Often, nobody even tries to listen to customers. Even when it seems that someone is listening, it usually means that they are busy thinking of what to say next. All manner of problems emerge if we don’t listen to customers: a) Customers don’t get what they thought they had ordered b) Assumptions are made, often leading to enormous problems c) We fall to pick up a particular customer’s unique needs The key skills of listening to customers are the following: Concentration unless we concentrate on what the customer is saying, we are not listening effectively.
We will miss important clues about what the customer is really trying to say to us. What do we concentrate on? Just the words or perhaps the facts? Do we find ourselves paying attention to mannerisms or accent? Concentrate on what the person is trying to communicate and don’t simply pay undue attention to the words they choose, and how they use them. Some customers may not have the vocabulary or confidence to eloquently state their needs. But if you concentrate, you will be able to hear what they are really trying to say.
Questioning and encouraging customers to talk Asking questions Is good for all sorts of reasons. Firstly, It gets the customer talking, which is useful in itself. Secondly, the last person to ask a question is always in control – useful to keep conversations on track. Empathy Empathy, in this context, means being able to share and participate in the feelings and emotions of your customer. Developing this skill enables you to see things from their point of view, and clearly leads to a better understanding of their needs. Confirming Understanding As we have seen, many things can distort communication.
Perhaps nothing aids really effective two-way communication as much as if you take time to check and confirm that what you think you have heard Is what your customer thinks they said. Particular problems listening on the telephone It Is as a result of not being able to see what Is happening, that so many problems of customer care occur with the telephone. If It Is not answered promptly, the impression is given of a sloppy, unprofessional organization that could not care less care, it is suggested to become totally proficient in using your telephone system.
It seems bizarre that people do not bother to spend a few minutes of their time becoming acquainted with their telephone, enabling them to transfer, re-route and so on. Particularly, when this will save them time later and avoid giving the impression of being unconcerned for their customers. By implementing customer feedback strategies, the organization will be able to discover the company’s strengths and potential weaknesses, as set by the actual customer. Reacting on the feedback in a timely and appropriate manner will increase revenues and customer satisfaction.
Although a customer feedback programs will be an added cost in the beginning, long term it will save money for the organization, as it costs far more money to get new customer’s than keep a satisfied, existing customers. Understanding what customers think of the organization will improve arrive delivery and quality of products leading to business sustainability. 2. Poor, or no, focus on the actual design of processes to turn identified customer needs into products and services.
The investigation and analysis of consumer needs and opinions about goods and services is very important in processes of turning identified customer needs into products and services. Effective customer needs analysis is dependent on two factors: a) Knowing what customer inputs are needed to create improved and breakthrough products b) Knowing how to capture them. Much has been written about customer needs analysis and the importance of understanding the customer. Companies spend considerable time and money towards this end. Companies rarely know all their customer’s needs.
Here is why: success in innovation doesn’t come from understanding the customer. It comes from a deep understanding of the Job the customer is trying to get done. After all, it is the desire to get a Job done that causes customers to buy a product or service in the first place. This means that customer needs analysis must focus on the Job the customer is trying to get done. Good actual design of processes to turn identified customer deeds into products and services will help to identify what are the needs of our particular customers. 3.
Gaps between what the organization intends to produce for its customers and what its systems do actually produce. Defining requirements of a product, service or system necessary to produce an outcome(s) that satisfies the needs of a person should be a part of the process of determining what to make before making it. Understanding requirements early removes a great deal of guesswork in the planning stages and helps to ensure that the end-users and product developers are “on the same page. Authentic organizations deliver on their promises. They make sure that their reputations truly match the reality their customers’ experience.
They deliver on quality and service “promises” by actually providing what they say they offer and they do so consistently. It takes alignment of culture from the top of the organization to the bottom. It is important to discover the gaps between what the organization intends to produce for its customers and what its systems do actually a stronger position to meet the goals set out in the strategic plan. 4. Gaps between what the system is intended to deliver for customers and what it actually does deliver. This gap may arise owing to the service personnel.
The reasons being poor training, incapability or unwillingness to meet the set service standard. The possible major reasons for this gap are: a) Deficiencies in human resource policies such as ineffective recruitment, role ambiguity, role conflict, improper evaluation and compensation system b) Ineffective internal marketing c) Failure to match demand and supply d) Lack of proper customer education and training Consumer expectations are highly influenced by statements made by company representatives and advertisements. The gap arises when these assumed expectations are not fulfilled at the time of delivery of the service.
The discrepancy between actual service and the promised one may occur due to the following reasons: a) Over-promising in external communication campaign b) Failure to manage customer expectations c) Failure to perform according to specifications 5. Cost constraints, or failure to set and meet realistic performance standards, which affect what the organization can actually deliver. A constraint is any factor that limits the organization from getting more of whatever it strives for, which is usually profit. Constraints can be physical (e. G. , lack of space, not enough resources, etc. . In many cases they’re policies: the laws, regulations, rules, or procedures that determine what we can or can’t do. Even the way we think can be a constraint to ourselves and our organizations. Within those two broad categories, there are seven basic types: a) Market. Not enough demand for a product or service b) Resource. Not enough people, equipment, or facilities to satisfy the demand for products or services c) Material. Inability to obtain required materials in the quantity or quality needed to satisfy the demand for products or services ) Supplier/vendor.
Unreliability (inconsistency) of a supplier or vendor, or excessive lead time in responding to orders e) Financial. Insufficient cash flow to sustain an operation. For example, a company that can’t produce more until payment has been received for work previously completed, because they might need that revenue to purchase materials for a firm order that’s waiting f) Knowledge/Competence. Knowledge: Information or knowledge to improve business performance is not resident within the system or organization. Competence: People do not have the skills (or skill levels) necessary to perform Geiger levels required to remain competitive g) Policy.
Any law, regulation, rule, or business practice that inhibits progress toward the system’s goal at Not all of these types apply to all systems. Material and supplier/vendor constraints might not apply to service organizations. Market constraints are generally not financial, knowledge/competence, and policy constraints can potentially affect all types of organizations. Every system, no matter how well it performs, has at least one constraint that limits its performance. The quality factor needs to be applied all the ay through the transformation and output process and supplier chain.
Conditions or situations that can cause disruptions or discontinuity are the follow: Quality of supplier Labor shortages Work performance Poor management etc. Not choosing supplier carefully on the basis of cost, quality, reliability etc. And not assuring of supply accordingly to your needs and quality requirements can affect what the organization can actually deliver. Performance indicators can be used to assess supplier performance against expected outcome. 6. Poor staff attitudes, training levels and working materials.
Bad employee attitudes not only disrupt the business and affect other employees, they are directly related to the motivation and productivity of the offending individual and those around them. If an organization waits to correct attitude problems until they affect the bottom-line, additional time, effort and money will be required to turn it around. Make a plan to head-off attitude problems before they affect your business. If issues currently exist, now is the time to correct them by rolling-out a training program. Most employers expect the manager to “fix” or “fire” the employee with a “bad attitude.
In fact, there is little the manager can do to “fix” the employee’s attitude. The employee must “fix” their own attitude. At the same time, the manager’s attitude must be right to create an environment allowing the employee to refocus their attitude for a more positive and productive work effort. If the manager or the employee lacks the skills to make adjustments to their thought processes – attitude change for a more productive effort will not take place. Training is usually aimed at improving someone’s skills or knowledge or raising awareness of an issue.
Determining the real need for employee raining can be done thorough needs and skills analysis. There also should be enough appropriate resources, tools or materials to do the actual Job. If the worker has lack of space to proper do his Job then this is the case and not a lack of his skills. Training needs to be provided only that is really relevant to the skill you want the employee to attain. Adults have special needs as learners and different learning styles and these should be taken into consideration when planning training for adults.
Training can be delivered in-house or by external providers. They can happen face-to-face, online, in groups or one-to-one. They can include the following: learning ‘on the Job’ coaching e-learning ; workshops ; induction programmer ; Job shadowing ; mentoring ; formal classes on day release or out of working hours ; project work ; ‘budding People learn in various ways, which include: a) Learning by experimenting – Some employees will learn best if they are allowed to experiment, or do something in practice.
Trial and error is often used in this type of approach b) Learning by observing – Some employees will manage to understand something better if they watch someone else doing this particular task, and then they will ray to do it themselves afterwards. The more these employees are allowed to participate in the learning, the better c) Learning by inquiring – These types of employees will learn if they are allowed to comprehend the whole process.
So, for instance, they will need to inquire about something, evaluate the various possibilities, look for alternatives, and see what others have to say as well. By spending time on these various facets, from inquiring to consulting, to evaluating and finalization, they will manage to learn d) Learning by patterning – These employees will learn if they are given a step-by- tepee overview of the task at hand. Thus they will form patterns and link them to each other until the process is finalized. Providing documentation at the start of the training session is very important.
People learn more easily when they have hardcopy material to follow during the training program. Learning tools/material include: books, videos, observation, lectures, games, white board, projector etc. 7. Gaps between what salespeople promise and the actual service or product quality. This includes not only what you said in your brochures, and advertisements, but also what your sales person told the customer. It is evident that sales people can over play the good qualities of the product or may MIS-sell the product.
Therefore, companies not only have to focus on creating authentic published sales pitch, but also ensure that their products are sold but not MIS-sold. In some cases, promises made by companies through advertising media and communication raise customer expectations. When over-promising in advertising does not match the actual service delivery, it creates a communication gap. Consumers are disappointed because the promised service does not match the expected service and consequently may seek alternative product sources.
