When it comes to customer service, the undisputed king of the mountain is Amazon. Amazon customer service consistently ranks at the top in overall customer satisfaction year after year. The key to providing the same level of support for your customers requires you to first understand how Amazon continues to provide such excellent care to their customers, then using that knowledge, create world-class customer service for your business.
Understanding Your Customers
One of the reasons that Amazon customer service is simply the best is because their philosophy is to not only listen to their customers--they strive to understand them. It can be easy to listen to what your customers needs are, but are you understanding them? If you want to increase loyalty with your customers you have to be willing to first listen to them, and then take that information and try to understand what drove them to say that in the first place. By getting inside the customer's head, you get the perspective of how they view your company and what needs they have to have met for them to be satisfied. To successfully improve your business you simply need to understand what motivates and drives your customers.
Servicing Your Customers
If you want to give your business an advantage over your competition, stop being obsessed with your competition. When you focus on being better than the competition, you in a sense are taking the focus away from the customer. Your customers are the driving force behind your success and they should be receiving your focus. The key to having a competitive advantage over your competition is to first service the needs of your customers and then begin working backwards. Your customer is basically paying your wages and therefore, they should be the top focus of all your efforts.
Stop Settling for Less
The key to Amazon customer service is they understand there is always room for improvement. Even if your company can deliver on time to 99% of your customers, you should stop focusing on such a huge accomplishment and put your attention on the 1% you failed to deliver on. Even at 99%, there is still room for improvement. The goal of your company should be to strive to get a 100% satisfaction rate with every single customer, When your focus is on the big picture, you pull the company more towards servicing the customer and less on personal achievement goals.
Respect Your Customers
Here is how you can easily distance yourself from your competition. If you focus on keeping your customers happy all the time, you limit the chance they will tell others when they are unhappy. If you have an unhappy customer in your brick and mortar storefront, they could go home and tell five friends about their experience. That same customer on the internet has the opportunity to tell thousands of people. Your customer is listening to what their friends, peers, and coworkers are saying about what to buy and who to buy it from. Social media has made it possible to spread the word on a global stage instantly. Understanding your customer base requires more effort than ever before, but the end results can help skyrocket your company as a leader in your niche just as easily.
