Forget All You Think You Know About Customer Relationship Management (CRM) And Listen To This.

Writing this second post felt like I was about to drop a sophomore album.

In my head, my first album [previous post] was close to a hit and the fear of every artiste is being a one hit wonder. Well I’m glad I’m here today dropping my sophomore album and I hope you like it.

Now I want you think of the last horrible experience you had as a customer and how this made you less interested in using that service again.

Mine was with one of the finest banks in this country and their so-called cash depositing ATM machines. I was very excited about the idea of not having to queue at the banks and it just made me see this bank as a step ahead of other banks. I went during my break one hot afternoon to try and pay money in but it wasn’t working, it was probably because of bad network I thought. I visited this same ATM machine a few weeks after and it still wasn’t allowing me deposit cash. At this point I was frustrated because I couldn’t accept a mistake twice from a company I thought was the coolest.

Trust me, I have had way worse experiences than this and that is why I’m here to clarify what building a customer relationship truly means.

The first thing you need to understand is your customer is always right [even if they are wrong most of the time]. The customer is number 1 so even if they are wrong you don’t have to make them know they are.

"You need to fix the problem without making your customers feel stupid which makes them happy and automatically makes you happy. At the end of the day, its a win-win for everyone and the rest is history."

This is why I would suggest you put your best guy in front of clients [sales attendants, customer complaints attendants and the likes]. This doesn’t seem like rocket science but it seems like uncommon sense for a lot of companies in Nigeria.

I urge you to forget everything you think you know about CRM and listen.

THE DOs AND DON'Ts OF CRM

Let’s get the bad out of the way, the DON’Ts;

1. Don’t make empty promises

Stop promising services you can’t deliver to your customers. It’s almost like a yoruba boy promising you heaven and earth, just for you to later realize he is a baby boy and he has no plan of committing to just one girl. There is nothing worse than a customer realizing (s)he isn’t getting the satisfaction (s)he paid for. The most painful part is the customer asked you if it works and you said yes just because you are trying to make fast money. What you don’t realize is you are killing your brand in the long run and would have been better off if you were honest from start that your product/service doesn’t fit the customer’s requirements. Focusing on customer acquisition is like being with a baby boy but focusing on customer retention is like building a solid relationship overtime.

2. Don’t tell customers to come back later

Instead you should have a decent solution to customer complaints. To be an expert at CRM you need to be a professional with even the littlest details. You should have analyzed before hand every possible thing that could go wrong with your product and come up with a solution or back up plan. You brand looks unprofessional when an attendant can’t give a decent reply for a customer’s complaint and says there is nothing they can do right now so come back later, how rude. In the event a logical solution can’t be provided at that given time, you need to have a complementary plan at least, instead of leaving your customer hanging.

3. Don’t be rude, leave your emotions at home.

No matter how annoying the customer gets, remember to always turn the other cheek. It really doesn’t cost anything to be nice, as a matter of fact you are being paid to be nice at all times to customers. I get confused when sales attendants get emotional with nagging customers and start to give an attitude. No one really cares if you had a bad weekend [we weren’t there to witness it] so don’t make that affect dealing with the customers. No matter how annoying the customer gets you still need to remain professional in the best possible way. As stated above in point 2 all these clauses need to be understood before hand with possible solutions.

Click here to read more DON'Ts on Customer Relationship Management.

The DOs;

“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not the best, but LEGENDARY” - Sam Walton

1. Do ensure your packaging is right

By this I mean the totality of yourself has to be right before the customer. Your appearance has to be appealing, you need to be audible and speak in a manner that is appealing, your speech has to be compelling to win the customer over, and most importantly, smile at all times. Customers love it when you call them by their names and also tell a joke to reduce tension. Better still, if you are bad at jokes give a compliment, works every time. If you aren’t the friendly type then I suggest you switch jobs right away.

2. Do set aside a budget for unexpected customer crises

A few times surprise your customer with big compliments for little mistakes made. Make your customers problems your problems, and go out of your way to help them.

A popular example is how Nordstrom is dedicated to excellent customer service.

“A man walked into Nordstrom store with two tires and asked for a refund. The clerk checked the price of the tires, reached into the cash register and handed the man $145. The customer wanted to return the tire and it did’t matter that Nordstrom did not sell tires and never sold tires. They sell upscale clothing.” - Excerpted from Evan Carmicahael article.

This was either a stupid or brilliant move, and guess what, it was so brilliant that this story has gone a long way in boosting the image of Nordstrom’s customer service.

3. Give back [be socially responsible]

Great Corporate Social Responsibility creates better relationship by doing good, most especially to your customers. Relating to the point above, giving back to your customers goes a long way in growing your company, it shows emotion through your brand to your customers.

WestJet Airlines shocked their passengers by getting them gifts they had earlier wished for with a virtual santa just before boarding.While on air, over 150 WestJet staffs ran across different stores to get the Christmas wishes for 250 passengers. Four hours after the plane landed, the passages were overwhelmed, a woman broke into tears on getting the digital camera she wished for.

4. Live for customer feedbacks

This gives you the opportunity to shine in the eyes of your customer. This should be done in the swiftest and less stressful way, such that it answers to the customer’s unique complaint. Imagine the joy in your heart when you [the customer] realize your opinion matters and was attended to, it makes you feel better about yourself and appreciate the brand much more. As a brand, you need to personally inform your customer that their complaint has been attended to.

Have a Nice Ad,

Wura.

How did I do on this? Please leave a comment :-)