Customer Service: A Concept and A Process

Customer service as a concept basically refers to the relationship between a product or service provider and the people who use or buy its products or services. According to Asset Skills, it is "the sum total of what an organization does to meet customer expectations and produce customer satisfaction." Customer service relates to understanding both the nature of the organization’s customers -past, present and future- the features and benefits of the products or services it provides and the entire transactional process, from a potential customer’s initial awareness to post-purchase satisfaction.

As a process, Customer service is the provision/presentation of a series of activities regarded as a service designed to enhance the level of customer interest and satisfaction before, during and after a purchase.

Customer service traditionally follows some fundamental steps which include, but are not limited to the following:

Identifying Customers

Once the idea of setting up a business is borne, what first comes to mind is "Who are my targeted customers?" This question arises from the fact that not all products/services are meant for just everyone. Be that as it may, most organizations will have more than one type of customer. These customers will vary according to age, gender, personality and economic and social position. They will also differ according to such variables as their previous experience of dealing with the organization, the importance of the purchase to them, whether or not they are buying for themselves or their company and their existing level of knowledge about the products or services.

Defining Service

Customer service behaviours encompass a huge range of factors including efficiency, speed of response, attention to detail, listening, reassurance, providing information and following up. Attitude is also important in terms of variables such as friendliness, respect, concern and authenticity. The type and levels of service provided will depend on the ways customers interact with the organization and its employees. For example, different behaviors will be important for those who purchase from a shop -dealing directly with sales staff- compared to those buying over the Internet. Interactions may be face to face, over the telephone or in writing. It is important at this point to state that very skilled individuals should be engaged to render customer service to customers in situations where there is no face to face interaction. These individuals should be required to be able to detect customers moods from their voice tones and manner of speech. This is very important because the customer service officer in this situation isn't opportuned to observe body language and facial expressions that is available during a face to face interaction.

Type of Relationship

When the term "Customer" comes up, every organization should bear in mind that there are about four (4) variations of customers. They may be potential customers, one-time customers, repeat customers or ex-customers. Each will have specific needs for the business to address appropriately in terms of service. Potential customers’ service needs may relate to raising awareness of features and benefits of the product or service and how and where it is available, as well as reassurance about organizational values and integrity. Point of purchase customer service may focus heavily on factors such as demonstrating, offering alternatives and following proper selling etiquette. Post-purchase service may take the form of providing product support, maintaining relationships through newsletters or emails and offering special discounts to encourage loyalty.

Training

This step is one most organizations try to avoid simply because of the cost implications, forgetting that whatever is spent on equipping their Customer Service staff with up-to-date knowledge on Customer Service etiquette will only translate into more revenue for the organization. Every organization, regardless of its size or nature of business, needs to have a clear framework for customer service, incorporating detailed policies, procedures and standards. Organizations should provide regular customer service training for all so they understand the role they play in overall customer service within the organization and the specific behaviours and attitudes expected of them. Refresh both service standards and procedures and training regularly to meet changing customer needs and competitor activities.

Getting Feedback

Great customer service depends on looking at things from the customer’s perspective. In most cases, this will involve segmenting your customer base into different customer types and clearly identifying the particular needs of each. Mystery shopping and regular customer satisfaction surveys can be extremely helpful in pinpointing good and bad customer service, as can ongoing observation and supervision of customer service situations at a range of different levels. Getting employees to focus on and discuss customer service issues on a regular basis is a good way of helping them improve standards and take ownership at an individual and team level.

I hope this simple, albeit little insight on Customer Service as a concept and a process would enlighten everyone who reads it. Your contributions and criticisms would be highly appreciated, so please and please, kindly drop a comment.
 
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