Customer Service: Creating your Brand Experience

As the newest edition to the Summit Coaching team, I have been charged each week to focus on one of our 7 Critical Elements of Business Success. This past week, it was Customer Service.

“A customer does not care what you know until they know that you care.” In today’s fast-paced business world, the best way to stay ahead of your competition is through the care and attention you pay to your customer. As the one who sets the tone and models the behavior in your organization, are you setting the expectation that the needs of the customer always come first? Your culture must be one that consistently sends the message that your business cares about every customer within your community.

Your culture sets the tone for your customer’s “brand experience.” To ensure the continuity of the brand experience, consider having a script and role-playing the following:

• Pre-job walk through with the customer
• Settling customer expectations daily
• Updating customers on progress each day
• Introducing everybody on the crew
• Saying goodbye each day
• Delivering “plus 1” service (e.g. bringing in paper, garbage cans, food bags)

From the very first interaction, the customer must receive the message, verbal or innate, that they are dealing with the best in both quality and service. They should believe that you are keenly aware of their expectations and have full intentions of exceeding those expectations. It is your responsibility to make sure that your team consistently embodies the service philosophy that defines your commitment to world-class service. Ultimately, this ensures the protection of your brand.