Exceeding Customer Expectations—Your Brand

We know that customer service matters now more than ever. Today, our customers have choices. If they don't like your service, they can go elsewhere. We also know that people can share their experiences, good and bad, with a larger audience through social media. For example, I'm a member of a Facebook group entitled Food Lovers of Des Moines. The group features local restaurant reviews and has over 47,000 members. This means that a good review or a bad one can reach a huge number of people in a short period of time. According to Reputation Builder, an online site that focuses on brand management, customers who've had a bad experience are two to three times more likely to write an angry review than customers who had a great experience. And these reviews matter. One negative review can cost up to 30 new customers when not countered by positive reviews.

We know that customer service is about our reputation. When service is good, customers come back and hopefully tell others about their experience. Where we differentiate ourselves from other organizations is with our customer service brand. Think about companies like Chick-fil-A, Ritz Carlton, and Trader Joe's. These organizations have demonstrated they're different from their competitors because of the service they provide. When we talk about brand, we mean the image the customer has when they think about us and the service we provide. It is this brand that people consider when determining whether to do business with them or not. Every organization has an image that they convey to us about their products, their service.

If I flashed your organization's logo in front of your customers, what would they say about your company and the service it provides? If I showed your picture to your customers, what would they say about you? One tip to improve the service you provide is to think about how you're representing your organization and to think about your own personal brand, and get feedback accordingly.

Let's look at this model for improving our customer service brand to exceed customer expectations. The model starts with identify. We must identify the product or service we provide and identify who is our customer. Then we should understand our customer's needs and expectations, and understand what we can and can't do for customers in our role. The third step in this model is the most important. Go beyond. We need to serve our customers with the right skills, with teamwork, in every moment and when things go wrong. Finally, we need to assure our customer satisfaction. Do these things, and you'll help establish your customer service brand and exceed your customer's expectations.