Extraordinary Customer Service!

Peady’s Selling Engagement sponsored by IRD Prospector

Welcome to this week’s post on sales and selling success.

Recently a sales manager told me “yes, my sales people make contact with their clients regularly if they are customer-centric. But we don’t mandate it
Did you read what she said? Huh?? Since when is customer service optional?

Avoiding churn

It continues to surprise me how many sales managers (and by extension sales people) need convincing that improving customer service will generate more revenue, more ongoing business and higher client or customer retention.
 
The main reason for customer “churn” is simply due to poor customer service or follow up.
 
Here’s 6 stats you need to know:

  1. The average dissatisfied customer tells 12 people (15% tell 20 people). Source – Business e-coach
  2. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%. Source – Bain & Co study in the Harvard Business Review
  3. 68% of customers stop doing business with a company because of poor service, but if their problem was solved most would be retained. Source – International Customer Service Association
  4. 93% of customers indicated that quality customer service was vital to maintaining loyalty. Source – Creative Strategies
  5. Customers who refer others generate business at low or no cost. Source – Harvard Business School
  6. The average business loses between 10%-30% of its customers each year (media tends to lose 20-25%). Source – Marketing At Work

 Simple retention strategies

Shiv Singh SVP Global Head of Innovation at Visa says: “The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers” and there are some very simple ways to do that.
 

  • Do what you say you’ll do.
–       Reward your customers by providing them with a lead or ideas to generate business.
  • It might sound corny but it still works. Under-promise and over-deliver.
  • Make it easy to do business with you
–       Send thank-you notes. (Peter Drucker attributed much of his success to sending 12 handwritten thank-you cards every day).

 
If you put your mind to it I imagine you and your team could come up with three or four more great ideas – try it at this week’s sales meeting.

In the meantime, good selling!
 

About the author 

Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.

He can be contacted at [email protected]

 

 

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