Customer service guide

Becoming a customer focused business means everyone should try to exceed service standards.

Customers are your business

Your product may be of high quality and reasonably priced, but a customer receiving poor service can mean losing future sales. Providing excellent customer service is important. Customers are your business and lost sales from poor service means less money for your business. 

Make quality customer service part of your business culture

Have a long-term focus with the aim of providing quality customer service as part of your business culture. You should have a business plan and employee job descriptions that include targets for:

• service delivery
• customer service satisfaction.

Encourage your employees to understand it’s customers who pay their wages. 
 

Poor service means less money for your business

Offering poor service can drive customers away. It is estimated that a person who has a complaint may tell 9 other people about their bad experiences with a company. Even if a customer is not unhappy with the service can result in 12% to 16% of customers leaving. 

The benefits of quality customer service include:

• increased customer retention
• reduced marketing costs
• stronger position in the marketplace
• offers a competitive advantage
• increased job satisfaction and staff morale
• increased profits.

How management can help with the success of a business

The role of management is to make sure that everything from the staff to the process supports and focuses on meeting customer needs. Consider the following tips for good management practices:

• provide leadership and aim to make quality customer service part of your business culture
• create a customer service focus across your whole business
• display and follow a Customer Service Charter, which outlines the quality of service to be expected by your customers
• ensure your systems and procedures, incentive programs and feedback mechanisms support the provision of quality customer service
• provide quality customer service to the people you rely on to meet customer needs (internal customers) as well as to paying customers (external customers)
• make sure there is a system to capture regular, reliable feedback from customers about their needs and your service
• welcome customer feedback and complaints as an opportunity to build relationships with your customers and improve your product and/or service
• actively encourage quality customer service and continuous improvement in everything your business does.

Go to the Business Enterprise Centres Australia website for resources and short courses to help you improve customer service.

Communicate to the customer about your product or service

To grow your business, you need to let your customers know:

• what you do
• what is your business
• what is the product or service you are offering.

The information you provide is important in order to build a relationship with a customer. Information can be in a variety of forms including paper, audio, video or website and must explain what you offer. When communicating your product or service:

• use plain language and simple diagrams
• do not use technical language, abbreviations or jargon
• the information should be accurate, concise and clear
• update your business information regularly
• meet all legal requirements.

The Australian Consumer Law sets the rules businesses must follow when selling goods or services to consumers.

Breaking the law could ruin your business reputation in the eyes of your customers, lending institutions and industry organisations.