A discount, referral from a friend, Facebook, or an online search may have introduced your brand to some of its best customers, but after the thrill of the first transaction is gone, it’s the emotional connection that will keep your customers loyal and telling the world how much they love you.  And emotions run high, especially when it comes to customer service. According to Accenture’s 2012 Global Consumer Pulse Research:

• 63% of consumers point to service as the most important factor in their choice of a brand.
• 44% have higher customer service expectations than they had a year ago.
• 65% report that one of their top service frustrations is unfriendly or impolite agents.
• 70% say they are likely to switch brands if they deal with agents who are unable to answer their questions.
• 62% have actually switched brands in the past year due to poor customer service.

Just like in personal relationships, keeping a customer relationship going for years takes a lot of work. And the cost of losing customers can take a heavy toll: Read More

Is the delivery of exceptional customer service a skill that can be learned, or are those who excel in customer service simply born for the job? I posed the question recently to a LinkedIn group of customer service professionals, and overwhelmingly they said they were born for customer service…

Said Lizzie Taylor, a CSR for a UK pharmaceutical group, “It certainly has come natural to me.  I’ve always felt as though this was my only real skill. I’ve never needed training on how to deal with difficult customers, how to feel and come across as empathetic, friendly and yet professional.

“However, we’ve all come across those, that sometimes despite feeling like they want to be in customer services, are unsympathetic and unable to place themselves in the customer’s position, and end up several weeks or months later, copying and parroting those who have this natural sense of service.” Read More