Winning the Customer

Customer Service can sometimes be one of the hardest jobs of an organization – taking customer complaints all day is never an easy task, especially with a smile, but great customer service will drive revenue and customer loyalty.

Customer service is the backbone by which any service organization should be built. It not only benefits your customer, but also your employees, co-workers, clients, prospects and partners. Specific to your company, customer service:

• benefits your sales team. Especially in the service industry, if you have good customer service, it’s that much easier to sell your product – and everyone knows, sales people like to sell.
• allows the operations department to streamline and develop processes without having to waste time explaining why they can’t service their product.
• benefits the financial arm of an organization. People are more willing to pay their bills when the customer service they receive is superb. Instead of focusing on invoicing and providing credits or refunds for subpar service, they can concentrate on finding ways to make more money and obtain a better ROI for the organization.

There are a few essential skills required for effective customer service. The first is the ability to empathize. You really need to put yourself in someone else’s situation to truly understand what they are going through. Next, take what you can out of your conversation with that particular customer and try to align their needs and requirements with what you are able to provide for them. Lastly, try to solve their issue with enthusiasm – the old, “service with a smile," goes a long way.

When difficult situations arise, be sure to service your customers the same way. Even when a customer approaches your organization from an unprofessional standpoint, it’s important to understand that every customer is critical and that the communications solution is part of the lifeblood of that individual company. What may not be logical to you is probably logical to them. Try to resolve the problem to the best of your ability and in a fast, but efficient, manner. Remember that not everyone is as knowledgeable about your product as you are … and that’s OK.

So whether your customer is a Fortune 500 company or a 10-person small business, it’s important to listen to your customer’s concerns, understand their business and provide dynamic customer service that fits their needs because if you don’t, someone else will.

William R. Bumbernick is chief innovation officer for Alteva LLC . He has more than 10 years of senior management and entrepreneurial experience in telecom, IT and managed services. Since 1994, William has been involved in executive levels of leadership within the technology and telecommunications sectors.