Is Your Customer Service Customer-Centric?

BY Rachel Cagle
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We’ve talked quite extensively about the traits you need and the tactics you can use to achieve better customer service, but what about the attitude and mindset behind moving forward with it? The fact is, a negative mindset and attitude can stop any progressive customer service plan in its tracks. According to Denyse Drummond-​Dunn and her article, “7 Reasons Most Companies Fail to Adopt a Customer-​First Strategy,” here is what you need to do to keep yourself and your employees on the right mental track.

First of all, as Drummond-​Dunn puts so well, “customer-​centricity is a journey, not a destination.” You may think that your end goal is to raise your clients’ satisfaction level, but is that a goal you can ever permanently or even more than temporarily reach? No. You need to make sure the mindsets of yourself and your team are on track to keep your service up-​to-​date for the long haul. If you don’t, you won’t succeed.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and that step is often the most difficult one to make. You need to have an optimistic and progressive attitude and be willing to change your course according to what parts of your client service plan end up working. A progressive attitude will get you further than an indecisive one. Take the plunge and keep walking!

One of the dangers of a stagnant mindset is that you’ll get tangled up in the financials of the present and not look to the future that will show how your plan and its price right now will benefit you in the long run. Too many businesses think that a new customer service plan is too costly to pursue when, in reality, it actually costs more to find new clients than to maintain your current ones. A study by Walker shows that 86% of clients are willing to pay more for exceptional customer service. Bain & Company’s research takes that a step further and found that a company that improves its client retention by even 5% will notice an increase in profits anywhere from 25 – 95 percent. Math doesn’t lie. Progressive mindsets get results.

Finally, this whole journey will be so much easier if your attitude reflects that your clients are human beings, not sales. Realizing that there is a conscious being relying on your consistent improvements in service is more motivational than a number. Your clients are the make or break of your company and their opinion of your service is critical to your business' future. Act like it!


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