to continue to improve each interaction to maintain a competitive edge. To do this, companies should appropriately motivate and reward employees because when they do, they show their commitment to their employees’ work.
At NEARSOL, all our stakeholders are important. From our managers and team members and leaders to those who help keep our offices and hubs running. It is through them that our customers feel valued and important. It is also through them that we take care of our clients (and their clients’ needs) in the best way possible.
Come and be part of this work culture.
Talk to us.
NEARSOL is a US-based BPO and service company that offers clients custom-design solutions. With major hubs in Manila and Iloilo, it began operations in 2011 and has since gained a strong presence in the Latin American regions, the Caribbean, and the Asia Pacific, winning many awards for quality and service along the way. Most recent of which is its Great Place to Work-Certified™ Recognition, a global accreditation that tells stakeholders what employees think of the company culture.
Visit our LinkedIn to learn more about our company and our global footprint./PN
