Customer servicing is very important strength a brand exhibits in market sales. What it stands for internally is everything the brand embodies: from the sufficiency of hardware equipment to the organization and management of software; from product R&D, completion, complete profit mechanism to corporate culture and style. Every detail has to be in tune, and together they represent the performance one sees. Just like the ballerinas on stage, they endured the tough training from their mentors, they developed great sync with the musicians and they trained day and night just for that perfect moment on stage. You may not see all that behind the scene efforts, but you will definitely see their marvelous performance on stage.
The Differentiation Does Not Only Rely on Product Creation!
The companies that triumph in customer service don’t merely rely on customer service unit but the whole company! Yes, even engineering unit needs to do customer service. A well-rounded welfare system not only takes care employees but provides them with opportunities for further trainings and improvements. This not only forms a friendly work environment but also enhances work efficiency which in turn feeds in to better service for the customers. Financial unit also needs to do customer servicing, whether it’s helping supporting companies to achieve the objective or to smooth out financial transaction procedures, if they could make the collaborating companies work better for us and help improve the quality of the product, wouldn’t it be seen as servicing the customer too?
Between colleagues, we also need to do customer servicing so that we understand our tasks and can provide expertise and suggestions accordingly to help accomplish the task smoothly. This not only adds up to personal performance but accomplishes department goal. From the smallest unit all the way to the top, all we need to consider is serving the customers. The highest customer service personnel in the company is our CEO, Albert. I think everyone knows that how many units and employees he needs to service. And the one unit that stands on the stage to show everyone what we’ve got is the ‘customer service unit’. If they have the support from the colleagues and units that also demonstrate ‘customer servicing’ spirit, then, they could show off their skills in the competing market and not merely solving customer complains.
Albert needs to service all Gamanians. In the Q&A session of quarterly gama-townhall, he always patiently answers everyone’s question.
The Key ‘Talk the Talk’ Unit Between the Consumers and the Company
Customer service unit’s task transcends the cycle of merchandise sales, its real service content exceeds the narrow definition of wording. Take the familiar call center service for example, this is an important business service item for every company. When customers dial the special hotline, they could gain knowledge about the products, explanation on how to use the product etc and these service lines are usually free. According to AT&T’s statistical survey on customer service lines, an average American uses such service line up to 40 times a year. With such high rate in mind, the companies want to make sure their customer service is smooth and helpful. GE has 150 customer service employees, all of them have university degrees with actual sales experiences. Before they were put to the front line, they received 6 weeks of internal trainings. Customer service personnel not only needs to handle customer complaints in a timely and proper manner and provides correct method of usage, but also be able to analyze, out of thousands of phone calls, the defects of their products or examine the results of their promotional or ad campaigns.
Customer service personnel stands on the front line of servicing customers, the information they gather in the course of their work becomes the best marketing information for the company. These real reports can not only accurately forecast the change in demands but are clues for internal improvements or product R&D.
Therefore ‘customer service on all fronts’ should be placed side by side with production and sales. We should fully realize this goal from the design of the product all the way to the post-sales service. In each phase of the product cycle, we are able to provide different stage of customer service and as a result, extending the life cycle of the product and increasing revenues.
‘Service’ can shape the characters for a brand and increase the competitive edge in the market. Through customer service, we could communicate with the customers, understand the trend of consumption, and the change of environment. Customer service unit could not only service existing customers but create service for potential/prospect clients. We not only aim to raise the post-sales satisfaction but make the customers reach their anticipated satisfaction level before they even purchase the product. Customer servicing could very much become a new single, stand-alone business.