Customer Orientation

1 The views expressed are based on personal experience and information collected from the net.

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“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it.”

- Peter Drucker

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Customer Orientation

What does Customer Orientation mean to you?

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You as a customer Your experiences Share a good service experience Share a bad service experience

What will be your future actions w.r.to ‘good service’ and ‘bad service’ provided to you?

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You as a customer (contd.)

Do you demand action? Are you very direct and to the point in your

statements? Do you make it clear what you want? Do you lack patience? Do you tend to speak faster? Are you focused on results? Are you usually not interested in details?

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For your customers

Your customers are people like you Their reactions will be similar to that of yours

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Why do customers leave?

Move away -4% Friendships -5% Competition -9% Dissatisfaction -14% Indifference -68%

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What could “indifference” mean?

Not being empathetic Not listening carefully Not reverting as discussed Not looking for solution but quoting

“Company Policy”

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Why service matters 86 % of customers expect better services than they did five years

ago. 82% of customers will switch loyalty if better services are not given 35 % said that a mere ‘Sorry’ would have stopped from moving off. The cost of acquiring new customers is 5 times the cost of keeping

old ones happy Old customers bring returns about 3 to 7 times more than a new

customer. Increasing customer retention by 5 % can raise profits by 25 to 30% Reducing customer problems by 1 % can increase profits a few

crores over the years

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Some Statistics

Out of 100 dissatisfied customers Only 4% will complain 96% will just go away Of those who go away, only 5% will return 91 will never return to you.

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Some Statistics (contd.)

64% of customers feel companies with which they frequently interface by telephone are not respectful of their time

It takes between 2-5 times the cost to find a new customer as to retain a customer

Reducing these customer defections by 5% could increase profits as much as 50%.

However.....

People largely understand that those providing the service are humans, and can make mistakes too. 70% will do business with you again if you

resolve their complaint satisfactory. 95% will continue doing business if their

complaint is resolved immediately.

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Know your customer Who are your customers? What characteristics they have? What products / technology areas they work in? Are they the end users or ISVs or VARs or OEMs? What are the customer’s requirements? What is the customer satisfaction level? How do we project our organization and how does the

customer perceive our organization?

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Know Your Customer Type

Know Your Customer Type (contd.) Business-like customer

No nonsense, always crisp and to the point Don’t waste time, be to the point in communication

Tough customer Egoistic, aggressive Listen carefully, allow him / her to talk first; Express your points as

suggestions; Be courteous but firm Uncertain customer

Non-demanding, indecisive, unsure, seeks reassurance Break barriers, listen, ask right questions, make suggestions

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Know Your Customer Type (contd.) Angry customer

“I WANT IT NOW! I SAID, I WANT IT NOW!” Be assertive, not angry or aggressive; be polite and to the point, calm

and clear voice, don’t give hollow promises; empathize Knowledgeable customer

Demanding, technically sound, has good knowledge about product Satisfy his desire for details; don’t try to fool him

Friendly customer Talkative, discusses a lot of generalities, warm and good natured Respond to his warmth and hospitality; keep to business

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Characteristics of customer-centric employees

Motivation Proactive behavior Ownership and responsibility Conscious listening Understanding responses

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Characteristics of customer-centric employees (contd.) Motivation

To motivate yourself, adopt this mindset - “It’s my choice” Make a conscious decision to push yourself to excel. Don’t find

excuses like “I have an unfair customer” or “I dislike this aspect of my work”.

Proactive behavior Anticipate unpredictable events and changes and view them as

challenges. Be proactive. “I can expand my freedom and influence by being proactive.”

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Characteristics of customer-centric employees (contd.) Ownership and responsibility

“It’s not what people do to us that hurts us. In the most fundamental sense, it is our chosen response to what they do to us that hurts us.” - Stephen Covey

Conscious listening Understanding comes through listening Misunderstanding from not listening

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Characteristics of customer-centric employees (contd.) Levels of listening

Ignoring: Make no effort to listen Pretend Listening: Give the appearance of listening Selective Listening: Hearing only parts that interest us Evaluative listening: Judging speaker’s capabilities Emphatic Listening: Listening and responding to speaker

with mind and heart to understand speaker’s words and feelings

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Characteristics of customer-centric employees (contd.) Understanding responses

Advising: Giving advice, solutions to problems Probing: Asking questions from own frame of reference Interpreting: Trying to understand other’s behavior based

on own experiences Summarizing: Repeating what is conveyed in concise

manner

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Successful customer calls Present customer benefit Focus on collecting information from customer Put customer needs at the center-stage, not your product/

service Customers open up slowly; don’t force the pace First impressions are very important- be polite and tactful Try and assess personality type of customer. Don’t make

hasty judgments. 23

Remember

As far as customers are concerned, you are the company. This is not a burden, but the core of your job.

You hold in your hands the power to keep customers coming back – perhaps even to make or break the company.

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Famous quotes

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

“You need to give customers what they want, not what you think they want. And, if you do this, people will keep coming back.”

“If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will.”

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Summary Customers want what we want – a positive

interaction when doing business with every Service Provider Representative that they come in contact with.

ITS ALL ABOUT THE

RIGHT ATTITUDE

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THANK YOU

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