Is 100% Customer Satisfaction Achievable? For This Company, Yes
Wednesday, April 9th, 2014
Simplicity Sofas is a beloved company and their customer service philosophy is very simple:
- They do whatever it takes to surprise and delight customers.
- They make the furniture purchasing experience informative and enjoyable.
- They deliver more than customers expect.
Simplicity Sofas is a furniture manufacturer in High Point, NC. and an eCommerce retailer specializing in furniture for small spaces. After more than six years in business and $4 million in sales, the company has never received a negative review on their website – not one.
Jeff Franks has ensured their philosophy transforms into actions that deliver a unified customer experience, which in turn earns the customer’s story along with word-of-mouth advertising. It’s the norm for customers to tell friends, family and co-workers about Simplicity Sofas and to recruit them to buy the furniture. Below are Jeff’s tips for achieving beloved company status.
10 Tips For Achieving 100% Customer Satisfaction:
Speed is Critical
Customers expect a 24 hour response time. They are delighted when they hear from you within 6 hours and amazed by a 1 hour response. The faster you respond to your customers, the easier it becomes to close a sale or solve a problem. Failure to return a call or email is inexcusable.
Communicate in a Timely Manner
If you don’t have an immediate answer, quickly inform the customer that you are working on their inquiry and will get back to them soon. Then do what you say.
Solve Problems
When responding to a customer complaint always begin by assuring the customer that you will fix their problem. This immediately removes the adversarial relationship that can lead to messy and expensive confrontations.
Always Offer Choices
This is particularly important in problem situations. If you offer your customer three or more possible solutions, they will feel included in the eventual resolution. Also, you will be surprised at how often the solution selected is not as expensive or burdonsome as the one you thought they would demand.
Avoid Refering to Policy
Never answer a question by telling a customer something is “company policy.” All responses must make logical sense to both you and the customer. As well, if you can’t reasonably explain the company policy, either you need more information or the company policy needs to be changed.
Go Above and Beyond Expectations
The object of problem resolution is not to “satisfy” the customer but to “amaze” them by going above and beyond their expectations.
Turn Lemons Into Lemonade
Mistakes and problems always result in opportunities to create long-term loyal customers by exceeding expectations.
Attempt to Transform Them
Transforming an “angry” customer into an enthusiastic advocate is always worth the cost.
Offer Compensation
The resentment felt by an inconvenienced or frustrated customer can be transformed into gratitude and long-term loyalty by a small compensation offer – especially when the customer realizes that the circumstances were beyond your control.
Develop a Caring Team
Unhappy employees cannot create delighted customers.
Courtesy: Small Biz Trends
