If you’ve been following this three part blog series on customer service; Do You Understand Your Customers (part 1) and Do You Have a Customer Service Policy? (part 2), then you will have analyzed your customer , developed a policy, and are now ready to evaluate the effectiveness of that policy.
But where to start?
Start by setting a baseline in order to find out how responsive your current customer service program is. Ask yourself these questions.
- Where is your customer service the weakest?
- How customer-oriented is your company’s culture?
- Is the customer always put first?
- How well are your products and sales materials oriented towards the customer?
- Do you deliver what you promise?
- Do you know which features and benefits matter the most to your customers?
- How well do you respond to customer feedback?
- How well do you and your employees know your customers?
- How often do you interact with your customers?
- Do your employees know what’s important to your customers?
- How easy is it for your customers to get in touch with your company?
- How qualified is your staff? Do they have a solid understanding of your product or service? Are they empowered to do whatever is necessary to resolve the customer complaint?
- How can you actively improve your product?
Once you’ve gone through this list of questions and done an honest evaluation of how your company is doing, you will have established a baseline. It’s a good idea to routinely evaluate your customer service policy in order to see if it’s still effective and adequate for your company. As your company grows and develops, so will your policies.
And if you need help with any of this, remember that BT Web Group is a great resource for you.