You are Unique

We, as service organizations, seem to have many things in common despite our very unique approaches to service. No matter how different our approaches may be, we all seem to share the same ultimate goal: Providing a solution to our customer’s request. But as service driven individuals, we can’t stop there. We need to find not only a solution to our customer’s needs or problems, but also to leave our customers feeling great about our business interactions. Some of the ways that we reach this goal is through showing our dedication, commitment, abilities and responsiveness. We enjoy earning our customer’s trust in us and reaffirming time and time again that their trust is well earned and deserved. We really feel that listening is the key factor in our relationships. If we listen to what is critical, important, or even just something our customers desire, we have the key to fulfilling their needs and a road map to creating the positive customer interactions we strive for.
Some of the things that distinguish the common as well as the unique qualities of each service organization include looking at their business models, types of business, the individuals involved, and their size. This helps us to create an equation that takes into account tens, if not hundreds, of pieces of information will help us to distinguish our customers’ needs, which can be as diverse as the communities they serve. Our customers have the expertise and vision that and we can use that as service people to help them reach their goals. The first step is to ask questions and listen to what our customers have to say. Then we can ask a second round of questions to continue to get a better feel for what their real needs are. Here is a small list of some types of things we would ask our customers about to get to know their business needs:
Does your business:
• Have “itself” as the customer (internal IT support)?
• Take and capture a service request?
• Perform remote telephone support (human or IVR)?
• Perform on-site support?
• Execute swaps or exchanges?
• Provide labor?
• Have contracts?
• Offer warranties?
• Have multiple billing options?
• Have many types of Projects?
• Uses third party providers?
• Provide self help to the customer (web sites, frequently asked questions)?
• Provide a service that is mostly about constant service (phones providers, network providers, distributing gas / electric / water and other necessities of life)?
• Metered driven?
• Provide preventive Maintenance?
• Offer parts or supplies?
• Have a walk in business mode (vehicle service, doctors, restaurant)?
• Have many technologies used (emails, web sites, smart phone systems)?
• And on and on and on…

We cannot express how important we feel communication with our customers is. A solutions company is much better off asking for a customer’s opinions, preferences and rules, and making solutions work for them the way that they would want and need. This is just the beginning of our approach to creating a positive customer experience that can flourish into a long standing service relationship.