Customer Service Tips Blog

Measuring your customer service allows you to manage it.  Without measuring, you won’t have any way of knowing which goals are being met, which are falling short, and in which areas you truly excel.

These are some extremely effective techniques you can use to measure the customer service provided by your company:

• Mystery Shoppers – Hire a mystery shopping company to pose as customers that visit or contact your business and /or browse your website.  These shoppers see your business through the eyes of your customers.  It’s as if your customers were providing you with a report card on your business.  This feedback tells you what is and is not working from the customer point of view.  Mystery shopping will uncover the areas that need the most most improvement and  help you identify the skills your staff needs to exceed customer’s expectations.

• Survey your customers by direct mail:  Send out an easy-to-understand questionnaire immediately after the purchase of your product or service.  It should only take one to two minutes to complete the questionnaire and it should come with a postage-paid return envelope.  A simple explanation of how important customer feedback is to your company should accompany the survey.  If possible, provide something free as a small thank you for answering your questions.

• Survey your customers via email: Email your customers an online survey to obtain their feedback.  There are numerous online survey companies available which are inexpensive, easy to use and compile the results for you.  Use this feedback from your customers before you change or implement a new product or service.

Develop a core group of customers who become your source of feedback for future changes.

• Call your customers: When was the last time a company called you after you purchased a product or service?  Did it leave quite an impression?  Hire someone or contract an outside company to call your customers.  This will make it easier for your customers to be totally honest and it keeps the results objective.  Ask your customers what your company can do to improve its service.

Long-term profitability in a changing market is not due solely to increased sales; it’s more about determining the needs of your customers and then meeting those needs.  If you can’t measure customer service at your business, then you can’t mange it! 

Robert Moment is an innovative customer service consultant, business coach and author of Invisible Profits: The Power of Exceptional Customer Service.  Visit Customer Service Training Skills and sign up for the FREE 5 day e-course, Creating “Wow” Customer Service Experiences.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 12:12 am and is filed under Customer Service. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.