Customer Service Finding out what customers want is a prerequisite to effective quality assurance in both manufacturing, retail and service sectors. Here is a way to learn what is important to your customers and how to use that information.
Customer satisfaction is the cornerstone of any business. It's really quite simple: If customers don't like your product, they won't be back for more. And if you have a great product, but are not providing top-level quality customer service, you'll drive off customers just the same. Every company, start-up or established, large and small, should establish a formal quality improvement effort in its customer service and order processing areas. The rationale behind the move was simple: The quality of service that customers receive provides a differentiation significant enough in the minds of customers to determine where they take their business.
Quality service keeps current customers satisfied, ensures a better reputation, gains new business, and increases market share. The following is an Eight Step Approach to assure quality service for your customers.
1.Survey customers. It's important to communicate with customers to determine two things: ·What service attributes do they consider to be the most important, in priority order? · How is the organization performing in each of these areas?
Some tools that can be used to survey customers include customer contact during service, mail and telephone surveys, suggestion boxes, complaint cards, customer-initiated complaints, and focus groups. Surveys should include questions that will address at least four areas:
·accuracy of service ·completeness of service ·timeliness of service ·behavior/attitude of customers Surveys should be conducted on an ongoing basis. This helps to keep the emphasis and flow of customer needs-as well as the satisfaction of those needs-at a high-priority level.
