Welcome to Day 17 of 31 Days of Connection! Find every post as they are published linked up on Day 1, in case you have missed anything. Don’t miss any more posts in the series – click here to sign up now to receive them in your email inbox!
Use Exceptional Customer Service to Connect Internally
We experience customer service everywhere we go. Surprisingly there is a lack of good customer service in many companies. There is no reason not to offer exceptional customer service in order to differentiate yourself in today’s economy. But there are other reasons for practicing this level of customer service – creating connections and building up professional relationships.
In order to improve the customer service experience, it must start as a priority internally. Happy employees lead to happy clients. If you don’t begin by treating employees within a company or group extremely well, you cannot expect them to overflow with helpfulness and kindness when dealing with clients. Do you treat your employees as the MOST important clients of your business? If you’re not, then you might be able to pull off decent customer service externally, but it will never be exceptional and exceptional is what it takes to connect.
Create the culture of exceptional customer service internally by emphasizing the importance of it, recognizing employees who give each other excellent service, and putting customer service goals into place. Survey internal “customers” to get an idea of how the service is among employees and how to improve it. Hire employees who share the vision of exceptional customer service and truly care about helping out coworkers.
When you work as a team to deliver great service to each other, you show care and concern which creates connection between you. That connection grows into stronger professional relationships. By showing top down and inside out the value of excellent service, you will be setting up your employees for success in giving exceptional service to external customers as well.
Use Exceptional Customer Service to Connect Externally
Once we have established an internal focus on exceptional customer service, we can encourage and expect our employees to deliver that same level of service to external customers and clients. But we need to continue prioritizing exceptional service or it will fade and we’ll lose the connections that we have built.
When you give not just good, but exceptional service to a customer, that stands out. It makes them feel special and valued. Because of this, they are more likely to be a repeat customer. Not only that, they may be willing to spend more on your product or service because they enjoy the level of service you provide. But that exceptional service needs to be consistent in order to keep your customers delighted and returning to you over and over. Repeat customers turn into customer connections. Customer connections turn into lifetime customers and sometimes trusted friends. These are the customers that also refer family and friends to you. Connecting with customers through exceptional service is not only of value to the customer, but of great value to you and your company.
Focus on exceptional external customer service by hiring the right employees and emphasizing the importance of excellent service. Remember that a smile is a great way to start connecting. Be sure to publicly praise employees when customer compliments are given and survey your customers regularly to determine service strengths and opportunities for your team. Connecting with your external customers through exceptional service is rewarding both for them and for you.
Day 17 Daily Connection Challenge:
Focus on giving exceptional internal customer service today. Make it your goal to have each coworker or group member walk away from their interactions with you with a smile on their face and a feeling of connection. Over the next 3 days, find ways to go above and beyond with external customers, creating a service experience that they will want to tell all of their friends about. Whatever level of customer service you normally give, make this about reaching that next level up.
Thank you for joining me for Day 17 of 31 Days of Connection! What is the best customer service experience you have had lately? Tell me about it in the comments! See you here again for Day 18!