Your customer service culture is not what your fancy “Customer Guarantee” promises, and it’s not whatever you say it is in your new employee handbook. Show
For proof, compare this 2014 customer promise from Comcast — “We are committed to providing Comcast customers with a consistently superior customer experience” — to this recording from the same year. Your culture is the set of beliefs held by your employees about your company: who and what it is for, what it values, and how they act in response to those beliefs. Every company has a culture, and it isn’t something you can directly build. It develops organically in response to the decisions, behaviors, and policies of the people in the business. Some businesses have a primarily profit-driven culture, and others have a growth-driven culture. Others are design or product led. It’s worth noting that companies with any of these primary cultures can still deliver good customer service experiences. A customer service culture is not about the specifics of individual customer interactions. It shapes the whole attitude of the company, and over time that will lead to different decisions and different long-term outcomes. What does a customer service culture look like?What differentiates a typical company from one that has a strong customer service culture? The difference isn’t always obvious from the outside. A good customer service team can still skillfully help a lot of customers over long periods of time without working in a strong customer service culture. A strong customer service culture is one where:
Strategies for building a customer service cultureGardeners work hard to create the right environment for their plants to grow in by improving the soil, removing pests, and managing light and water. Growing a company culture is similar, except that plants generally don’t get to decide how the garden is designed and can’t get up and leave when they no longer find it enjoyable. You can’t create a company culture outright, but you can work to create an environment that encourages the sort of culture you want to see. That culture-enabling work happens at all levels, from executives to frontline staff, and it happens every day. The words, actions, and habits you repeat and reinforce enable that customer service culture to blossom. Strategies for company executivesBusiness owners and executives have the largest impact on a company’s culture through their ability to shape policy, direction, and financial investment. There are many ways an executive can encourage a strong customer service culture, including the following:
Strategies for customer service leadersCustomer service departments have their own cultures, and the most successful ones will seek to strengthen that culture within the team and spread it to other parts of the business. Start by understanding who you need to influence, then select the appropriate strategy.
Strategies for customer service professionalsThe customer service queue is where a culture of customer service produces the service itself. The daily actions of the customer service team reinforce the culture and deliver it outward in the form of the customer experiences they create. Here are some ways for individual team members to help encourage the right culture:
Maintaining a healthy customer service culture for the long termThis article is about building a strong customer service culture, but the true challenge is to keep it once you have one. Too many companies start out with a deep customer-centric focus but lose it as they grow. A company culture is always changing in response to the shifting priorities, customers, staff, incentives, and focus of the company that hosts it, so it requires ongoing effort and attention. Company leaders must continue to be thoughtful and deliberate about their customer focus. The work is never done, but it is worth the effort. Which of the following guidelines should customer service professionals follow to meet the expectations of customers quizlet?Which of the following guidelines should customer service professionals follow to meet the expectations of customers? Service professionals should strive to mask their feelings of anger, frustration, and pressure from customers.
Which of the following is a component of a customer service environment quizlet?The six key components of a customer service environment are customer, organizational culture, human resources, products, delivery systems and service.
Which of the following is a characteristic of organizations that are highly committed to customer service quizlet?Which of the following is a characteristic of organizations that are highly committed to customer service? They benchmark the successful practices of competitors.
Which of the following is a component of a customer service environment?There are five key components to a customer service environment. The customer, organizational culture, human resources, deliverables, and delivery systems.
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