Sales & Communication: Listen to Understand. Empathise to Build Trust.

SPREADING THE GOOD WORD

An effective customer service strategy provides a business edge for the organization. In recent years, a number of customer service satisfaction measurements have been available in the market. One example is the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG). Despite the best of intentions and incentives, the various industries in Singapore have made little headway in enhancing customer service. There was a 1.2 per cent drop in the index last year as compared to 2009.

Organizations have neglected to invest sufficiently in effort, time and commitment to the customer service function. The possible cause for this could be a lack of understanding of the potential value associated with customer service satisfaction. Research has shown that strong customer service promises returns to the investment made for any organization in any industry.

Here are some benefits of enhanced customer service:

It gives a competitive edge

• Too often, the organization makes the mistake of competing in pricing and product development. Of course, these aspects are important, but realistically, there are limitations to the rate of product development.

• Price wars will hurt the bottom line in the long run. Laptops for under $1,000 seemed like a myth five years ago. Today, almost every manufacturer has laptops available in that price range.

• But if your organization wins the customer service battle, it is likely that it will be a leader in the industry and command a premium associated with it.

It lowers operating costs

• The primary benefit of enhanced customer service is customer satisfaction.

• Getting it right the first time round is not as easy as it sounds. The call centre of a global IT company I worked with used to receive about 500 calls a day. About 40 per cent of those calls were enquiries on status updates for the items brought in for repair. Apparently, it was never built into their standard operating process to update the customer on the estimated time it took to repair the products.

• A simple correction subsequently reduced the number of staff and their workload and enabled the organization to re-deploy staff more efficiently.

It builds customer loyalty

• This requires an organization to deliver consistently high levels of customer service. It is popular nowadays to measure the service levels of organizations in Singapore. Customer loyalty is attained when the customer returns to give the company repeat business.

• Some customers no longer view McDonalds as a mere fast-food restaurant. They choose to return to the restaurant because they know what to expect: it consistently delivers food and service quality.

• The advantage of building customer loyalty materializes in the form of a steady revenue stream. An American consumer study has shown that 68 per cent of customers leave a product or service brand due to a bad experience.

It generates advocacy

• Organizations are spending considerable time and resources to monitor customer feedback. This is boosted by the speed with which social media and technology have contributed to the advocacy of products and services.

• It used to be that the typical customer would relate a negative customer service experience to between eight and 25 people and speak about a positive experience to between one and two others.

• Facebook and Twitter, for example, have changed that exponentially. Both negative and positive comments go viral rapidly and can have a corresponding effect on your business.

• If a consistently high level of customer service is delivered, it also translates into reduced costs in attracting new customers.

• Instant peer-sharing has become the norm — friends, colleagues and family members seek recommendations prior to a purchase.

• Great customer service will help maintain an existing customer base and even motivate happy customers to spread the word for your company.

It encourages talent retention

• Any organization’s team members, regardless of their remuneration package, will grow weary if they are required to manage customer complaints daily.

• Providing customer service staff with proper training in managing customers and handling difficult situations and trouble-shooting issues promotes job satisfaction which translates into better employee retention.

• Successful organizations share the same philosophy of making customers their top priority. The way forward is to constantly ensure that your company has an effective customer service plan and implementation system.

• A team of competent and motivated customer service staff are worth their weight in gold because they retain customers and, in turn, boost sales. This enables the company to develop greater market share and goodwill. Success generates returns and cascades down to everyone in the organization.

GET PEOPLE TO LIKE YOU

MANY successful people have discovered that being able to make others like them is the first step in building meaningful relationships — both in business and social spheres.

Many others have still not worked it out. These are the ones who make a great second or third impression — but a lousy first impression, which means, unfortunately, that most people they meet never get to see their good side.

While a few successful people are born with the quality of instant likeability, most aren’t — they are the ones who learned these techniques and rigorously applied them until they became life skills. You can do it too. And if you believe you have this ability already, and then you could always do better!

Compliments

• Never underestimate the power of the sincere compliment. Also never underestimate people’s ability to detect an insincere one. It is so easy to find a genuine compliment for everyone you meet.

• If you meet them in their space (home or office), say something complimentary about it. If they have chosen the venue, compliment their choice. If you have chosen the venue, compliment their navigation skills. If they are there voluntarily, compliment the fact that they turned up!

• The hint is to compliment their achievements and/or their decisions. We all love to have our achievements recognized and we all like having our decisions validated.

• I always ask about someone’s lapel pin. If I recognize it (for example, a Rotary pin), I will ask how long they have been a member and get them talking about the latest fund-raising project.

• If I see one of the pins that show that they have been awarded a civil honor, I will ask what they were given their award for — they love it!

• Compliment the accessories they are wearing — a tie for men and brooch or other jewellery for women. Again, this is validating their decision to choose that particular item.

Questions

• So often in conversation, we listen to the other person just long enough to identify something that we can say; and, from that point forward, we just listen for an opportunity to say it.

• Your main aim in your quest for instant likeability is to get them talking about themselves. To do this, you should be listening for the question that you can ask that will get them talking more about themselves.

• Now, it is also important to share a little of yourself — particularly if you have identified some potential common ground — but never forget that the more they talk about themselves, the more they like you.

Common ground

• It makes sense that people with whom you have common ground will find it easier to like you because — at least in this one instance — you are more like them.

• Of course, it is great if you support the same football team or share an interest in gardening, but something as incidental as the fact that you have lived in the same town is a very effective rapport-builder.

Confidence

• We all find it easier to like and respect confident people. Confidence is like a magnet, creating an irresistible pull that gives those that possess it enormous power to influence.

• The trouble is — in our quest to be liked — we sometimes exhibit the type of behavior that is the exact opposite of what confident people do.

• For many people, their eagerness when they meet new people gives the appearance of trying too hard.

• They are livelier, exuberant, and sometimes even louder. To create a confident appearance, you need to move and speak a little more slowly and deliberately.

• So, you can see how easy it is to get it wrong. Go too far one way and you seem like an excited puppy; go too far the other and you’re acting like an arrogant snob.

• So, when you are meeting people for the first time, take a deep breath, take your time and exude calmness and confidence.

Do this, and your likeability is guaranteed to improve — and you might even end up liking yourself more!

BUILDING STRONG BONDS:

STRENGTHENING MULTI-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Building strong bonds: Strengthening multi-cultural communication HAVING made Singapore my home for the last 11 years and worked in many other countries during this period, I am fascinated by the ways people from different countries interact. It is important to understand how different cultures may see each other and to be aware of the cultural minefield that may exist within a large organization. The research of Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede has led to greater insights into how different cultures see and understand each other. Here are the four cultural dimensions in understanding organizational management practices:

Individualism-collectivism

This dimension centers on organizational practices in individualistic cultures such as Canada, the United States, Australia and Great Britain contrasted with collectivistic cultures in East Asia (japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore).

Power distance

Low power distance (Canada, US) subscribes to equal power distribution versus high power distance (japan, South Korea, Hong Kong) in hierarchical structures

Uncertainty avoidance

Dr Hofstede found that managers in Canada and the US are low in uncertainty avoidance, that is, they like to take risks, take individual initiative and enjoy conflict. In contrast, cultures like Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea ranked high in uncertainty avoidance, meaning that they do not like conflict, but pursue group harmony. People within these organizations need clear