Your field service team can add tremendous value to your service relationships when they recommend products and services that you can provide that will help your customers be better off.  They are in a unique position to do this; they have the knowledge of the technology, an inside understanding of your customer’s current processes and equipment and, hopefully an appreciation of your customer’s goals and objectives.  They also have proximity to the customer.  The question is however, if you engage your technicians in promoting your services, do you tell your customers?

Do You Tell Your Customers?

I recently spoke at the Field Service Forum in Amsterdam.  I asked how many of the attendees either formally or informally encouraged their technicians to proactively recommend their services to their customers.  About 60% of the room raised their hands.  I then asked how many of those who raised their hands told their customers that they were engaging their technicians in this way and not a single person responded that they did.  This is entirely consistent with other discussions that I have had.

How about you?  Do you tell your customers?  Do you tell them that you are encouraging your technicians to look for products and services to recommend to them?  If you are not, you are missing out on an important opportunity.

Why Not?

Let’s examine one of the reasons why we seem so hesitant to let our customers know about the promotion of products and services by our technicians.  I believe that underlying our reluctance is that we tend to see the actions of our technicians as a “selling” activity.  And, it’s hard to promote “selling” as a benefit to our customers.

Where is the value for the customer in a conversation that goes like this?  “Mr./Mrs. Customer, I want you to know that we have encouraged our technicians to look for opportunities for us to sell you more services so that we can increase the revenues we receive from you.”  It’s hard to see any value in this statement, regardless of how noble our intentions or those of our field service team are.

Remember, It is a Service

The key is to keep in mind that we want our technicians to use their expertise and proximity to look for opportunities to help the customer and raise these with the customer when they find them.  This is valuable because the actions of our technicians can truly help our customers to be better off and to achieve their business goals.  Their recommendations therefore, are a service.

Yes, as service providers, we do benefit from this proactive activity through increased service revenues, but those revenues are our reward in return for the value of the service that we provide.  By regarding the proactive activities of our technicians through a service lens, it becomes easier to promote their activities just like we would any other service that we provide.

Have this Conversation with your Customers

An excellent way to promote the proactive actions of our technicians is to have this conversation with our customers.  “Mr./Mrs. Customer, we have provided direction and training to our technicians to encourage them to look for opportunities to help you operate your facility/processes more effectively while they are performing the service.  Would you have any objection when they find something that will help you achieve your business goals, if they bring the opportunity to your attention?”

By explaining the actions of our technicians in this way, we are able to communicate the value of their efforts for the customer.

If you formally or informally engage your technicians in business development activities, I encourage you to tell your customers – and let them know why it is of value for them.

Promote their efforts to your customers as a point of difference.  Let them know that you are providing your “heads” as well as your “hands”.  When they recognize the value of these efforts and benefit from the resulting recommendations, they will be delighted that you have engaged your technicians in this way.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can connect with me via telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim Baston

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”

– Woodrow Wilson

The post Do You Tell Your Customers? appeared first on jimbaston.com.

As it turned out, my branch was closed by the time I arrived.  Fortunately, another bank on the other side of the plaza was open.  By coincidence, I used to have all of my accounts with the open bank until about three years ago and I still had a Visa card with their name on it.

I waited my turn for the lone teller.  When I got to the wicket, I explained that I would like to purchase some pounds sterling.

“Certainly sir, how much would you like?” came the very pleasant reply.

“£200 should do it, thanks.”

“No problem, just put your bank card in the slot.” she directed.

“I don’t have a bank card.” I explained.

“Don’t you have an account with us sir?”

“Not any more, no.”

“Then I am sorry, I cannot give you your sterling.”

“No problem, I can give you the cash equivalent.” I suggested.

“No, I am sorry, but I cannot accept cash.”

Now this was getting interesting.  I was dealing with a bank after all.  Wasn’t “cash” a day-to-day transaction in a bank? I asked “Why not?”

“Because you don’t have an account and we cannot be sure about the source of the cash.”

“Pardon?” I asked, hoping for some reasonable clarification.  Perhaps I heard wrong.  She repeated her explanation.  I was becoming quite incredulous.  “If you are concerned about the source of the cash, then why don’t you accompany me to your bank machine over there (there was a bank machine just inside the doors) and you can look over my shoulder as I remove the necessary amount to cover the transaction”.

By this time the teller’s manager joined in the conversation and moved me along the counter so that the line-up, which was steadily growing behind me, could be served.

“I am terribly sorry sir, but you must have a bank account with us if you want to buy foreign currency.  There is a place in the mall that sells currency.  Why don’t you go there?” (The “mall” that the manager referred to was at least a 20-minute drive away).

“I have a Visa from your bank.  Can I use this?” I asked, brandishing the card.

“I am sorry sir, you must have a bank account with our bank.”

My options were decidedly limited.  “Okay, sign me up for an account.”

The manager tried to be helpful.  “It would probably be easier to just go to the mall.”

“No, you convinced me.  I will open an account”.

I was shunted over to a chair to wait. In just a few minutes another courteous and friendly bank employee met me and guided me to a small office.  She started to ask the necessary questions to open an account – name, address, etc.  Suddenly she exclaimed, “But you do have an account with us!  You have a line of credit.”

Apparently when I cancelled my accounts with the bank, the line of credit remained in place and, although I had not used it for years, it was still available to me.

“Does that mean I can buy the sterling?”

“I think so.  Let me check.”  She went to speak to the manager and returned with a big grin.  “Yes sir. No problem”.

So I went back to the line and waited my turn.  By this time the teller was informed of the happy news and was able to make the transaction in just a few short moments.  She gave me the money and a receipt for the amount borrowed from my line of credit and I went directly to the bank machine in the lobby and took out the equivalent amount in Canadian dollars.  I returned to the teller and gave her the cash to clear my line of credit.

As I walked out of the bank it dawned on me that the transaction involved three people (four including me) and took about 30 minutes of time – some of that time holding up other customers and negatively impacting their experience.  The cost to the bank would far outweigh the commissions made on the transaction and they did, in a convoluted way, end up doing exactly what I asked for in the beginning – giving me the foreign currency in exchange for cash.  The only difference was it was cleared through my line of credit.

The bank employees were constrained by a bank policy that prevented them from delivering the quality of service they were capable of.  Despite the fact that the bank staff was polite and professional, the experience was frustrating and time wasting and completely unnecessary.  Now, there may be a good reason for this particular policy, but the branch employees were unable to explain it.

What about your policies?  Do they help your employees deliver an exceptional service experience or do they force them down a path that causes frustration for your customers and ultimately cost you money?  Have a close look.  You might be surprised with what you find.

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“When I go into a bank I get rattled. The clerks rattle me;
the wickets rattle me; the sight of the money rattles me;? everything rattles me.”

– Stephen Leacock, “My Financial Career”.

The post Are Your Employees Empowered to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service? appeared first on jimbaston.com.

As we know, the name RATER[1] is an acronym with each letter representing the first letter of one of the five key dimensions of service quality.  They are:

Reliability: Our ability to provide what is promised, dependably and accurately

Assurance: Our knowledge and courtesy, and our ability to convey trust and confidence

Tangibles: Our physical facilities and equipment, and our appearance

Empathy: The degree of caring and individual attention we provide to customers

Responsiveness: Our willingness to help customers and provide prompt service

To help our customers experience each of these dimensions when working with us, we need to ensure that our employees act in ways that allow our customers to experience these dimensions.  Today we will look at creating Assurance for the customer.

We suggested last time that you consider assembling a group of representatives from the company’s stakeholders – technicians, dispatch, sales, management and other customer facing personnel to brainstorm specific actions each stakeholder can take to help the customer experience that dimension when working with us.

Assurance can be defined as confidence or certainty in one’s abilities.  This confidence in us comes when the customer believes that they are getting excellent service and advice and that they are in the best of hands.  The interesting point here is that most customers have no way or really knowing if they are truly in the best of hands and receiving excellent service and advice.  They really don’t know if our technicians are technically better than our competitors or if the advice we are providing is the best they can expect from anyone.  Because most customers cannot truly assess these things, they look for tangible evidence that gives them clues.

Therefore, as you and your team draft the list of ways to interact with the customer to reassure them that they made the right decision when they chose you, consider what tangible evidence your team can give that will assure them of the quality and reliability of the service they are receiving.  There are many areas to consider.  Here are just three:

1. Appearance

1. Do your employees dress like the professionals they are?
2. Are reports well organized and concise?
3. Are work order descriptions clear and complete?
4. Are your invoices concise and easy to read?

2. Organization

1. Are your technicians organized in the way they work?
2. Are incoming calls handled professionally and efficiently?
3. Do your salespeople know who to go to for technical information?
4. Is your dispatch professional and competent

3. Work area

1. Do your technicians work in a neat and orderly manner?
2. Do they clean the work area when completed?
3. Do they clean (and even paint) the equipment they are responsible for?

As you develop your list, consider every customer touch point as an opportunity to demonstrate to the customer that they are right to put their confidence in you.

Next time, we will consider the “T” in RATER (Tangibles) and examine how we can transform the customer experience through the tangible objects customers observe.

What level of assurance are you providing your customers? I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Until next time,

Jim

“There is no truth. There is only perception.”

Gustave Flaubert

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This follows the first in the webinar series that took place on Tuesday, January 29^th, 2013, where I presented on Defining the Service Experience.  We focused on the five key steps that technicians can take to transform the service experience that you create for your customers.  The five key steps our technicians can take are:

1. Understanding what builds trust in a business relationship and using this knowledge to proactively create higher levels of trust through every customer interaction
2. Recognizing how customers assign value to intangible services and delivering that service in a manner that clearly communicates this value
3. Understanding the unique service proposition of your firm and looking for opportunities to communicate this to each customer
4. Recognizing and discussing opportunities for services that will help the customer achieve their business objectives
5. Turning challenging situations into positive opportunities.

The third and final webinar later this month is entitled Maintaining the Service Experience and will focus on our role as managers and how we can create and maintain momentum for change.

For more information on webinars 2 and 3 of the Transforming the Service Experience Series, click the links below:

Tuesday, February 12^th: Creating the Service Experience

Tuesday, February 26^th: Maintaining the Service Experience

Note:  This webinar series is open to everyone.  Non CMCEF members are welcome to attend.  Each webinar will commence at 11:00 AM EST and is scheduled to be one hour in length.  The cost to attend each seminar is $50.00 and we will recap at the beginning of webinars 2 and 3 so you can join the series at any time.

Once you’ve attended the webinars, I would love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Until next time,

Jim

The post Creating the Service Experience Part 2 – CMCEF Webinar Series appeared first on jimbaston.com.

As you may recall, the name RATER is an acronym with each letter representing the first letter of one of the five dimensions.  They are:

R eliability: Our ability to provide what is promised, dependably and accurately,

A ssurance: Our knowledge and courtesy, and our ability to convey trust and confidence,

T angibles:  Our physical facilities and equipment, and our appearance,

E mpathy:  The degree of caring and individual attention we provide to customers,

R esponsiveness:  Our willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.

As a service provider, we can define how we will deliver each of the five dimensions of service quality and then set in motion the training, processes and expectations to make it happen.  But, delivering on the dimension is not enough.  As we touched on last time, the customer has to experience it.  This is a perfect example of “perception is reality”.

Take the first “R” in the model – Reliability – for example.  As a person, I may be as reliable as a Swiss watch, but if you do not perceive me as being reliable, then it will not matter.  I can only be as reliable to you as you think that I am.  To be successful, therefore, we need to ensure that all of our employees – and our systems and processes that support them – are acting in ways that communicates that they are reliable.

An excellent way to achieve this is to consider each dimension of service quality – in this case Reliability – and define specifically how we will deliver it in a “tangible” way through every customer touch point. We can then assemble representatives from our company stakeholders – technicians, dispatch, sales, management, accounting, administration, and so on, and hold a brainstorming meeting to identify specific steps which can be taken within the context of communicating our reliability.

If you complete this exercise, you will be astounded by how simple the steps are.  Be careful not to discount the exercise because the steps seem so obvious and common sense.  In my experience in working with clients in this area, the old saying that “common sense is not necessarily that common” is true.  Here are some things that can communicate our reliability as a firm.

• Being on time for appointments and calling ahead if going to be late – even if we are just going to be late by a few minutes
• Responding to customer calls in a timely manner
• Keeping commitments
• Providing requested information on time
• Completing reports on time
• Being accessible
• Managing customer expectations

Keep in mind that reliability must be in every customer touch point and it must be consistent across the organization and through time.

Once we have these actions identified, we need to clarify specifically what we mean.  For example, what do we mean by “manage customer expectations” and how do we deliver upon it?  What is a realistic response time to a customer call (2 minutes?, 2 hours?, 2 days?) and what defines “Being accessible”?

We then have to determine what we need to do and what resources are required to deliver on these consistently through every customer touch point throughout the organization.  Do we currently have the skills? Will our current systems and processes support this?  What changes will we need to make to our hiring criteria to attract the right people?  And so on.

Next time, we will look more closely at the “A” in RATER and examine specific ways we can ensure our customers feel assured when dealing with us.

In the meantime, I’d love your feedback. Feel free to leave a link back to your own blog as well via the commentluv feature here on the site.

Until next time,

Jim

“Dependability is sincerity plus will power.”

—Roy L. Smith

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