Peachtree Product Team

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Small businesses cannot underestimate the power of customer experience in building brand, building business, and building profits.   

But, how do you make your customer experience the best it can be, particularly in a self-service world?  Author, entrepreneur and small business expert Barry Moltz explores all of this and more in his book, “BAM!  Bust a Myth:  Delivering Customer Service in a Self-Service World,” and we’re wrapping up our discussion with him on this topic in this month’s post.   

In Part 1 of this discussion, we looked at the “what” and “why” of customer service; in this segment, we will look at more of the “how,” the myths to dispel and ways to achieve strong customer experience in your own business: 

Q: What are some of the myths of customer service?

A: The biggest myth is that there is such an entity as “the customer.”  The reasoning behind this myth goes like this, “Once I figure out what “the customer” wants I can come up with a system to keep every customer happy and satisfied. I give this blue print to my employees, they follow it, and everybody will be happy and the business will prosper.”

The reality is that there is no such thing as “the customer” or even a typical customer. Different customers react to the same situation or service differently. The same customer can even react differently on a different day. This is why satisfying a customer is so hard and seems so out of reach. Accepting that every customer is unique and that good customer service only occurs when each individual customer feels satisfied frees a company from the clutches of this myth.

Q: What gets in the way of companies providing BAM!-good service?

A: One of the biggest obstacles blocking customer service is confusion about why a company provides customer service in the first place.

It’s a myth to believe that ethics, pride, or altruism are the reasons for a company to provide customer service. A company provides good customer service because it delivers an economic advantage—either in terms of increased revenue or reduced cost for the business.

Altruism isn’t a valid reason to provide good customer service. We like our customers a lot—as people and as customers, but our relationship is based on mutual economic advantage. We provide services that our customers need, benefit from, and are willing to pay for. BAM!-good customer service is part of our economic model.

Ethical standards of business behavior are unwavering. We believe that every company should behave ethically in all matters. The measure of ethics is whether or not a company keeps all of its commitments in an honest and trustworthy way—these commitments may or may not include customer service. A side benefit of keeping customers happy and satisfied is pride in a job well done—but pride is not the reason to provide customer service.

The reason to provide BAM!-good customer service is because it increases the bottom line. In our book, we provide an eight point model to help companies calculate for themselves the value of a customer. It’s dollars and sense.

Q: In your book, you talk about firing a customer. How do you ‘fire’ a customer?

A: We have received so much interest in this topic. Firing a customer. Who ever heard of that? The fact is that most business owners have high maintenance customers. Customers like these wear employee morale down to a nub and may in fact be too high maintenance to be profitable.

We recommend putting your emotions aside and using the economic model provided in BAM! to assess the true economic value of your five most troublesome customers. Only then can you determine if you business can actually afford to fire those customers. After this evaluation, you may be surprised to find that the problem customers actually contribute very little to the bottom line. When this is the case, it is fairly easy to terminate the relationship. Do it with grace, offer the client other options for their needs, and never engage in any personal discussion about former customers.

If the customer is high value, the decision is more difficult. BAM! sets out criteria to help companies make these decisions. For example, if we are no longer helping the customer or if they are unable to accept our advice, we create a separation plan. If there are ethical issues, we exit immediately. If we would like to retain the customer, but our way of working together has to change, we ask for a meeting to discuss our relationship.

Before we end a relationship with a high value customer, we identify new prospects to take that customer’s place and refocus our energy and resource to attracting this new business.

Q: In your book, you talk about creating a Customer Manifesto. What is a Customer Manifesto?

A: For BAM!-good customer service to take root, a business needs much more than good intentions, a fancy tagline, or even a promise. The commitment between the company and the customer needs to be a Manifesto—a public declaration of all that you intend to do for the customer to make your business relationship mutually satisfying and keep them coming back. The manifesto is two-way—with customer commitments as well.

Examples of company manifesto provisions could include: “We will deliver on what we promised. We will listen attentively to all your concerns. You can reach us when you want to talk to a person. We will resolve your issue reasonably and in a reasonable amount of time. We will admit it when we make a mistake.”

Examples of customer manifesto provisions could include:  “I will notify you when I am dissatisfied. I will state the problem as clearly and concisely as I can. I will do whatever I can to not take my anger and frustration out on the person who is trying to help me. I will be prepared to ask for a remedy that will help me feel satisfied.”

Q: What actions can CEOs, managers, and customer service reps take to ensure their companies offer BAM!-good service?

A: The first thing is to identify and bust the customer service myths that are operating inside your company. Talk to employees to uncover the BAM! Blockers to customer service. What processes and systems don’t work? Are your customer service goals unrealistic? Where does the company walk not match the company talk? Define customer service for your company as you want it to be. Set up a plan to handle your “typical” and “atypical” customers—recognizing that every customer is unique.

Use the economic model we provide to calculate the value of your most important customers. Write your own manifesto. Ask your customers to help. Set up tools to collect and measure how satisfied your customers feel.

Remember, in a me-too, Internet world where price comparisons and product availability are just a click of the keyboard away, BAM! Good customer service is one of the best ways to secure a competitive advantage.

Want to learn more from Barry?  Follow him on Twitter, visit his web site, or pick up his books!!!