CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS NOT ENOUGH: YOU MUST GO THE EXTRA MILE

You may ask, "Is customer satisfaction enough?" Absolutely NOT today in a highly competitive environment! Customers are redefining for companies the way they expect to be cared for, which has resulted in a new paradigm. The structure and nature of that paradigm requires great leaders to keep their pulse on the environment and adapt to customers' evolving preferences. For example, are you relating to both the tech-savvy as well as the tech-averse consumer? Those who are less proficient in automated processes will require enhanced assistance to navigate technologically advanced products and services.

The NEW Customer Care™ Relationship Paradigm

Your website says ... We put customers first, but you have a hold message when customers call that says, "we will answer your call in the order it was received." You have a line in your store for service with a sign that says to, "take a number."

Take a Number ... Seriously?

If I am important to you as a business, then why don't you make me feel important when I reach out to you beyond just my initial purchase? Now we are not naive, we understand there are costs involved in staffing and that it is not possible to have immediate service for every customer at every moment of the day. (Dare we dream?)

Collectively with more than 60 years in the Customer Care™ industry, and experiencing the needs of thousands of clients firsthand, we understand that the desire is to provide the best service at the lowest cost. But companies MUST do better – the ones that DO will win their customers' hearts and wallets. Doing better does not mean telling the customer how important they are in a recording every few seconds as they hold for what seems like an eternity, waiting for assistance.

The New Customer Care™ Relationship Paradigm distinguishes those companies who create an experience that is second to none.

Customer expectations have been escalated by organizations like Amazon and Zappos, which are pushing through the upper boundary limits of Customer Care™ experience through the use of their specialized customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Their CRM systems do not only store my basic personal and financial information but utilize analytical and predictive capabilities to compare and contrast those products which are most likely to be of interest to me based on my past history. My search and purchase habits are correlated with those of customers of similar profiles to personalize my online experiences, and their recommendations are becoming surprising relevant. We refer to Next Level CRM as CEM: Customer Experience Management.

Next Level Customer Care™ is no longer reserved for the elite. Whether your company is perceived as a luxury brand or a fledgling organization, consumers are demanding a "luxury experience" from you. Whether your customers pay a premium price for your services or not, they crave a superior level of customer service. Someday someone will likely find a way to undercut your price and unless your customer is so enamored with you due to the amazing care and service you provide, your business will be at risk.

Proactive vs. Reactive Service Philosophy

Savvy consumers now expect companies to be much more proactive to their needs rather than acting in a simply reactive manner. A recent study by inContact, found that 87 percent of customers want to be contacted proactively by companies with which they have existing relationships. Matt Marshall of VentureBeat states, "Certain sectors are more likely to be seen stepping up to the mark than others. Notable examples include banks and credit card companies now getting in touch by text and phone if they suspect fraudulent activity on your account. That could be potentially invaluable. Many online stores now prompt you about items that may be of interest to you, often long before you had even thought of getting the items. They must know us better than we know ourselves, as it is estimated that as many as 35 percent of Amazon sales are generated this way."

The Customer Bill of Rights

Vanguard Communications, a consulting company in Rhode Island, has developed "The Customer Bill of Rights" consisting of the six inalienable rights that must be bestowed on each and every customer.

1. Know Me

2. Value Me as a Customer

3. Understand My Needs

4. Treat Me with Respect

5. Value My Time

6. Make it Easy

Taking Your Customer Care™ to the Next Level examines the real world view of issues today and provides specific and tangible tools for you to set your company apart from your competitors.

What if when your customers called, you knew who they were through your customer engagement technology platform and your front line employees greeted them by name, not asking them for their name, address, account number, etc.?

Being asked to provide personal information multiple times by multiple individuals in an organization is not a satisfactory customer experience. With transaction based cloud services being more effective and the costs continuing to drop, organizations of every size can use data analytics to capture basic information about the person calling even before your agent says, "Hello."

Now before we present the solutions, let's make sure we all understand clearly the problems in the primary service industry today. The bottom line is that consumers are generally not being delighted by companies today, with some rare exceptions. We share actual case studies and examples of experiences...