Examples of good customer service are factors such as:
- Understanding the customer’s needs and putting them at the centre of attention when trying to solve their problems whilst at the same time creating a strong continuous relationship bond between staff and customer.
- Businesses need to know what the customers’ needs and wants are and should try to deliver both of these at the same time, to essentially keep the customers happy and satisfied.
- Businesses need to be able to keep their customer service quick and convenient which means that they do not need to wait around a lot before they get served.
- Staffs need to frequently ask their customers if they require help and solve their problems in a polite and mannered format.
- The final factor businesses need to take into consideration is to provide their customers with high quality services.
Customers are an essential within businesses, it does not matter whether they are internal or external customers. Both internal and external customers benefit businesses whether they are small or large. I will explain in detail the two different types of customers and the benefits that businesses can get out of them.
Internal customers:
Internal customers are the company’s employees because they service an interest within the business and they invest their time and effort to the business in return for the opportunity to earn a living. How a business/company deals with its internal customers can be a good method of dealing with its external customers. Therefore, companies and businesses need to take into consideration the importance of their internal customers. There are various methods businesses can use to take care of their internal customers. Just as businesses satisfy the external customers which in turn leads to profit and growth of your business, satisfied employees can also lead to the long-term success of the business. An example of an internal customers are, someone working in the checkout who takes receipt of new till-tolls, the marketing department and the human resource department service internal needs. The various factors that need to be considered are:
- Happier and more efficient workforce
A happy workforce within a company will be an efficient workforce. This will directly influence the external customers who will in turn be satisfied and happy with the service that the receive and will in turn return for repeat business with the company and therefore income and profits will increase within the business. It is an important essential for companies to improve and keep building good customer relations which are all important factors to all business. It is often the internal customers who identify the external customers’ needs. A business that meets the needs of the customers will always remain customer loyalty.
- Improved job satisfaction
When people work well together in a company, the get the feeling of harmony which often reaches the external customers as well. Work that is produced on time can often lead to bonuses being paid out promptly which can lead to the building of the confidence and motivation of the internal staff. Therefore, buy this taking place they are more likely to give excellent customer service to external customers. Employees can therefore take advantages of perks such as the company car allowance, free holidays, extra days off, commission on sales, etc. This in turn can lead to job satisfaction in a workforce which leads to the increase in confidence. A happy workforce will be more efficient and
External Customers
External customers are people who purchase the business/company products or use its services. However, the external customers do not actually work for the company therefore they do not have a personal interest in the company’s financial or economical matters. The only interest they have is about the products they are purchasing and using their services. Many companies tend to benefit from their customers taking a general interest in them and in return they have the following types of customers:
All companies and businesses are constantly competition for new customers. The success or failure of a company depends mainly on whether customers are happy with a certain product or service they receive. It is however an easy task for a salesperson to sell a product to a first time customer by offering incentives such as discounts and offers. However, the real task for that sales person is to provide and sell that service/product to that same customer as this encourages repeat business and eventually loyal customers. The product/service the external customer receives from the internal customer is of high importance, however, the service they receive is also a essential factor that determines whether or not the external customer will be satisfied and returning.
Customers who are very happy with the service they receive are likely to return to the company for repeat business. They will feel very confident and motivated with the quality of the goods, or the way they have been treated by the internal customers. Loyal customers are important to all companies and businesses especially large known supermarket such as Tesco. Research has shown that it costs on average four or five times as much to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one.
- More customers through repeat business and recommendations
Customers who are happy with the service they receive will essentially benefit that specific business by bringing repeat business. This not only enables the company to offer a greater range of products, which also leads to increased sales , but also to more income and therefore an increase in improved profits. An essential of providing businesses with more customers is through “recommendation”. Recommendation of a business by a customer is an excellent method of advertising for a business and is most valued. People feel more at ease using a business recommended by someone who has used the product or service and been happy with that specific product/service, than picking a business out of a directory or newspaper advertisements. Recommendation can eventually lead to a cost effective method to save the company money in terms of advertising and special introduction prices.
Better public image
A company that provides excellent customer service will always benefit from improved trade, more income and an increase in their popularity and reputation. All of these factors will in turn lead to a better public image. People will therefore hear about the efforts being made by the specific business to offer good products (or services) and excellent customer service. For example, John Lewis had provided all customers with shelter when the snow day had hit Oxford Street hard. This was heard all over the news and people started to appreciate John Lewis for having such a good approach to its customers.