Offer good customer service to your suppliers

In order to find a supplier, retain it and obtain a good performance, wouldn't it be appropriate to offer them your best customer service?

Chief Service Officer

Should your c-suite include a Chief Service Officer?

The ongoing financial crisis has put additional pressure on companies which have to work hard to attract new customers. But are you doing enough to retain your existing ones? Isn't it time for your customer service officer to have a sit at the top table  and claim a fair share of the company resources?

To complement this post, we thought it would be useful to include the top 10 items which should feature in the job description of a Chief Service Officer. We will build and refine the list over time but please do not hesitate to leave suggestions in the comment box below. Here are a few items to get us started:

1. Be responsible for the delivery of good customer service to all customers throughout the organisation

2. Define the customer service strategy  

3.Define customer service standards in adequation with the overall direction of the business

4. Establish a set of metrics allowing the company to measure its performance against customer expectations

5. Implement a philosophy of continuous improvement by collecting customer feedback and implementing changes required to improve their experience

6. Raise the role and importance of customer service in the organisation to exploit its potential to become a major revenue generator.

7. Coordinate all customer access channels such as telephone, website, social media, post, email, branches etc

8. Establish a clear value proposition for customers to understand what matters to them and what service can be scaled down

Will this encourage you to recruit a chief service officer?

As a further sign that the emergence of Chief Service Officers may materialise, we have even located a blog dedicated to it - chief service officer blog

Customer engagement strategy

Customer engagement strategy

What customer engagement strategy ? - The rapid development of computer software technology has meant that a huge number of customer management tools have been launched in the market place.

The use of Social Media in particular has increased exponentially giving the opportunity for many employees to build more human and personal relationships with customers. This investment is often done during working hours, at vast expenses for companies. Unfortunately, the work force has become increasingly mobile and when an employee walks away it can leave a big void. From the company point of view this can mark a time when customer engagement stops abruptly. The clients expect better though and a refined customer engagement strategy will ensure that they do not end up disappointed.

Picture courtesy of Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design with our thanks