Tagged : leadership

in Business, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Excellence, Leadership, Management, Popular

12 Customer Service Trends for 2012, the Year of Customer Experience

As a new year begins, let’s look at 12 customer service trends for 2012, the year of customer experience. We’ve recently seen more and more evidence of the shift in power from companies to customers. Companies will have to adapt to the ways customers want to engage with them in the overall experience with the company.

Organizations in all fields should see themselves as SERVICE companies that provide a product. Or service companies that sell merchandize. Zappos, is one of those organizations leading the way. They set the tone for their entire company mission by making their stand on customer service. There are certain customer service trends that have brought a lot of success recently which experts see as becoming more mainstream in the years to come. I think that 2012 will be one of those transformational years as most organization reach out to customers, focus on the customer service experience, and engage the customer online and on a personal level.

Regardless of our structure, our goal is to position Zappos.com as the online service leader.

If we can get customers to associate the Zappos.com brand with the absolute best service, then we can expand into other product categories beyond shoes. And, we’re doing just that.

It’s customers who grow companies. Not shareholders.

The stock market over the years of 2000-2010 demonstrates how effective business has been done without great customer service focus. This is a sample of a company’s stock value over the last decade. It’s a snapshot of the stock value of many companies.

The old method of doing business is dead. Long live the customer.

Customer is King

I see 12 customer service trends for 2012 that will continue to contribute to this customer-is-king phenomenon in business as more customer-centric organizations continue to outperform those that remain committed to the “our way or the highway” business mentality. Social media, online communities, on-demand cloud computing services all contribute to a new model of customer service where the customer is in control of the overall experience.

Rob Findlay, with TheBankChannel.com suggested that “the Customer is King” can be also said as “the Community is in Charge”. It’s customers who lead business to what is right, to what is fair. It’s customers who determine the right direction of products and services. Why? Because in the end it’s not the CEO or the shareholders that are buying the service or product. It’s not the CEO or the shareholders who buy from the company, it’s the customer. Success in 2012 and beyond, will require the fundamental change in the way business is done.

From matching customers to products, we need to match products to customers.

-Seth Godin

My 12 Customer Service Trends in 2012 - I’m hoping I see more of these come true in 2012.

1. Customer is King in Customer Service

2. Hyper Responsive Customer Service

3. Customer Experts as Part of the Community

4. An Answering Machine is NOT 24/7

5. Flexible & Generous Return & Exchange Policies

6. Empowered Customer Service Teams

7. Bigger and Better Word of Mouth Promotions

8. More Emphasis on Community Reviews

9. Company-wide Customer Service Focus

10. Personal Touch Service

11. Purchasing Products or Services Seen as a Journey

12. Do Good, Be GREAT.

The key trends in customer service in 2012 can be summarized in 3 words: Instant. WOW. Value. 

in Business, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Management, Thoughts

Lessons on Customer Feedback - Verizon Cancels $2 Fee

Verizon Wireless has decided it will not institute the $2 fee for online or telephone single payments that was announced earlier this week. Power to the people! The Verizon fee cancellation teaches some valuable lessons on customer focus and customer feedback.

Customer Feedback is Powerful. Long Live the Customer.

The Verizon example, as well as GoDaddy’s SOPA support retreat, Netflix’s Qwister spin-off, Bank of America, and the Ocean Marketing customer service debacle all prove that customers have power. Customers don’t have to just take whatever service providers give them. 

At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time,”

-Dan Mead, President & CEO, Verizon Wireless.

The company made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, which was designed to improve the efficiency of those transactions. The company continues to encourage customers to take advantage of the numerous simple and convenient payment methods it provides.

Customer Feedback Lessons From Verizon’s $2 Fee

Always remember customer feedback. Always listen to your customers. Think about your customers. Are you offering value to you customers with your decision? Are you providing additional benefit for your customer to remain your customer? In this case, it was clear that there are none. An the customer feedback showed it. Customer feedback is a powerful tool. It can be used for great benefit when used properly to add value to a service or product.

Eliminate the need to institute the fee? Most efficient options? Plain and simple this was a customer tax. There was no real added feature or convenience. No new product or service being provided. Revenues down? Just institute some “FEE” and call it whatever, payment convenience, online account access, transaction service processing. It doesn’t matter what you call it. It’s a customer tax meant to boost revenues. Online ticket retailers are notorious for doing this to customers. Ever try to purchase movie tickets or concert tickets online? There’s a fee for you to do that.

In this case, like the Netflix/Qwister case earlier this year, the customer wins…thankfully. Always remember the power of the customer. The customer is king.