Barbara Wold has more than 45 years of first-hand retail experience, and is one of the industry’s most sought-after speakers and consultants. These are the "10 commandments of customer service", according to Wold:
1. Know who your boss is. You are in business to service customer needs, and you can only do that if you know what your customers want.
2. Be a good listener. Take the time to identify customer needs by asking questions and concentrating on what the customer is really saying. Do you know what three things are most important to your customer?
3. Identify and anticipate needs. Customers don’t buy products or services. They buy good feelings and solutions to problems. Most customer needs are emotional rather than logical.
4. Make customers feel important and appreciated. Treat them as individuals. Always use their name and find ways to compliment them, but be sincere. People value sincerity – be sure that your body language also conveys sincerity.
5. Help customers understand your organisation. Your organisation may have the world’s best systems for getting things done – be careful that your systems don’t reduce the human element of your organisation.
6. Appreciate the power of "yes". Always look for ways to help your customers.
7. Know how to apologise. When something goes wrong, apologise. It’s easy and customers like it. The customer may not always be right, but the customer must always win.
8. Give more than expected. Since the future of all companies lies in keeping customers happy, think of ways to elevate yourself above the competition. Consider the following:
- What can you give customers that they cannot get elsewhere?
- What can you give customers that is totally unexpected?
- What can you do to follow up and thank people even when they don’t buy?
9. Get regular feedback. Encourage and welcome suggestions about how you could improve.
- Listen carefully to what customers say.
- Use a focus group to gain customer feedback and new ideas.
- Provide a method that invites constructive criticism, comments and suggestions.
10. Treat employees well. Employees are your internal customers and need a regular dose of appreciation. Thank them and find ways to let them know how important they are. Treating customers and employees well is equally important.
Taking Stock is the Retail in Asia column dedicated to showcasing opinions from experts in the retail industry.