The customer is always right … or so the saying goes. While, perhaps, an over-simplification, the essence of sentiment rings true: security integrators should be obsessed with providing an amazing experience for their customers. When we think of the most successful organizations in the world, many times, they have exemplary customer service. Chick-fil-A, USAA, American Express, Disney and Zappos are names that come to mind. Why is customer experience so important? As a marketer, it can be depressing to know that at the end of the day, the most successful lead generation tool is word of mouth.
No matter how great your website is, how compelling your e-mails are, or how clever and witty your social presence, none can compare to a raving customer referring your organization to other potential clients. With this in mind, its important to focus on the customer experience and here are easy ways to start.
Empower Employees to Make it Right
We have a PSA integrator who gives each employee the authority to make decisions to rectify customer complaints without having to get authorization from a manager if the monetary impact is under a pre-determined threshold. This allows issues to be remediated quickly without overcomplication and helps keep the customers happy.
Other organizations with exceptional service go so far as to give employees a small budget to send flowers for anniversaries or funerals, expedite shipping if an item is needed immediately with no cost to the customer, etc. This personalizes the customer experience. Simple acts like these reduce time to resolution, makes employees feel trusted and like problem solvers, and free up time of upper management.
Understanding the Customer Experience
I’m a firm believer of “walking a mile in another person’s shoes.” Especially when it comes to your customer. They have external pressures and expectations they are dealing with that affect how they show up in their interactions with your team.
While it’s crucial to consider those, you also must understand how easy it is for them to do business with your organization. Regularly review what the experience is like for your clients when they interact with your teams. Seek regular feedback in the way of surveys, both formal and informal, and make improvements as necessary.
Training & Development
Consistency is a key element to a great customer experience. No matter which employee your client works with, each interaction should be similar. Creating standards and procedures and training all employees the same helps achieve this. Likewise, providing regular opportunities for employees to learn new skills or have refresher courses on important content makes them more adept in serving clients.
Our online learning management system, PSA University, gets excellent usage from employees in all ranks at PSA integrators. Courses on how to provide effective customer service should be prioritized with regulatory and technical trainings for all employees.
Luckily, there are many opportunities in the industry both online as well as at events like ISC West and PSA TEC.
Recognition Programs
Many PSA integrators have had great success with employee recognition programs centered around customer feedback. From taking comments about exceptional service from surveys to celebrating every time a positive review comes in, publicly recognizing an employee for great service incentivizes them to keep up the good work and sets an example for others to follow.
These stories are great to share on social media as well to ensure your employees feel special, showcase to existing and potential clients how great it is to work with your business and inspire other customers to tell their success stories too!
A commitment to excellent customer experience must start at the top. By creating recognition programs, developing training opportunities, etc., leaders are showing their employees they prioritize the customer experience. Likewise, consistent communication about service delivery expectations drive the point home.
