Training front-line staff (alone) doesn’t work!
Who knew that, after more than 25 years of designing and facilitating learning experiences for customer-facing staff, it’s not enough!
This realisation came to me some time ago. The experience your customers are having right now wasn’t created there. A LOT happened before that moment to make the experience what it is – whether good, bad or indifferent.
Andy Collett
Suggestion number one. Don't just train the front-line staff. Train everyone who works in the business.
The customer, during any interaction with the business, is experiencing its culture. Even if they are being ignored, they are still experiencing the culture of the business.
Questions to ponder:
- What is it that really matters to those who work in the business?
- Does anyone really care about the customer?
- Or are they just going through the motions?
- As a leader, what questions do you ask?
Perhaps you ask your team, ‘How much have we sold today?’ If you’re asking this question, what does it communicate?
The questions you ask reveal where you are focused.
And, in doing so, you are setting the focus for your team. And that focus could be what you’re looking for – it’s quite usual for leaders in business to focus attention there. And to do so is to focus at the level of ‘effect’ rather than at ’cause’.
There is another way.
Suggestion number two. Create a culture of 'customer astonishment' as the main focus of every team member.
In doing this you are focusing attention on what creates the desired results. The ’cause’ (customers) that creates the ‘effect’ (financial results).
And everyone has a part to play. No exceptions. No blaming others. It’s the responsibility of the leaders in the business to maintain a constant focus on the experience of the customer (both internal and external) and to constantly keep growing and developing in that direction.
More questions:
- Where do the financial results come from? Of course it’s the customers – the money they spend.
- What makes them want to spend money with you? They want to receive something – a product and/or service that does something for them.
- What makes a customer more likely to buy from you rather than a competitor? Many factors – including the overall experience and how they felt about it.
Generally, customers are able to obtain what they want from a range of suppliers. And the supplier they choose isn’t always determined according to price. How customers feel has a huge impact on where they choose to do business.
- Is it possible for an organisation to consistently deliver exceptional customer service? Yes – it’s totally possible.
- What does it take? One Vision. One Team.
- How is that created?
Suggestion number three. Begin a conversation with us.
Visit the Contact page and we’ll be in touch.