5 Reasons For Regular Customer Service Performance Reviews

The following is a guest piece by EMEA Marketing Director Monika Götzmann.

The level of customer service you provide can go a long way towards determining whether your business is a success or failure, which is why companies invest so heavily in training and customer service courses.

Nevertheless, training your staff to deliver great customer service should be a continuous process. Here, we look at the facts and explain why it is imperative that skills and performance are reviewed regularly.

1. Customers try to avoid poor service
According to the 2015 Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report, 62 percent of global consumers have stopped doing business with a company due to poor customer service. In addition, Lee Resources report that 91 percent of your unhappy customers will never willingly do business with you again.

Put simply, poor customer service causes people to turn elsewhere and you may never have the chance to win them back.

2. Great service creates consumer loyalty
On the other hand, a company which invests in customer service training can generate real loyalty. For instance, RightNow found that 73 percent of consumers say friendly customer service staff can help them to “fall in love” with a brand.

The importance of customer loyalty cannot be overstated, with the White House Office of Consumer Affairs finding that loyal customers are worth up to 10 times the value of their first purchase.

3. Customer service influences your reputation
Another reason why it is important to review your customer service is because it has a huge bearing on your reputation. Some 95 percent of people share bad experiences with others, according to Zendesk, while the Harvard Business Review found that almost half of those who experience poor customer service tell 10+ people about it.

4. Great customer service means higher revenue
In 2011, an American Express Survey learned that seven in 10 people are willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. In addition, Harris Interactive found that nine out of 10 US consumers will pay more to ensure superior service.

For companies who provide excellent customer service training, which translates into excellent service, there are opportunities to raise prices and increase revenue.

5. You can unknowingly provide poor service
Finally, perhaps the most important reason to review performance and invest in customer service courses is because the onus is on you to notice and correct problems. Ruby Newell-Legner claims that a typical business hears from just 4 percent of its dissatisfied customers.

For every individual who takes the time to complain, around 25 remain silent, meaning you may suffer the negative consequences of poor customer service without even knowing about it.

Taken together, these 5 facts demonstrate why its important for organizations and their leaders to do regular assessments, not only to help ascertain the quality of customer service provided by their employees, but to find out how they can continue to support and develop their employees’ customer service skills to ensure organizational growth and success.

Monika Götzmann is the EMEA Marketing Director of Miller Heiman Group, a global sales training and customer experience company. It specialises in providing exceptional customer service courses and helps organizations develop business strategies to achieve sales success. Monika enjoys sharing her insight and thoughts to provide better sales and leadership skills training.