What do we know about Company Culture and why is it important?
Company culture is the foundation for delivering excellent customer service. The values, beliefs, and behaviours of a company set the tone for the interactions between employees and customers. A strong company culture focused on delivering the best helps to create a positive customer experience, while a weak culture can lead to disappointment.
Unfortunately, many companies start with the intention of delivering high-quality service but still fall short. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including a lack of focus on the customer, poor communication between departments, and a lack of clear company values.
Is poor quality service the new norm we should just get used to?
This year so far, I’ve personally experienced shockingly poor customer service, at times, negligent support from big, supposedly, Top-of-their-game companies, leaders in their industry. These so-called excellent companies have let me down, cost me in time, and money, and some, sadly, to the detriment of one of my projects having to completely close, but, most importantly, they damaged their own long-built reputation and name because you can guarantee I am talking to my friends and family about these experiences!!!
So, it made me think about why these companies are failing, and why now? What is making these customer experiences with them so shockingly bad, and can it be fixed? How can it be fixed?
In a World where you can be anything, be kind!
In today’s World, there is so much of a disconnect between people, in part, I am sure, a causal effect of lockdown. But when did companies start to feel it is acceptable to deliver poor customer service, did they take their eye off the ball? or, did they consciously decide they are happy to put that all aside to achieve the next milestone in profits. I’m not suggesting, out of greed, although for some that is the case, but maybe for survival? Cutting corners, cost savings, to stay afloat? All of this in the long-run will have one result of course… you can’t live off a good name from excellent service from over a decade ago – people born in 2000, our customers today, who are now in their 20’s don’t know any of that, so, what are you going to do about it?
For balance, it’s not all doom and gloom – I’ve also had a really great experience from a very big supermarket chain just the other week, and it resonated with me so much, although it was the right thing to do, it seemed so out of the ordinary, but did restore my faith in humanity and company customer service! Due to the poor service everywhere else which we have become almost used to, this normal, correct response, seemed so amazing. It showed me that this is where you can shine big, and what a difference that can make to your brand, what people are saying about you, and more importantly, how you can touch someone’s day on a personal level and make a difference, however small it may seem.
How can we deliver excellent Customer Service?
For me this is easy….CARE. Simply care, if you give a s**t, then show you do, take action, do it! The first step is to define and communicate the company’s values to employees – that does not mean print it on a poster and stick it on a wall. These values should be reflected in the company’s interactions with their teams and with customers, at every touch point internally and externally and should serve as a guide in decision-making. Live by your values. Ask yourself, what value does this task, job, service, product, fit within the company?
Listen to your customers and respond to their needs. Sounds basic right, but stop, and actually listen, hear what is being said and ask yourself, if this was my friend, my family member, my colleague stood in front of me right now asking for help, how would I deal with this? Is this how I would like to be treated? Could I do more, is it the right thing to do, is there a way to fix this? Don’t be a robot and follow a yes/no flow chart, think outside the box – be human!
If you are looking for ways to gain insights, send out some surveys, get customer feedback, and more importantly – report it and discuss it with your team and any decision makers for change. Pay attention to the language used in customer interactions. Use the feedback to continuously improve the customer experience and ensure the company is meeting your customer’s needs.
We often encourage our clients to handle and review customer feedback with the same level of care as financial data. Take real customer reviews and look at them side by side with your P&L.
Communicate like you care!
Effective communication between departments is crucial for delivering excellent customer service. Employees should feel empowered to share feedback and ideas with each other and with their bosses and leadership. Hold regular meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page. This can help to create a sense of community and collaboration, which can lead to better customer interactions. Richard Branson had it right when he said “clients do not come first, employees come first – if you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients”. If you don’t care, and they don’t care – how do you expect to deliver a service that cares? Makes sense right?!
Why do I care?
Well, that’s a good question…. I want to see change. I have a passion for making connections with people. I want to live in a World where people are kind, where companies are kind, where excellent customer service is the norm. If there is so much going on around you that you feel overwhelmed about where to start, just think about your connections with people. If you have empathy, can actively listen, and are willing to go above and beyond for your customers then you are going to be one of the companies that lasts and not only that, but you will stand out from the crowd. If your company culture values human connection and empowers you to create meaningful relationships with customers, that will lead to strong, loyal customers.
The Future is bright!
Building a brilliant company culture is key to delivering excellent customer service. By defining and communicating company values, listening to customers, and fostering effective communication and collaboration, companies can create a positive customer experience and build a strong and loyal customer base. At the core of it all, a passion for making connections with people is the driving force behind delivering the best.
In conclusion, there are a lot of companies out there doing it right, and when you find them or meet them it shows – so, please share those positive experiences in the comments with us all, let’s make it the norm!
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