Customer Service is at the Heart of Everything We Do!

Many people in the software and consulting world believe customer service is an after-market interaction with the client.  I would suggest that customer service begins with the first interaction anyone in your company has with a prospective client.  The seeds of your future relationship are planted with that first smile or handshake, with the first "Hello" or "Howdy".   Believing that customer service is part of these essential, early moments in your relationships is laying the groundwork for taking your client relationships to the partnership level. 

Memorable customer service is just that.  No matter when the call or email comes the reason it comes is always clear, someone needs help.  In Great companies, with the right people in the right seats, that call or email gets to someone who understands the often seemingly inverse relationship between how often a process is explained and how long that information is retained.   Or the person whose memory isn't clouded by how fruitless the efforts were the last time this person express interest in your solutions.  The person on the other end of the call or email will now in seconds if the decision to reach out was a good one.  Response time has a good deal to do with that, but so does the nature of the response.  Roger Staubach, former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys said, "There are no traffic jams along the extra mile".  Responding with clear and concise information, coupled with extra doses of empathy and sincerity, will create the kind of loyalty that paves those extra miles.  Knowing that every interaction, by every member of your organization creates an impression, should be enough to guide the heartfelt nature of each opportunity.

Business decisions are often thought of as hard and tough. But more and more it seems that decisions regarding with whom business relationships are developed come down to something more than dollars and cents.  The biggest or most recognizable companies may not have the heart required to see where needs exists and how they can be met.  Listening and working together to find solutions from the first interaction through all that follow is the best and most enduring customer service plan you can implement.  With customer service at the heart of everything you do, people are happy,  everyone profits and everyone keeps moving forward! 

Denny Meredith-Orr
COO, Reliant