External customer service is influenced by excellent internal customer service. A customer has to be always the most important within a company. Lots of companies spend huge amounts of money on external customers, to attract the new customers and retain old in company. To check customer’s satisfaction, company can do surveys, questionnaires, etc.
Getting high level of customer satisfaction is really important, because satisfied customer is really likely to be loyal and to repeat orders in other range of services provided. Knowing what company’s customers want and after adopting it to please the customers is important. For example, by providing the goods that customers want, in the package what he wants in outlets which are well placed.
Good customer service which is appreciated by customers is giving personal attention to the individual customer’s needs and showing to customers that their money has really high value.
If a company treat their internal customers well, then there is better external customer service.
For example, Rob wants to buy some additional TV channels, but does not really know what package of channels he can choose. Rob has two children in age of 5 and his wife enjoys soap operas. Rob wants to spend on it up to £20. He spoke with a person who works for a company which offer these services and explain to an employee what his expectations are. Employee helped him to pick the best offer what he can have for this price. This offer contains couple cartoon channels and a channel specialised for soap operas. Also, Rob gets a special discount and he will pay half less than he expected he will pay. However, he will get 20 channels more for first six months of the contract for free. Rob enjoyed this offer and he bought bigger TV package in the same company.
Another example is when Ruth wanted to buy a gift for her husband’s birthday. Ruth is married for 5 years and her husband does not like big and expensive gifts and she had no idea what she can buy for him. She went to a gift shop and ask employee for help. She wanted to spend on it up to £30 pounds and she wants this gift to be useful. Employee showed her wide range of useful products up to this price which man in her husband age can enjoy. She picked an electrical watch which is in colour her husband likes and this watch has some special tools like torch. Employees packaged this watch in a small wrapping for free and add a tag with her husband’s name. Ruth’s husband enjoyed his gift and now Ruth is buying gifts for everyone in her family in this shop.
An example of bad customer service is Monika. Monika bought a laptop one year ago and everything were fine. She was really pleased with her new laptop. She has two years guarantee on it and had really good customer service. After a year, her laptop charger stopped to work. She called to a number provided on her guarantee card and told them about it. They said to her that she will receive a message on Sunday when she will have a new one. She did not receive any messages from this company on Sunday either earlier, she get a message on Thursday, in which was that they will pick up her charger between 12am to 14pm, she get an excuse from a job and finish everything earlier to be at home at this time. She waited these 2 hours at home and nobody comes. She did not get her charger and waste a day of work because company is unreliable.
Loyal customers
Customer loyalty is customer’s choice to choose service or product provided by one business over other ones. We can check customer’s satisfaction level by taking surveys, but this method does not reflect loyalty. Loyalty can be demonstrated by returning customers to the store. Customer loyalty is an output of well-managed customer retention programs. All of the customers, who were targeted by a retention program, have higher loyalty to the business. Customer retention programs are about communicating with customers, giving support to them and choosing to do business with this particular company. All of the companies want their customers to take actions, such as visiting company’s website, sign up for a newsletter and to make them to purchase company’s product. When customer have done one of these things once, company wants him to continue doing business with them, because usually company spends lots of their money on these actions first time and they do not want to pay again for the second time.
There are customer’s data and models to them which show which customers are most likely to become loyal; these data can tell you what product you can promote to and how to save marketing money on customers who are loyal for longer. For example, company is looking on loyal customers and by this they can find that a customer visits and buy something once in 30 days. Company starts to ‘follow’ these customers’ actions and can find that 20% of them ‘skip’ their 30 days activity, however, 90% of this 20% never come back again to the store. In this case, company cannot do anything about it, because these customers already gone and it is really expensive if this company will pay for their retention. It means that company has to recognise high loyalty customers, who can be at risk of loosing and quickly take actions before they leave you.
More customers through repeat business and recommendations
Satisfied customers benefit business by repeating purchases in this business. Because of returning to the store customers, company can offer bigger range of products, what increases company’s sales; also, it increases their incomes and profits. Recommendations from customers to others is good way of advertisement. People feel more comfortable when they are using a business which was recommend by someone known who used it before and was happy and satisfied with a product or service provided. Recommendations also are cheaper, as company does not need to put additional money on advertising. Companies usually measure success in number of customers, this is why sometimes when you cross a door of store you can hear a sound, this is footstepper which counts all people who pass the door.
For example, Ben has small housing estate shop with one employee. He has this shop since 1970 and all the time has constant incomes. Ben’s customers are people from estate. He knows his customers as there are his neighbours too. He knows his expectations and needs. Ben made subscriptions for a newspaper for his customers and always is nice for them. Without asking he knows what they want and how they want it. Ben’s customers never let him down, because they always return there as he has everything what they need.
Increased sales
To increase sales, company can do more advertisement. Company can change pricing strategy to make sure that price is competitive and still profitable. Satisfied customers will tell about it to others and are likely to return to the store. Omitting that business can have more incomes and more profits, business can benefit on other ways. As when business focus on their loyal customers they will increase their sales. Other way which can increase sales is keeping customers informed about news in stores etc.
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Better public image
Company with excellent customer service benefits in different ways, such as more incomes or improvement trade, other way in which they benefit is better reputation. Mental picture of organisation is important, as it makes overall effect on effective customer policy. People will know about good efforts of company by recommendations. Image of a company is always made by standards of customer services, good customer service is important to attract new customers and retain existing customers. After a period of time, because of adverse publicity company’s good name can suffer. However, if it is not solved quickly, then company can be closed down. Securing repeat business makes an edge over the competitors.
An edge over the competitors
Some companies have similar products, so from this place companies compete with each other on quality of these products or lowest price.
Caring for internal customers, benefits for the business
Internal customers are employees of the company who get a service from their colleagues. Employees of the organisation are also customers, because they put their time and effort in company to make money for living. Business can only offer excellent and professional service if a business also offer excellent and professional service to their external customers.
For example, Samantha and John are colleagues at a work on the same position. John had to make a holiday from work for a week, because his wife was very ill. One day he came to their store and Samantha was on the check-out position, she serves John and on this time John was a customer of Samantha. After a period of time, Samantha had to look after her son, as he was seriously ill, she was on shopping in her store and on this time John was on check-out and he serves Samantha, so Samantha is his customer now.
Ralph and Suzan work in the same company. Suzan is an manager and Ralph is a deputy manager. Suzan asked Ralph to do a check stock and write down how many things are needed or left. Now Suzan is an internal customer. Ralph told to count everything to one of employees, now Ralph is an internal customer.
Better level of service given by all members of staff to one another
Good customer service is important for a success of business. As business provides service not only to external customers but also its employees, business has to make everyone happy. Employees which has clearly stated what they have to do in their jobs and how their jobs are connected with activities required of providing will be more efficient. All of the employees are linked with customer service chain. For better understanding this chain here is a table which shows that.
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When one of departments fail in his role, then a product will not be deliver on time to external customers. This can affect company, as they can lose a customer and loss of incomes. When employees work together as a team, everything in the company is easier to do and more smooth. Tasks set are done on time and customers will be happy, so may become loyal, they can earn more incomes and profits for the business. Employees should respect each other, but sometimes it becomes difficult for example when one person does not get well with someone; In this case kindness and good manners are important. Working in the harmony can make an output of better productivity and efficiency.
Happier and more efficient workforce
Happy workforce equals efficient workforce. Workforce which are happy can make happy customers by providing good service hat as we know improve incomes and profits for a company. Making and holding good relations between customers is really important for a business, because the internal customer knows external customer’s needs, by this customer can become loyal to the company. Communication is really important at work, not only with internal customers but with external too. When internal customer receives good customer service, by which he felt valued, then his productivity will improve, so more profits and incomes. When company cares about his employees then employees are less likely to leave this job, what means no costs needed for requirement. Employees should be prepared for complains and has some special procedures about it, by which they are able to take actions when customer complains. Some businesses measures internal customers satisfaction by surveying staff of the company, they set questions likes what can be improved, etc. More favourable method of measures are questionnaires, where company finds exactly what is going on in the company day to day. Employees feedback is really important for a business to success. Other measurement which is taken is performance measurement, which helps with recognising problems. Different thing, which is important is measurement of satisfaction levels in internal customers, to find out where improvement should be made. Usually improvements cover new procedures or correcting oldest, however they may include identifying of trainings.
Improved job satisfaction
When people inside company are happy with each other, it makes an output of external customers. When work is done correctly and on time, employee can receive a bonus in payments or free holidays, being able to use company’s van or car, etc. All of these are part of satisfaction from a job. Happy workforce are more effective and more productive and by these there are more incomes.
