Understanding Effective Customer Service

1. Understanding Effective Customer Service Powerpoint for Learning Plan #1

2. Do You Have What It Takes? • People in your organization think you have what it takes to provide outstanding customer service. (They wouldn’t have hired you, if they didn’t think so.) • Now is the time to prove them correct.

3. Effective Customer Service • Exceeds customer expectations. • Maintains consistency over long run. Loyal Customers for Life

4. Customer Value Equation • Product quality • Service quality • People quality • Image quality • Selling price • Overall cost

5. Practicing ECS (Effective Customer Service) • Eage to solve customer problems • Take a long term view of relationships • Accept responsibility • Provide unexpected benefits • Value time of customers • Make customers feel welcome • Stand behind products/services • Expect, model, monitor, evaluate and reward ECS

6. Cost of Loss of Customer • Main loss • Loss of future business • Ripple effect (retell issue to 8 to 10 others) • Replacing lost customer

7. Leadership Important Component • Leadership – ability to empower others (and oneself) to meet goals and objectives successfully.

8. Service Leadership Culture that empowers the organization to • strategize its promises • design its processes • engage its people in a proactive quest for competitive advantage

9. Components of Service • Intentions • Interactions • Impacts

10. Why is Service Leadership Important? “Organizations that used to be scared to death of the uncertainty of change are now faced with the daunting uncertainty of the dangers associated with staying the same.” (Cameron & Quinn, 1999)

11. Service Leadership is Important Because... - changes must be implemented for - the service promise to be formulated - the service design process to be effective - the full utilization of human resources

12. Assumptions 1. Organizations can achieve competitive advantage through a collective leadership mindset 2. The process assures competitive advantage through speed, accuracy and adaptability 3. The people assure competitive advantage through proactive adaptabilityby employing innovation, flexibility, and motivation to move the organization forward

13. SERVICE SERVICE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP PROMISE PROMISE Strategic Strategic Management Management PROCESS PROCESS Service Service Management Management Human Human Recourse Resource Management Management PEOPLE PEOPLE Figure 1.1A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Service

14. The Theoretical Framework The leadership mind set of organizational members is powerful. The leadership mind set can be a driving force for sustainable competitive advantage.

15. Cultural Strategy A service leadership culture is a strategy to • select and design service processes with active participation of customers and employees • build on collective leadership efforts to benefit from the organization’s human resources

16. Competitive advantage PROMISE Mission Goals Values PROVIDERS Optimal level of engagement to ensure customer satisfaction + + = PROCESS Efficiency Profitability Figure 1.2Service Leadership Culture

17. The Implementation of Service Leadership Culture . . . can create harmony between customers, employees, and organizational structure.

18. The Power of People • An organization must invest in the “best of the best.” • The power is activated through Employee selection Continuous learning and training Cultivation of employees’ sense of responsibility Employee engagement in the act of leadership

19. The Power of People • An organization must invest in the “best of the best.” • The power is activated through Employee selection Continuous learning and training Cultivation of employees’ sense of responsibility Employee engagement in the act of leadership

20. Differentiation Make the organization’s services strategically unique by emphasizing features that create the best results andthat are hard for competitors to copy.

21. Competitive Edge • Success depends on a strong service-oriented corporate culture with superior goals.

22. Purpose of Leadership • Challenge others • Set standards • Persuade others to help the organization fulfill its vision and purpose

23. Customer Satisfaction • Depends not only on the quality of the service • Also depends on fit between the customer’s needs and expectations

24. Standardize or Customize? • Must match the needs of the customer and organizational strategy • Should enhance efficiency and cost savings where possible • Must maximize customer satisfaction

25. Dimensions of Strategic Decisions • Environment • Strategic approaches • Characteristics of the service itself

26. Approaches in Stable Environments • Noncompetitive markets • Stable needs of customers • More static process design approaches • More standardization possible

27. Approaches in Unstable Environments • Highly competitive markets • Changing needs of customers • Requiredynamic approaches to service delivery: - more innovation - more customization

28. Figure 1.3Three-Dimensional Service Strategy and Design Balanced view customized dynamic S E R V I C E S T R A T E G Y static standardized E N V I R O N M E N T stable unstable

29. Tailor-made Strategy The design of the processes helps the organization • Tailor its promise to customers’ needs • Deliver the services with optimal efficiency

30. Figure 1.4Service Leadership Action Chain Strategy as culture Attitudes & action Competitive advantage Faster Cheaper Better Optimal level of customer satisfaction for a given situation Loyalty

31. Importance of Service • The pillar on which post-industrial societies are firmly based • A powerful vehicle of economic growth in Western societies

32. Key Concepts • Service leadership • Service leadership mind set • Proactive service adaptation