Good Customer Service Starts With A CRM Strategy

Putting together a CRM strategy is critical before reviewing the information flow through your company. Your service reps are one of the best sources of information you have about your customers. If you foster good service, you will get good information and your customers will walk away happy and loyal.

I thought this video was pretty funny. It's real, and should be on a page about bad customer service, but I don't intend to write about that. Just make sure you never hire a guy like this!

There aren't really four corners of CRM, but if there were, good customer service would be one of them. These are the folks that may have their finger on the pulse of your customer base. They deal with the good, the bad and the ugly of the customer experience. Make sure you get the manager of this group and couple of key customer service reps on the core CRM planning team. You'll be glad you did.

Keys to Good Customer Service

There is only so much sales and discounts will do for your business. That's not going to keep customers coming back. That's a one time deal. They'll be on to the next deal after yours. A good salesman can selling anything once, but if your customer doesn't leave happy each time they need your help, they won't come back and they won't recommend you to their friends.

You can find a number of opinions on the keys to good customer service. Here's a simple list that will help. Just keep in mind that you need to develop your own set of guidelines as the relate to your business, your customers and your customer facing operations:

• Always be truthful - There is nothing worse than trying to get through an uncomfortable situation by lying. That includes making promises you can't keep. You're gonna get caught. Maybe not on this call, but when they find out, they will no longer be your advocate, or your customer
• Go the extra mile - Even if it doesn't seem very profitable in the short run, in the long run you will have built loyalty that will translate into value for your company.
• Be there when they need you - That means answering the phone, responding to emails, whatever. If they have to wait too long, they're gone...
• Listen! - Shut your trap and listen to what your customer is telling you. Sometimes that means reading between the lines
• When a customer is upset, listen even more - There's no gain in cutting them off or trying to calm them down. They will usually talk themselves out of it, or at least calm down so you can offer help

If keeping customers happy is important to you, adding good service to the CRM mix is something you cannot overlook.

Effective CRM Consulting From Good Customer Service

Link to Effective CRM Consulting