The Three Principles Of Great Customer Service

Building on the service gap model (SERVQUAL, if you would like to know more) and the data and insights from the Customer Contact Council, the Corporate Executive Board (great book here!), and others, we distilled all the insights down into three core principles of great customer service.

These principles will help you set a clear ambition for your team and focus your own efforts in strategy. They also form the backbone of the following guide.

The important thing to remember is that these principles are all built on getting the most bang for your buck. In other words, they look at both the costs and the benefits of your various customer service activities realistically.

Applying the principles of great customer service

1. Purposefully build knowledge about customers’ needs and expectations to close the service gap. To paraphrase Henry Ford, it’s the customer who pays the salary. Make every service interaction an opportunity to learn about your customer. Gather, organize, and use that information.

2. Reduce customers’ effort throughout their shopping experience to build loyalty. Customer service is not just about solving problems. It’s about making the customer’s entire shopping experience as effortless as possible. When making any decisions about your store, always remove obstacles. Do not add new ones.

3. Solve problems in one single, friendly, conversation to prevent customers from leaving. 84% of customers want their problem resolved in one friendly service conversation. They also want to feel confident they won’t have to come back. First-call-resolution has moved to a whole new level.

Our next step will be to take a look at your manifesto — a clear declaration of intent to the outside world. With a strong manifesto, customers understand who you are, what you stand for, and know exactly what to expect from you.