Have you ever done business with a company that claims “We Offer World Class Customer Service!”, “Our Value is the Best!” or “We Lead Our Industry!”, but the actual customer experience doesn’t match the promise? Phrases that tout a company’s greatness offer absolutely zero value to the customer. They don’t mean anything until and unless the customer experiences what the claims promise. Sadly, this rarely happens. What can a company do to demonstrate their ability to provide a satisfactory, or even excellent, customer experience, without announcing it?

For a start, how about not telling your customers how great you are? Drop the ‘Superior Customer Service” phraseology altogether. Concentrate instead on changing policies and practices to truly serve your customers better…and reap the rewards of increased business that comes from good ol’ word of mouth. If you’re doing a great job, people will tell other people. And you won’t have to say a word.

Case in Point: As I stood in line at my bank on a Saturday, I noted a huge banner hanging across the front window that advertised “Voted #1 in Customer Service…Again!” I had to wonder how that could have happened, as about 20 of us waited to be served by only one very slow, unsmiling, non-caring bank teller. Needless to say, the sign seemed almost like a joke.

If claiming superior customer service isn’t something you can do away with, then make it believable. Make claims you can back up. For example:

• “Our phones are answered by humans with more than two years of technical service experience. ”
• “We arrive within one hour of our scheduled appointment or there’s no charge.”
• “Your return will be completed within ten minutes of arriving in our store.”
• “Last year we spent $10,000 per technician on advanced training to serve you better.”

These are claims your customers can sink their teeth into. They matter to the typical consumer. And your customers will detect that you’re offering real claims that can be measured in terms of their personal customer experience. That’s how you really say “We Offer World Class Service!”

Do companies with higher satisfaction ratings enjoy higher sales volume and a more stable cash flow? Yes, according to author Claes Fornell, Director of the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Fornell’s extensive research on the subject (”Customer Satisfaction and Stock Prices: High Returns, Low Risk)” proves customer satisfaction impacts individual organizations and the economy’s future health. Top ACSI companies—those companies who highly value customer satisfaction– regularly outperformed the market considerably.

How Significant Is Superior Customer Service?
Several studies compared top ACSI companies against the market, measuring stock performance from 1997 to 2003 and other data. The results were amazing:

”The top customer satisfaction companies beat the Dow Jones by 93%, S&P 500 by 201%, and NASDAQ by 335%.”*
Customer satisfaction pays off even when stock market value dropped. Companies with highly satisfied customers seem insulated from dropping stock prices.

Improving your customer service can have far-reaching effects in:
 repeat business
 lower price elasticity
 higher prices
 more cross-selling opportunities
 greater marketing efficiency

Higher customer satisfaction also positively impacts:
• employee loyalty
• cost competitiveness
• profitable performance
• long-term growth

*John Dijulius, author of Secret Service: Hidden Systems that Deliver Unforgettable Customer Service

There are specific things leading retailers do that keep them at the top. Leading retailers make sure to deliver on what they’ve promised the customer. Sounds simple? It’s not. Delivering on that promise is a delicate mix of understanding customer needs and expectations, and using that understanding to create a store environment completely focused on those needs and wants. The right products, available at the right price, must also be offered. And the retailer must have a crystal ball to see into customers’ future needs and wants, providing those products before customers even ask for them. And, finally, the right technology and a skilled, happy sales force are crucial.

That’s a tall order. But top retailers manage to consistently offer this mix, despite climbing operational costs, price deflation, customer defection, and staff turnover.

The retailers who are winning this race know that convenience and a satisfying experience fuel customer decisions to shop in their stores. The right price, the right environment and the right service model are what keep customers coming back for more, and keep revenues high.

And the payoff is well worth it. Some research suggests that if service enhancement initiatives are used properly to boost loyalty and customer retention by just five%, companies can expect profit increases by as much as 95%.

Have you ever visited a petting zoo? In most petting zoos, you can put a quarter into a device that resembles an old-time bubble gum machine, and out will come a handful of treats to feed the barnyard animals. But before you can even step foot in the yard, the animals are rushing you. They know the benefits of what is in your hand without any announcement from you.

How does this apply to customer satisfaction? When a customer comes calling, how quickly do you answer? How responsive are you to the benefits of that customer’s attention? Are you turning prospects away by simply ignoring them into silence?
Responding to customer inquiries is crucial to your success. That may sound obvious, but as we grow busier each day with increasing demands, we have less and less time to respond. Conversely, customers have less and less time to wait for us to respond. Before you know it, that customer has moved on to your competitor.

The company who can be quick, accurate, and helpful will likely be the one to win the customer’s dollars and loyalty. In a world filled with employees who simply don’t care, your company can really stand out by creating and implementing a superior customer response policy. People are impatient, stressed and expecting to be disappointed. Don’t miss the opportunity to shine and build your brand by surpassing the customer’s expectations with a speedy, honest response that simplifies customers’ lives and leads to your success.

You’ve probably seen the commercials where many customers pay swiftly for purchases with Visa or MasterCard. All of a sudden, someone pays cash, disrupting the entire operation into madness. The cash-paying customer suffers dirty looks as she frantically digs change out of her handbag. As she leaves the register, happy customers go back on auto-pilot and the swift-moving pay line begins again.

These commercials illustrate a brand new way to pay fur purchases—the ‘contactless’ payment processing. Using an enabled credit card and simple RFID card reader connected to a high-speed credit card processing system, customer wait times are greatly decreased, encouraging greater spending and improving brand loyalty.
Credit card issuers are swinging into full gear, sending tens of millions of customers contactless-enabled debit and credit cards from MasterCard (Paypass), Visa (payWave) and American Express (express pay). As more banks jump on for the ride and credit cards expire, they will be replaced with contactless-enabled cards. The future of contactless cards includes cell phones and key fobs imbedded with RFID payment chips. Even the New York subway system and taxicabs are being outfitted with RFID readers.

In the world of customer service, where retailers continually seek ways to capture market share and brand loyalty, it looks as though contactless credits cards will be a tremendous boon to improving the customer experience for all.