Arguably one of the most important part of a business is the customers; without your customers you have no business, which is why getting your customer service right should be a high priority. From a purely business point of view it is much more cost effective to retain a customer than to find a new one – so getting your customer service right is a key factor in this.
Pauline Rowson is author to several business books, and this like the others is clear, informative and packed full of useful information and action points.
This book is very clearly and equally weighted in 2 sections – with the first section focusing entirely on ‘Creating a Culture of Excellent Customer Service’. The principle behind this is very simple – you have to start at the bottom, and from the inside to get the systems in place and the attitudes of all your employees right if it is going to carry through to an effective customer service. This book leads you through all the key areas. You have to know who you customers are, what they want and how you can reach them. You need to set your standards with a customer service philosophy and then train and support your staff to meet those standards. The other very important part is to continuously measure and monitor levels of customer service.
The second section of the book deals with the most common practical aspects of customer service, such as voice and telephone techniques, body language, listening and questioning, assertiveness and dealing with difficult or angry customers. Communication is a key word which crops up all the way through this book – and probably lies at the heart of customer service. As a business you need to communicate effectively with your customers. Most people who have had a bad customer service experience will cite poor communication as one of their key frustrations – people like to know what is happening – even if in situations where something has gone wrong.
Most of the points covered in this book are straight forward and make perfect sense. Like all areas of business, whatever stage you are at, however big or small your business is, it is always worth looking at specific areas of your business regularly and reviewing them to ensure they are operating how you would like.
Pauline Rowson has many other titles available as audio and eBooks at www.rowmark.co.uk or to find out more about her, and her successful crime writing career visit her blog at www.paulinerowson.com
