Won’t the customer just buy my great product anyways? Is Customer service really that important?
These are a couple of the many questions I heard about customer service from business owners and entrepreneurs. Many believe in the phrase form the movie “Field of Dreams” that is whispered into the lead character’s ear while deciding if he will build a baseball field in his backyard next to a corn field… “if you build it, they will come.” In reality this does not happen. It takes hustle and making sure your customers have exceptional experiences.
Just because you have the best product on the market does not mean that you will get sales. Customer super service is required. That means making sure the customer is completely happy with their experience and that they are satisfied with their purchase. This means that the customer needs are met and that they are treated like they matter every time with enthusiasm and manners.
Let’s look at a case study with a fast food chain known as Chick-fil-A. Chick -fil-A is a chain that started in the south and is making the rounds across the country (yes Michigan they are starting to come your way). Chick-fil-A makes more per restaurant than McDonalds, Starbucks, and Subway COMBINED. That’s right they are extremely profitable and are only opened six days a week. I have waited in many long lines for this fast food quite a few times. Thank God they have an app now to help you jump the line.
They do nothing revolutionary with the food differently than the competition except dipping the chicken in pickle juice (shhh secret). There is no huge differentiator in their menu as far as fast food goes. Although the handspun shakes are amazing! Mix the shake with a chicken biscuit that has honey on it, and you have a great start to your day.
What Chick-fil-A does different is that they have trained their staff to use “please,” “thank you,” “it was my pleasure,” etc. The restaurant staff makes sure the customer has a great experience every time. They slide an extra couple of sauces over as to say I’ve got your back when you ask for extras and not rolling their eyes. Ever felt like the person behind the counter thought of you as a nuisance instead of revenue that paid their check? Each Chick-fil-A location has the same experience with a warm smile and an extremely helpful staff. This same staff will walk around and pick up your trays if they have extra time during their busy day. They are fantastic when it comes to customer service. They are taking over the fast food industry and are moving up the charts to soon become number 1. Watch out golden arches…
Okay enough about food (one of my love languages). How about Apple, Disney, and Amazon. These organizations have focused on the customer experience so much that people do not hesitate to drop large sums of money doing business with them. People literally line up for hours when a new product drops at Apple. Customers like feeling important and that they do matter when making a purchase.
Below are the stats by generation based on their brand loyalty. As you can see as the generations get younger more brand loyalty is growing. Just for reference Gen Y (Millennials) have more population than the great Baby Boomer generation. Brand loyalty matters and so does customer service.
Baby Boomers – 62%
Gen X – 68%
Gen Y (Millennials)– 78%
(Brand Loyalty stats from Brian Buffini podcast: (that’s right I listen to other sales trainers to make sure what I train is constant and true with them.)
Have you ever had poor customer service and decided not to purchase from the establishment ever again? It did not feel great did it? Do you know anyone that you work with that should not interface with the customer because of their attitude?
How are your customer service representatives doing with your customers? Are they reviewing orders and finding opportunities to upsell the customer more product, help them get free shipping, etc?
If you’re unsure about your customer service team, I am glad to help you. All business benefits by making sure that customer service is generating increased customer service. If not, your business will lose a great deal of opportunities fast! The world has become smaller with the internet and the competition is fierce. I have worked for organizations in the past that did not focus on customer service and soon had to downsize, restructure, or even close without knowing why. It all boils down to customer service. I have won more business because of the customer support I offer each time I interact with the customer.
If you have customer service representatives or sales professionals that are not performing as top performers pick up a copy of my book “The Sales Process Uncovered” and do a book study with them. Better yet, I will come in and train them to overachieve for their customers and enable them to be top performers for you, so you don’t miss any more opportunities.
For a listing of trainings please follow the link: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/sales-training
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom