Investing in customer service training is absolutely key to growing leaders at all levels; not only amongst your frontline staff who are going to directly interact with your customers and help build your brand, but also amongst supervisors, middle management and senior leaders.
Investing
in ensuring a fantastic customer experience in your business is a no-brainer
for most people. But in case you are yet to be sold, a few key statistics
always help:
- Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don’t focus on customers
- Investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones.
- 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service.
- Customers tell an average of nine people about a positive experience with a brand, but they tell 16 people about a negative experience.1
Now, I could argue until I’m blue in the face about how companies are not investing enough in customer service training, because it is generally true. However, that is not the point I want to make today. The key point I would like to express is that investment in customer service training is absolutely key to growing leaders at all levels; not only amongst your frontline staff who are going to directly interact with your customers and help build your brand, but also amongst supervisors, middle management and senior leaders.
I have worked internationally across multiple customer service sectors: bars, nightclubs, hotels, tourist sites, sales, retail…the list goes on. However, there has always been one thing that has stood out in all these elements in all countries. Decisions are being made higher up in the business that go against everything the customers are telling those on the frontline. Many decisions and strategies seem to do the exact opposite of what people want and everyone can tell that customers have not been considered, let alone consulted on the decisions made.
Refocusing staff at all levels on customers will help to ensure key business decisions are made with the customer in mind. Frontline staff are constantly battling to try and ensure a great customer experience, they even have KPIs linked to this. Yet, often whilst they are striving to provide the best experience for clients, they are battling against processes, management and strategy that stems their ability to do so. For this reason, all levels need to always have in the forefront of their mind the basic tenants of customer service – which is easily achieved by regular training. This will not only make for better customer service, but also for better managers and leaders at all levels of the organisation. Not to mention, it might even make the business more money.
Sources:
1Morgan, B (2019). 50 Stats That Prove the Value Of Customer Experience [Online]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2019/09/24/50-stats-that-prove-the-value-of-customer-experience/#43028e094ef2