In the saturated world of online business, it’s not easy to differentiate yourself. Or, is it? If you’ve been thinking about how to set yourself apart, you’ve probably considered the usual suspects: features and benefits, quality, price, other delivery add-ons. But, have you considered good old fashioned customer service? In this day and age, the ability to make a powerful impact via a memorable customer service experience is often neglected. In fact, providing just-okay customer service sometimes fails to make the list of business priorities at all.
I’m not sure what it is – perhaps our rampant busyness, the constant raft of distractions, our propensity for multi-tasking – but these days, so many service providers are just… flaky. They miss deadlines with no explanation or apology, take ages to reply to emails, overlook key details and just generally drop the ball. And it’s seemingly no biggie. It’s kind of just what you expect.
And that’s the key. When it comes to customer service, you have an opportunity to deliver above and beyond expectations just by doing what you say you’re going to do. Amazing, huh? Just by DOING what you say you’re going to do.
In my own business, I like to keep the following three customer service intentions front of mind:
1. Integrity
My business is all me, so it’s my personal reputation at stake. In every interaction I have with customers, I want to leave a legacy of unquestionable integrity. I am honest, organised, reliable, trustworthy and hard working. Even when I’m exhausted, and it’s hard, and I really can’t be bothered. As a result, clients value me because they can count on me to get things done – and get them done well.
2. Attention to detail
This one’s important to me because it’s tied implicitly to who I am, and to the unique value I bring (my personal brand, you could say). It was integral to my success in my corporate career (“This is important, let’s get Sal to look at it” was often heard around the office), and it’s even more important in my own business. Again, it’s my reputation at stake. I go the extra mile by reviewing every piece of work I do thoroughly, providing context, connecting the dots and doing what it takes to make the outcome great rather than good-enough.
3. Proactivity (aka. Surprise & Delight)
In the rush to get things done, so many businesses do just enough to reasonably call the job done – but not a skerrick more. What can you do to take your customer by surprise and utterly delight them? Can you deliver something a few days ahead of schedule, making it easier for them to meet their deadline? Throw in an additional small piece of work as a free add-on? Or remember a key personal event, and contact them out of the blue to ask how it went? Let me tell you a quick story… I got a text message on the day before my wedding that I’ll always remember. It was just a quick, simple message asking how I was feeling and wishing me all the best for the big day. What made it special? It came from one of my colleagues who’d finished up with our company a good 6 months prior, and I hadn’t seen since. The fact that he’d made note of my wedding date and took the time to message me was such a powerful, goodhearted gesture. I’ll never forget it, and I’ll never forget him as a result. Just a small story (and not even a customer service experience), but a great example of the simple, powerful ‘surprise & delight’ experiences I want to create for my clients.
None of the above is revolutionary. It’s not tied to talent or ability. It’s available to all of us. And yet so few take the time to actually do it. So, how can you differentiate yourself? Identify your key customer service intentions, and then do what you say you’re going to do. It’s that simple. And it’s even more powerful.
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Tell me: have you had an amazing customer service experience? What made it so special?
