Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Every business, no matter its industry, must place a premium on satisfying its customers. While a satisfied customer will remain loyal, a dissatisfied customer will quickly find a new company to patronize. Even worse, he or she will quite possibly tell friends and family of the unsatisfactory experience, scaring others away.
As the Harvard Business Review recently highlighted, one of the most effective ways of ensuring that clients receive a satisfactory customer experience is creating the right culture among customer support agents. This entails striking a balance between rigidity and freedom among customer service agents. The customer may be frustrated by the lack of personal consideration if agents are too rigid, but complete freedom to improvise will likely end up emphasizing entertainment over information.
By establishing a clear set of guidelines that allow for limited, rather than total, freedom to improvise among agents, an organization can increase the likelihood that customers will receive a satisfying, helpful response when they call the company's contact center.
Additionally, as Business 2 Community contributor Becky Carroll recently noted, organizations should strive to develop a customer-centric attitude throughout the company, at every level. This way, every customer interaction will likely result in a satisfied customer.
