Proven Process for Driving a Service Culture

During the next several months I will share this proven process and formula I have been helping leading organizations across the US and world master.  Some use just my service strategy seminars. Others use our leadership courses to help create a service culture. Some prefer to start with our Certification Seminars, books and training programs which are available in English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Greek, Bulgarian and Indonesian

My goal is to help you build a powerful customer-driven high-growth business. To make this happen you have to learn to trust and value your customers and invest and build a customer-driven empowered workforce. Every CEO believes they do this while only a fraction are willing to take the time, effort and capital to make this happen.

The 3 Pillars of a Customer-Driven Culture

Strategy:  Build passion and strategy with a relentless commitment to you customer.

Leadership:  Develop your leaders to manage, motivate and lead an empowered customer-driven workforce and reduce the friction that prevents an awesome customer experience.

Best Practices:  Leverage proven customer service and leadership training, behaviors and best practices that create a Customer-Centric culture.

9 Principles of Creating a Service Culture

Focus on Strategy: Relentlessly peruse these 9 principles to hardwire a customer-driven culture and make it a way of life.

Reduce Friction:  Remove stupid rules, policies and procedures.

Empower Everyone:  Empowerment is the backbone of great service. Everyone must be empowered.

Dramatically Improve Speed: People today expect and want speed. You must drastically reduce the time for everything you do.

Train Everyone: All employees must be trained on customer service with something new and fresh every few months.  Ninety-nine percent of customer interaction is with your front-line employees. They are the least trained, least valued, least paid and the face of your organization. It is critical you also build their self-worth and develop them into becoming indispensable and extraordinary.

Remember Names:  The most precious thing to a customer is their name. Remember it and use it.

Master Service Recovery: When you screw up you must keep the customer and all employees must practice the 4 skills of service recovery.

Reduce Costs:  Price is critical with all customers. Service leaders are frugal and always looking for ways to reduce costs. All my research shows service leaders are aggressive at eliminating waste and costs.

Measure Results: You must measure the results of creating a service culture to keep top management passionate about this process, the financial investment and time required. Customers want a lifetime of great service.

Blueprint to Become a Customer Service “Rockstar”

1. Feel Good About Yourself: Each of us has the responsibility to look after our own feelings. We need to give ourselves recognition for good work. And we need to commit ourselves to goals that are worthy of our abilities. When you know you are doing your best for others, both customers and working associates, you will feel good. Concentrate on your strengths. Recognize the importance of your role. You can make the difference. Every minute of the day choosing to do so will cause us to feel good.

2. Practice Habits of Courtesy: Everyone has the right to expect courtesy from you. To be so self-centered or preoccupied with your work that you forget to show courtesy with each contact is to signal that you don´t care. On the job practices of courtesy are an important part of everyone´s role to signal respect. The more you give the more you will get back.

3. Give Positive Communications: It costs you nothing but a little effort and the rewards are great. Every human contact is an opportunity to give the gift of good feelings through the words you say People can´t read your mind; what you say is evidence that you care.

4. Perform for the Customer: Customers have the right to demand performance. They aren´t interested in our problems and excuses. We constantly need to ask ourselves “is our performance resulting in satisfied customers?” “Don´t promise what you can´t deliver what you promise” is a good guideline.

5. Listen Carefully: Jobs can become routine. When you see hundreds of customers, you can become desensitized to an individual. You have to concentrate on each person. Get in tune with their situation, their attitudes and needs. Anticipate, read between the lines, ask questions, get involved… to show you care and to know what will satisfy the customer. Even complaints are a positive resource if you listen and act.

6. Learn and Grow in Your Job:“Grow where you´re planted.” Every job offers an opportunity for greatness. In a sense, every day you either grow or die mentally. Learn about your company, learn about your products, learn about your customers. With learning comes self-fulfillment. Don´t wait for someone to give