Service the Key to Increased Sales

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 5, 2007

Contact: John Tschohl
E-mail: quality@servicequality.com
Web: www.customer-service.com
(952) 884-3311
Note to Editor: Feel free to use all or parts of this news release. John Tschohl also is available for personal interviews.

SERVICE: THE KEY TO INCREASED SALES
A Service Strategy Will Drive Your Business
By John Tschohl

Customer service. Companies throughout the world use those two words to entice customers to patronize their businesses. They use the phrase in their advertisements. Their executives proudly proclaim, “The customer comes first! Customer satisfaction is our number one goal!”

And yet, says John Tschohl, a Minneapolis-based international service strategist and founder of the Service Quality Institute, few companies understand what customer service is—and even fewer have developed a customer service strategy. “The reason most companies are not customer-driven is that they don’t understand the power of a service strategy,” he says. “Instituting a service strategy will dramatically increase your marketshare and revenues and help you build a more powerful brand around customer service.”

Tschohl blames the lack of focus on customer service in changing leadership, the move toward financial wizards running companies and focusing strictly on the numbers while ignoring strategies that can help them improve those numbers. “Wal-Mart and Dell are two examples of companies that were built on customer service and then lost their way,” he says. “They forgot how they got to where they were. Other companies, however, like Amazon and LL Bean have had a lifetime focus on customer service.”

Service leaders, Tschohl says, understand that they are not in the manufacturing, retail, or banking business; they are in the customer service business. “Service doesn’t just happen; it has to be integrated into every facet of a company’s business, from the hiring and training of employees to the implementation of technology,” he says. “Everything an organization does should be done to provide the best possible service to its customers. At the core of a service culture is the belief that no transaction is complete unless the service that customers receive is sufficient enough to motivate them to return and do business with you again and again.”

Too many companies, Tschohl says, try to attract customers and increase sales by advertising, renovating or remodeling their buildings, or lowering their prices. Unfortunately, he says, your competitors will copy those strategies. “The only strategy your competitors will not copy is a service strategy,” he says. “Institute one, and you will have a 10-year lead on the competition. And it will cost one-tenth of what you would spend on advertising or remodeling.”

According to Tschohl, the author of several books, including Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service, now in its fifth edition, service leaders focus on six principles:

They understand that service is a strategy. “No one cares that you had great customer service in July 2006; what do you have now?” Tschohl says. “You must be consistent. Customers want awesome service every day, every week, every year. In a service culture, all employees operate under the belief that no transaction is complete unless customers receive service that is sufficient enough to motivate them to return. It is providing customers with service that is so exceptional that they wouldn’t think of doing business with anyone but you.”
They continually look for policies and procedures that get in the way of customer service—and then they eliminate them. “Companies like Southwest Airlines know they’re in the service business and that it just happens to be an airline,” Tschohl says. “You have to understand your core business. Then you have to look at systems, policies, and procedures you have in place that alienate customers. You have to make it easy for people to do business with you.”
They hire the right people—and treat them well. “Treat your employees as you would like them to treat your customers,” Tschohl says. When you treat your employees like royalty, they will treat your customers like royalty—and those customers will be loyal for life.”
They empower their employees to make decisions in order to serve their customers. “Empowerment means giving your employees the authority to do whatever it takes to immediately take care of the customer to the customer’s satisfaction,” Tschohl says.
They train their employees. “Successful organizations train their entire workforce on customer service, using a new program every four to six months,” Tschohl says. “You must teach your employees the fundamentals of customer service, and you must reinforce them. Just as you wouldn’t run the same commercial for five years, you should not use the same training program for five years. Use a training program that is new and fresh to ensure that your employees remain interested—and excited—about providing the best service possible to your customers.”
They measure the impact and results of their customer service efforts. “The payoff is significant,” says Tschohl. “Commerce Bank, the most customer-focused bank in the United States crushes its competition in every market it is in. It has $45 billion in assets, has had an annual return on its stock of 23 percent during the past 10 years, and expects its assets to increase by 19 percent, or $8.4 billion, this year.”

In the face of global competition, businesses cannot succeed if they focus solely on price and product. “Customer service is the distinguishing factor,” says Tschohl. “If you focus on doing whatever it takes to satisfy the customer, you will have a competitive edge that will drive your business to great heights.”

Note: If you would like a copy of John Tschohl’s book, Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service, for 25 percent off the retail price of $19.95 or the download version of $10, log onto www.customer-service.com and enter code AE501. This offer ends August 31.

John Tschohl is an international service strategist and speaker. Described by Time and Entrepreneur magazines as a “customer service guru,” he has written several books on customer service, including Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service, Loyal For Life, e-Service, The Customer is Boss, and Ca$hing In: Make More Money, Get a Promotion, Love Your Job.

You can contact John at 952-884-3311 or e-mail him at quality@servicequality.com .