10 Minute Guide
Customer
Service
Programme
What it is Relationship marketing focuses
Customer service is what your on getting customers and keeping
business delivers to achieve customer them in the longer term using a
satisfaction. Some businesses deliver combination of marketing, quality
physical products and may not see and customer service.
themselves as being a service business.
However, their customers still measure Excellence in customer service,
the business on the service that they using the idea of relationship
experience both pre-sale and after-sale. marketing, can help you to retain
So customer service is an increasingly customers. This means:
important part of a business’ activities.
They are less likely to go to
A customer service programme consists your competitors in the increasingly
of standards and training. All staff follow competitive markets where customers
these standards to ensure that service is have more choice than ever.
maintained at the necessary level to As satisfied customers, they will
keep your customers happy. recommend you to others, resulting
in an increase in new business. It is
Why it is important said that it costs up to 10 times as
The goal of customer service is much to win a new customer than
customer satisfaction. Customer to keep an existing one.
satisfaction is what the customer They are less likely to tell other
feels subjectively and sometimes people of bad experiences.
irrationally. There is all the difference in Customers experiencing poor
the world between a customer being service are likely to tell up to
‘satisfied’ and being ‘not dissatisfied’. 20 people about their experience,
Most businesses would be quite happy which is not a good advertisement
if their customers scored them 5 or for your business. This may deter
6 out of 7 on satisfaction. However, others from even trying you out,
research by Xerox showed that these and so you will not get the chance
customers were 5 times more likely to to impress them, even with the
go to a competitor than a customer best or most innovative products
scoring a ‘completely satisfied’ 7. and services.
By focusing your attention on the
Marketing has moved from ‘transactional customers that have the highest
marketing’ to ‘relationship marketing’. potential lifetime value, you can
improve profitability.
Transactional marketing focused Your staff will have a ‘feel good’
on attracting new customers and factor because of the environment
simply getting the sale. and atmosphere that leads to happy
customers. This can help to attract
further new customers over time.
www.cim.co.uk
ã The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2004
10 Minute Guide: Customer Service Programme
What you should do The person who buys your product or
Marketing is about identifying, service (the ‘external customer’) is not
anticipating and satisfying customer the only customer. The service given to
needs. It applies to customer service other departments within your business
delivery as well as to the products will also impact on the level of service
and services you offer. To introduce a given to the external customer, so it is
customer service programme, you important to identify all ‘customers’
need to take 3 main steps - in the chain.
1. Identify which of your external For example, the chef in a restaurant
customers are the most valuable. is a customer of the supplier of
2. Identify your internal and ingredients for his recipes. He relies
external customers. on the supplier for the quality of the
3. Find out what level of service food and a prompt delivery. The chef is
customers want. also a customer of the waiter who gives
4. Develop customer service him an order. The order needs to be
standards and a programme to communicated accurately so that it is
provide customer satisfaction and prepared to meet the needs of the end
help build loyalty. customer. When the food is ready, the
waiter then becomes the customer of
Step 1 - Identify which of your external the chef – the chef relies on him to
customers are the most valuable serve the end customer promptly
with the meal he has prepared.
Identify which of your external
customers are most profitable. This Step 3 - Find out what level of service
may help you to put them into groups. customers want
This helps you to do two things –
Carry out customer satisfaction surveys
prioritise the level of customer with all external customer groups to
service you offer identify an appropriate service level for
develop a profile so that you can each. If you have just a large customer
target more new customers in the base, use just a sample in each group.
profitable groups. The lifetime value Since different service requirements
of different customer groups will have resource and cost implications,
differ, as will the expectations of carrying out separate surveys will
these groups. allow you to focus your attentions
where they will be most profitable.
For further tips on how to identify your
most valuable customers, see our 10- Areas to check include –
minute 80-20 Rule. For further tips on
putting your customers into groups, see Quality of service
our 10-minute Customer Target List. Accuracy of service
Promptness of response
Step 2 - Identify your internal and Satisfaction with facilities – eg
external customers parking, opening hours, payment
methods available, etc
Identify all ‘internal customers’ Staff attitude and behaviour
involved in getting your product or Complaint handling
service to the end customer. Ensure that
they all understand the impact they Carry out staff satisfaction surveys of
have on others in this ‘chain’ and are internal customers to identify issues that
able to put themselves in other are important to your staff. This works
employee’s shoes. on the principle that happy staff make
happy customers.
www.cim.co.uk
ã The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2004
10 Minute Guide: Customer Service Programme
Step 4 - Develop customer service Some points to remember are:
standards and a programme
Involve the whole of your team in
Develop customer service standards setting service standards.
that reflect the findings of the above Include the personal dimensions of
surveys. Even if you are a very small customer service in the standards
business, even a few basic standards such as appearance, body language,
will contribute to customer service. You tone of voice, tact, advice given,
could start by asking those employees problem solving approach used,
who deal with customers regularly, attentiveness, etc.
such as receptionists, to write down Deliver a personalised service
what they do already as a foundation. wherever possible. Train staff to
use the customer’s name in all
Some pointers to help - communications with them.
Train all employees in
Involve customers and staff in communication skills, and to
developing the standards handle customer complaints
State standards clearly and positively. Complaints should be
document them considered opportunities to keep a
Ensure all standards link to customer by changing something to
company goals improve customer service.
Check them back against your Rate the behaviour of your
survey findings customer service staff in each of
Make all standards achievable the above areas and give training
and easy to understand where appropriate.
Give all standards and the Consider rewarding staff for
programme the support of all significant contributions to
your management team customer service. Rewards do
Communicate standards clearly to not need to be costly but, once a
all involved on an ongoing basis programme is in place, it must be
Once the standards are established, maintained to be meaningful and
develop a culture in which credible. Such schemes help to
deviation from the standards maintain the motivation and
becomes unacceptable interest of staff. ‘Employee of
Reviews standards on a systematic the Month’ schemes, where the
basis to make sure they are still photo of the employee is displayed
relevant and appropriate prominently and the employee
Add new standards as necessary given half a day off with full pay
with the full approval of all staff are one way of giving an incentive
involved in delivery at a relatively low cost.
Produce service standards that are
clear, concise, measurable and
achievable. For example,
Initial draft Better
Customers should be acknowledged Customers should be acknowledged
on entering the Reception area within 30 seconds of entering the
Reception area
Incoming calls should be answered All incoming calls should be
promptly answered within three rings
www.cim.co.uk
ã The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2004
10 Minute Guide: Title
Customer Service Programme
What to do now Systems for gathering customer
A Customer Service Programme feedback – positive and negative –
needs to be managed, maintained and and using it to improve practice
reviewed. Surveys need to be carried on an ongoing basis
out systematically – this is not a ‘one-
off’ exercise. Put a plan in place to Where to find out more
ensure that your Customer Service For more on customer service,
Programme works in the long term. try looking at
Your customer has a right to – www.customernet.com -
The Customer Service Network
Professional, courteous and facilitates meeting others,
prompt service benchmarking, improving processes
Expect competent and and implementing improvements in
well-trained staff customer service.
Attention to detail
Fair prices for quality products www.institueofcustomerservice.com -
and services The Institute of Customer Service (ICS)
Open channels of communication website. The ICS is the professional
for feedback body and the National Training
Your full and undivided attention Organisation for Customer Service and
when they choose to do business people involved in customer service.
with you
Appreciation for their www.customerfutures.com -
continued custom A site dedicated to the discussion of
good customer service. Customers,
Make sure they get it! managers and experts contribute
debate and new ideas on customer
Look for ways to add-value to your relationship management.
service. For example, a hairdresser
may offer a discounted cut after five
appointments, or a garage may offer to
collect the car for its regular service.
This type of service makes you more
memorable than the competition
and helps to retain your customer.
What you need to know
If you want to take forward some of the
ideas described here, listed below are
some keywords (shown in italics) that
you can use to search for further
information on this website or in
various marketing texts.
Relationship marketing and the
role of customer service in it
The internal customer as distinct
from the external or end customer
Customer surveys
Staff satisfaction surveys
Setting service standards that are
appropriate to your target customers
www.cim.co.uk
ã The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2004
10 Minute Guide: Customer Service Programme
An example in practice
Look at the Marketing Council
case study on Nichols Foods on
www.cim.co.uk/
Nichols Foods is a medium-sized
company employing 180 people with a
customer base of 600. Manufacturing
and selling beverage ingredients for use
in the Foodservice, Retail and Vending
markets is their core business.
Consider the following –
Question Answer
How did the company ensure staff Top management set out to enthuse
were motivated to deliver excellent everyone to deliver service excellence
customer service? and they formalised crossfunctional
communication.
How do they reward staff without All staff get an equal share of the profits
destroying the team approach that exists? as well as an opportunity to win
individual prizes. This can develop
healthy competition to offer the best
service without this becoming destructive.
How is internal communication managed? Important communications are sent to
employees’ homes regularly. They also
use internal newsletters and email to
update staff.
What does the company monitor The company monitors employee
through research and feedback? satisfaction as well as customer satisfaction.
The Chartered Institute of
Marketing will work with you
to identify and develop your
training needs.
Web: www.cimtraining.com
Please contact our
Training Advisory Team on:
Email: training@cim.co.uk
Phone: +44 (0) 1628 427 200
for all your training enquiries.
www.cim.co.uk
ã The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2004
