As the end of October approaches and the weather changes, businesses are gearing up for a strong finish to 2015 and may already be preparing plans for the coming year. How does your organization approach planning involving your sales and customer service teams? Do you have a strategy to approach important topics involving customer needs and the value you provide your customers?
In many of our X5 sales and customer service roundtable discussions and training sessions, participants will often discuss this very important topic. This section focuses on meeting customer needs and providing ongoing value. We may ask participants to give their organization a rating on a scale of 1 to 5 where they believe they stand in one particular service element. Whether this element is speed, reliability, competence or value, this exercise can spark healthy debate between participants on what service areas they are excelling in, but more importantly what areas they need to improve.
Here are a few simple strategies for your team to consider during your next sales or customer service meeting. Are you meeting the mark and living up to your customer’s expectations?
- Use your team’s diverse creativity and expertise to find reasons to stay in contact with your customers. (Look to add value during your call or meeting and don’t just check in to say hello.)
- Research and examine every part of the customer’s business. You may even set up internet search alerts for the company name, and related businesses to keep up to date on industry news.
- Continue to stay updated on the industry and competitive trends. (What issues will be the most relevant to your customers?)
- Always go above and beyond what the customer expects. Provide a remarkable customer experience.
- Be aware of the customer’s vision including who they are and what they stand for. Bring this up during meetings or conversations when it makes sense to do so.
- When possible, spend time with customers in the workplace and at other events (at coffee/lunch, sporting events, or even on the golf course.)
- Create a customer feedback mechanism. This can be simple and may only be a few questions, but the results may transform your customer service approach.
