LECTURE ONE

CUSTOMER SERVICE COCNCEPTS IN BUSINESS ENTITY

1.1 Introduction

Customer should always be treated with exemplary behaviour and a proper attitude because it is
they who help any organization to earn profits and survive in these competitive times.

Almost all the companies have strict instructions to ensure the best possible care of their
customers via delightful interaction and satisfactory transactions.

Customer care is, no doubt an important key in maintaining good and healthy relationships.
Companies are working doubly hard to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction.

The concept of customer care has always been in existence, but in recent years it has gained due
prominence. Business entities have recognized the worth of satisfied customers and are working
towards building an encouraging relationship.

Business is not only about selling and making profits. It is the customers who play the most
important role in any organization. You can sell a product or service once to any individual but
to do so a second and a third time requires careful handling.

Companies have recognized the power that a satisfied customer has over a company and are
working very hard to ensure maximum customer satisfaction. It is important that a business
entity or a brand listens to the voice of a customer and address any concern.

Taking care of existing customers is more important than creating new ones. Put your onus on
customer retention by building loyalty so that you can increase your revenues and of course,
profitability.

Remember a loyal customer will visit your outlet repeatedly and will also prove a good source of
promotion via mouth publicity.
Once you build a good and loyal base, you will be able to save extra expenses. It is possible via
good customer care and service experiences.

1.2 Lecture Objectives

By the end of this lecture you should be able to:

a. define customer
b. define Customer service
c. differentiate Major categories of customers
d. Explain the importance of customer service in organization
e. explain the Role of customer service in an organization ( selected
cases)

1.3 Definition of customer

A customer is an individual or business that purchases another company's goods or services.

Customers are important because they drive revenues; without them, businesses cannot continue
to exist. All businesses compete with other companies to attract customers, either by
aggressively advertising their products, by lowering prices to expand their customer bases or
developing unique products and experiences that customers love, think Apple, Tesla, Google or
TikTok.

1.3.1 Definition of customer service

Customer service is the support you offer your customers — both before and after they buy and
use your products or services — that helps them have an easy and enjoyable experience with
you. Offering amazing customer service is important if you want to retain customers and grow
your business. Today’s customer service goes far beyond the traditional telephone support agent.
It’s available via email, web, text message, and social media. Many companies also provide self-
service support, so customers can find their own answers at any time day or night. Customer
support is more than just providing answers; it’s an important part of the promise your brand
makes to its customers.

1.4 Examples of Customer Care

1.4.1 Going the extra way

Going the extra way to make your customers happy is what a good customer care department
does. Recently I went to a restaurant with my friends and ordered an assortment of dishes
because we were quite a few in numbers.
While we were eating one of my friends pointed out that we had asked for a different variety of
pizza and the waiter had served another. We were talking and debating amongst ourselves what
should we do because most of us had not realized the mistake and already started eating it.
Just when we decided to let go of the matter suddenly one of the authorities was there with an
apology and the pizza we had ordered along with one extra.

During the billing, we realized that the restaurant had not included the amount of the pizza that
we had not ordered or the one they delivered later on.
This was a prime example of customer care. We all were impressed and told about it to our other
friends. Later it became one of our favourite joints. Going the extra step made all the difference
in the attitude and impressed us a lot

1.4.2 Be vigilant
A customer does not want to feel like one of the crowd. He knows the truth but expects personal
care to make him special. For example, I went shopping with an elderly aunt who lived in
another city.
She wanted to buy a particular dress, and we went searching for it. She tried two sizes and
selected the one she thought was the correct one and dumped the other in the basket. While we
were at the billing counter, I met a friend of mine who wanted to show me something.
I did not want to leave my elderly aunt alone in the queue and was hesitating when a customer
care employee who was passing by heard about my dilemma and agreed to help my aunt during
the billing process.
He made way for her so that she could get a priority in billing because of her advanced age. At
the counter, she realized that she had chosen the wrong size.
The employee called a staff immediately, and the wrong size was replaced by the correct one.
He later helped her to find a corner and sit down until I came back.
When a customer care employee is vigilant in his efforts, he will earn extra praise just like my
aunt praised him in front of everyone and expressed her sincere thanks.

1.5 Major Types of Customers

1.5.1 Four types of customers

The toughest challenge that companies face today is dealing with the margin-draining games
played by some customers to gain additional discounts. Each customer type requires a different
selling approach.

[Link] Price buyers

Price-buying customers care only about the lowest price possible for a given product or service.
They don’t commit to any particularly supplier by making sure they are able to change suppliers
easily and at will.
Negotiating with price buyers
Some things to think about when negotiating with a price buyer:
Conduct an extensive cost analysis that includes all costs of service and support before you
develop a price.
Strip away all value-added features in pricing the deal.
Establish a rational walkaway price so you don’t agree to a price that will cost your company
money.

[Link] Relationship buyers

Relationship buyers expect their suppliers to invest in understanding the business their products
or services support. They have a high level of trust in and loyalty to their suppliers.
Negotiating with relationship buyers
Here are the tactics to consider when negotiating with relationship buyers:
Develop an intimate knowledge of the prospect, concentrating on specific problems, value
drivers and possible solutions.
Focus on making decisions that are in the customer’s best interest.
Continually probe for areas of dissatisfaction and the impact of current work

[Link] Value buyers

Value buyers favour suppliers who add value to their operations in terms of increased
efficiencies, reduced costs, increased sales and high margins.
Negotiating with value buyers
When negotiating with a value buyer:
Don’t focus on price during initial discussions.
Focus completely on discovering differential value compared to competitors.
Present an extensive list of where and how you can provide value relative to other vendors in the
negotiation, and quantify that value to defend your position.

[Link] Poker players

Poker players are value- or relationship-buyers in price buyer disguise. Their intent in acting like
a price buyer is to force the negotiation into a bluffing situation that will benefit the buyer at the
expense of the seller. Poker players try to take advantage of you using a technique called
nibbling – always asking for more – often little things.
Negotiating with poker plays
When negotiating with a poker player:
Establish valued give-gets ahead of time.
Pre-plan tactics that the poker player will use and prepare an appropriate response to each
Recognize that you have value, and don’t roll over and start discounting, which will validate
poker-playing behaviour.
1.6 Key Customer Service Concepts

1.6.1 Support customers as a team.

Customer service is a team sport — and not just for your customer support team. Train every
employee on your helpdesk software so they can all pitch in when times are busy. Sure, you’ll
want to pass highly technical cases to the experts, but everyone needs to be able to help out.
Successful startups can tell you that when everyone spends time on the front lines, it’s easier to
stay aligned around customers and maintain service levels when things get busy.

1.6.2 Listen to customers (and share their feedback).

Encourage service agents to ask questions when interacting with customers. The more your
agents know about your customers and their needs, the more of an asset those agents are to both
your company and your customers. Your customer support team can also be an amazing source
of product innovation. Some successful startups have the customer support team present
customer feedback at every company meeting.

1.6.3 Don’t be a robot.

75% of customers believe it takes too long to reach a live agent, and no one likes talking to a
robot. So show your customers you aren’t a machine. Encourage agents to add personality to
their emails. Or to fill the quiet time when they need to pull up account information by asking
customers how the weather is or who their favourite sports teams are — basically anything that
adds a personal, friendly face to your support operations.

1.6.4 be honest about what you don’t know.

Nobody likes a know-it-all (especially a know-it-all that doesn’t actually know it all). If your
agents aren’t sure how to troubleshoot a problem, it’s okay for them to let the customer know
they’ll get in touch with the right person and circle back when they have an answer. Maintain an
open dialogue with your customers and keep them informed at all times; it’ll earn your
customer’s respect and commitment.
1.6.5 Practice empathy.
In today’s often impersonal world, empathy has become a competitive advantage. A company
cannot be successful with a culture of apathy. Your service agents especially must master the lost
art of empathy to deliver effective customer service. Ask agents to put themselves in the shoes of
the customer when working on a case. Their empathy will show, and customers will appreciate
them for it.

1.6.6 Know your product.

The more your customer support team knows about your product, the better they’ll be at
servicing it. Make training a key part of your customer support operations. Some companies on
board every new employee — not just their sales reps — with a one week product boot camp to
ensure they know their products inside and out. Be sure to prepare them for every new release,
too.

1.6.7 Remember every second counts.

Customers hate to wait. So give your agents the helpdesk software they need to support
customers as efficiently as possible. After all, reducing the time it takes to assist a customer
directly reduces the time other customers must wait, too. At the same time, be sure to motivate
agents to solve each problem completely; speed is important, but resolution times should never
trump customer satisfaction (CSAT).

1.7 Importance of Customer Service in Business

It can take years to build up a good reputation, but just moments to ruin it. This effectively
describes the importance of keeping customers happy and satisfied through the customer service
of your business.

If you are serious about making considerable headway in the business world, then you need to
maintain a robust customer service for your company.
As per the statistics of Gartner research, approximately 89% of companies now expect to
compete mostly from customer experience for business. Below are some of the reasons for the
importance of customer service for your business in the competitive market.

1.7.1 Build a Reputation for Your Business

The first and foremost benefit of maintaining customer service for your business is that it helps
to build a reputation in the business market. It is only your customer service which is going to
make or break your business, and make it profitable and reputable.

With the advancement of technology, today’s social and mobile consumers have grown habitual
to get what they want, resulting in raising their expectation for customer service.

In a recent poll, approximately 83% of successful business leaders revealed that the expectation
of the customers have grown much higher than they were three years ago.
Developing a robust image for customer service will not only result in positive reviews for your
business, but it will also assist you in solidifying the minds of the customers for your type of
products, services or information. It is essential to support every channel at the starting period of
your company and establish excellent customer service.

1.7.2 Customer Retention

Excellent customer service will not only result in maximum customer retention, but it will also
help in customer acquisition. A robust brand image that has good customer strength can easily
retain customers and build a sense of trust.

The way you deal with your users decides whether a customer is likely to use your brand again.
On the other hand, if you want to attract more consumers to your business, it will cost
approximately five times more than it takes in order to maintain the existing customer for your
business.
This concept on its own sheds light on the importance of customer service for business in the
competitive world. Why risk losing a customer for your business?
It is always advisable to keep your customers happy and satisfied by doing whatever it takes to
keep them; they are essential for your business. Prioritizing customer service support helps you
attract and retain loyal customers, and can have a big impact on your company’s bottom line.

1.7.3 Get Feedback for your Products and Services

The next benefit of having an excellent customer service for your business entity is that it
provides you with perfect feedback about the products and services of your business.

As a matter of fact, the employees and developers of your company would have a specific look at
the products and goods and the communication tool you select, but the opinions of your
customers might be different from your selections.

With the help of customer service for your business, you will get a fresh look at your products
and put a light on things that you might not necessarily see.

One of the easiest and best ways to gather the feedback of your customers is through the
conversation you have with them on chat on a daily basis. By merely asking one question, you
can reach all of your customers and get feedback from them regularly.

1.7.4 Better Experience For Customers

The importance of customer satisfaction can never be neglected. Focusing on the customer’s
experience will not only help you in maintaining your products and services, but it will also play
a critical role in building a smart business.

Creating the products and services as per the customer’s demands doesn’t just make customers
love you; it can also increase the revenue of your business. If you are willing to pay more for
premium experiences, including access to the features, premium support or other benefits, it will
help you to tier your customer base. Either way, excellent customer service experiences will
benefit your bottom line.
1.7.5 Make You Stand Out
In today’s competitive world, many businesses are alike these days with a proper website,
marketing concepts, and decent product. In order to stand out in the crowd, you need to provide
excellent customer service for your business.
With a healthy and happy client base, you can easily convenience more investors and open up
more segments, offices, branches, and ultimately cover more area than before.

And you can be real to yourself when you help your customers on chat, through emails or when
you answer their tweets. Being natural is always received better by customers than having a firm
and official tone.

1.7.6 Conversion Rate For Business

There is no denying the fact that the conversion rate of your business is always affected by the
type of service you are offering to your customers. It is vital in generating business for your
brand in the competitive business world.

If you somehow fail to deliver good customer service, your customers might take this experience
to the internet and comment about your poor services. There will be chances that your sales will
come crashing down and eventually it will affect the revenue of your business.

Similarly, a customer who is happy and satisfied with your service may leave positive comments
and feedback on your social media profiles, which has a positive effect on your sales.

1.8 The Role of customer service in business

The job description of a customer service agent goes far beyond a single role. Here’s what you
need to know.

Most jobs require you to fill more than one role.

That’s especially true in customer service, where you’re expected to know how to—and be good
at—everything from dealing with angry customers to teaching them how to use your product to
understanding what people are really saying when they ask you an unclear question.

Being able to understand each of these roles lets us get better at them by treating each one as an
individual skill to be developed.
Below are the ten primary roles that you’ll fill in customer service, along with resources to help
you get better at each one.

1.8.1 Helper
Often the first thing people think of when they think of customer support, being a helper is
perhaps your most prominent role.
And it’s a very important one.
In a survey of more than 75,000 consumers, the number one most important factor in gaining a
customer’s loyalty is reducing their effort (the work they must do to get their problem solved).

So by helping them overcome product hurdles and achieve what they want to do, you’re not just
helping your customers; you’re helping to grow the business.

1.8.2 Teacher
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.
Proverb
While your customer might need help this time, they probably don’t want to reach out to you
every single time they stumble onto the same issue.

That’s why it’s so important to not just be a good helper, but a good teacher. The ability to take
sometimes-complex concepts and distill them into simple, clear and easy-to-follow instructions
that make your customer better at using your product is an extraordinarily valuable skill.
1.8.3 Optimization Scout
No business is perfect (despite what some rabid Apple fans might say).
There are always places to improve your product, but unless you’re doing whole-team support,
the people actually building the product typically don’t spend all that much time with the people
using the product.
As someone on the front lines, you get a first-hand look at what customers struggle with and
what could work better.

1.8.4 Advocate
As the front line in customer service, you are the voice of the customer in your company.
This goes well beyond being an Optimization Scout.
Aside from spotting bugs and issues, you also know the types of things that your company does
that make your customers happy, frustrated or angry.
You know that because you’re always the first to hear about it.
Over time, you develop a keen ability to predict how your customers will be impacted by product
changes, and you can help your company make better decisions in the best interest of your
customers.

1.8.5 Therapist
Anyone who has worked in support for longer than a week has almost certainly dealt with an
angry or upset customer.
We all have bad days, and as someone who knows the importance of empathy, patience and
positivity—and practices those skills—you have the magical power of being able to help these
customers turn their day around.
You know the right techniques to not only help someone feel better, but to build a better
relationship with an otherwise-great customer in the process.

1.8.6 Multitasker
Customer support is one of those jobs where you’re never “done.”
Customer emails will always keep coming in, people will always need help, and there will
always be something for you to do.
As if the amount of stuff you need to do wasn’t enough, people typically expect you to do it fast.
One survey by Forrester found that 41% of customers expect a response to a customer support
email within six hours, but that only 36% of businesses studied actually responded within that
timeframe.

1.8.7 Salesperson
If your business offers multiple products, or multiple tiers of the same product, you can probably
easily spot the customers that would get more value from either buying another product, or
switching their plan to a higher (or lower) tier.
By being able to identify those customers, and target them with upsells, downsells or cross-sells
in the right way at the right time is a mark of an effective support agent.

1.8.8 Mindreader
Did you know that for every customer who complains, there are 26 customers who don’t say
anything at all?
That means that every issue you hear about from one customer is silently nudging many more
customers toward the door. Except they’ll never tell you that; if things get bad enough, they’ll
simply leave without a word
That’s where being a mindreader becomes a role that can save your business.
Learning to spot the customers who are having trouble—even if they don’t say anything to you
—is one of the best ways to reduce churn.

1.8.9 Coach
Sometimes, customers don’t necessarily need help with a particular issue or feature, but they
need a little nudge to get started or to get more value from your business.
That’s where your job as coach comes in.
Knowing not just how to help your customers, but how to motivate and move them to do the
things they need to do to succeed is a key part of being great at customer support.
Wizard
Helping, teaching, selling and the rest of the customer service roles are really important to
keeping your customers happy and your business growing.
But then… there’s the magic.
In support, you’re in charge of customer wow: that little bit of extra that sets you apart in your
customer’s eyes from the legions of businesses out there doing “just enough.”

ACTIVITY

SUMMARY

Excellent customer service for businesses will help you and your long-
term goals and make your brand successful. Nothing is more important than
keeping your customers happy and satisfied, and the way to do this is by
providing desirable and excellent customer care service.

That’s why you should never forget the importance of customer

satisfaction. It’s high time to face the truth; your brand can always do
better. If you are looking to build an organization and want to understand
more about customer services, then look no further. Head over to Startupr
and incorporate your business in Hong Kong and start your dream project.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
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