The secret ingredient in online shopping customer service. For business: something about customer service

1. I (the Client), I hereby agree to the processing of my personal data received from me in the course of sending an application for information and consulting services / admission to training in educational programs.

2. I confirm that the mobile phone number I have provided is my personal phone number assigned to me by the cellular operator, and I am ready to be responsible for Negative consequences caused by my indication of a mobile phone number belonging to another person.

The Group of Companies includes:
1. OOO MBSh, legal address: 119334, Moscow, Leninsky prospect, 38 A.
2. MBSh Consulting LLC, legal address: 119331, Moscow, Vernadsky prospect, 29, office 520.
3. CHUDPO "MOSCOW BUSINESS SCHOOL - SEMINARS", legal address: 119334, Moscow, Leninsky prospect, 38 A.

3. Within the framework of this agreement, "personal data" means:
Personal data that the Client provides about himself consciously and independently when filling out an Application for training / receiving information and consulting services on the pages of the Site of the Group of Companies
(namely: surname, first name, patronymic (if any), year of birth, level of education of the Client, chosen training program, city of residence, mobile phone number, e-mail address).

4. Client - an individual (a person who is a legal representative natural person under the age of 18, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation), who filled out an Application for training / information and consulting services on the Site of the Group of Companies, thus expressing his intention to use the educational / information and consulting services of the Group of Companies.

5. The group of companies generally does not verify the accuracy of the personal data provided by the Client and does not exercise control over his legal capacity. However, the Group of Companies proceeds from the fact that the Client provides reliable and sufficient personal information on the issues proposed in the registration form (Application form), and keeps this information up to date.

6. The group of companies collects and stores only those personal data that are necessary for admission to training / receiving information and consulting services from the Group of companies and organizing the provision of educational / information and consulting services (execution of agreements and contracts with the Client).

7. The collected information allows sending information in the form of e-mails and SMS messages via communication channels (SMS distribution) to the e-mail address and mobile phone number specified by the Client for the purpose of receiving services for the Group of Companies, organizing the educational process, sending important notices, such as changes to the terms, conditions and policies of the Group of Companies. Also, such information is necessary to promptly inform the Client about all changes in the conditions for the provision of information and consulting services and the organization of the educational and admission process for training in the Group of Companies, informing the Client about upcoming promotions, upcoming events and other events of the Group of Companies by sending him mailings and information messages, as well as for the purpose of identifying the party under agreements and contracts with the Group of Companies, communication with the Client, including sending notifications, requests and information regarding the provision of services, as well as processing requests and applications from the Client.

8. When working with the personal data of the Client, the Group of Companies is guided by Federal law RF No. 152-ФЗ dated July 27, 2006. "About personal data".

9. I am informed that at any time I can refuse to receive information to the e-mail address by sending an e-mail to the address:. It is also possible to refuse to receive information by e-mail at any time by clicking on the "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the letter.

10. I have been informed that at any time I can refuse to receive an SMS message to my specified mobile phone number by sending an e-mail to the address:

11. The group of companies takes the necessary and sufficient organizational and technical measures to protect the personal data of the Client from unauthorized or accidental access, destruction, alteration, blocking, copying, distribution, as well as from other misconduct with her third parties.

12. The law of the Russian Federation shall apply to this agreement and the relationship between the Client and the Group of Companies arising in connection with the application of the agreement.

13. With this agreement, I confirm that I am over 18 years old and accept the conditions specified in the text of this agreement, and also give my full voluntary consent to the processing of my personal data.

14. This agreement governing the relationship between the Client and the Group of Companies is valid throughout the entire period of the provision of the Services and the access of the Client to the personalized services of the Site of the Group of Companies.

LLC MBSH legal address: 119334, Moscow, Leninsky prospect, 38 A.
LLC MBSh Consulting legal address: 119331, Moscow, Vernadsky prospect, 29, office 520.
CHUDPO "MOSCOW BUSINESS SCHOOL - SEMINARS", legal address: 119334, Moscow, Leninsky prospect, 38 A.

Everyone has a sad story in stock about how the client was dissatisfied with the service and left the online store, and even wrote a devastating review. How to avoid this in the future? We have collected in one article 11 rules of ideal service and told how to work with the most difficult clients. At the end of the article, a bonus: how to check employees if they are polite and competent enough.

Why is customer service so important?

1. Clients are now capricious. They require not only a rich assortment and excellent quality, but also an ideal service, an instant response from a consultant to your question. It is understandable: there are tens of thousands of online stores in RuNet, you didn’t like something - choose another one. It turns out that customers are more important to you than you are to them. So, you need - and service as well.
2. One satisfied customer will tell others about your wonderful service and bring new customers to you. There are cases when a kind-hearted customer became a brand ambassador - he talked about him at every corner, admiring the level of service.
3. More clients - more profit. At least for the sake of this prosaic interest, you need to reconsider your service policy right now.

Here are 11 rules for perfect service. Conduct an analysis: are they all being followed or is there something to work on?

11 golden rules of customer service

1. - especially those who work directly with clients. A manager, a sales assistant, a courier may not be professionals and have a wealth of experience - this is a profitable business, they will learn. But to be able to communicate with people, listen and hear, guess their needs at a glance, patiently answer endless questions - yes, all this with a smile, with a positive! - they just have to.

We already wrote,. This is a complex science that cannot be learned from scratch. You can develop communication skills in yourself, but not a single course and training will teach you to truly love people. It is either given or not.

2. Develop. If you have chosen a customer-oriented path for yourself, customer satisfaction is paramount. This should be the law in the company - no exceptions like “how can I communicate with him, he is unbearable ?!” shouldn't be. The client is always right - period.

Help your employees. If you yourself preach these values, it will not be difficult, show by example how to communicate... Give employees (for example, “First class service like competitive advantage"John Shawl," Clients for Life "by Carl Sewell and Paul Brown," Points of Contact "by Igor Mann and others), - trainings and master classes, hang motivating posters on the walls of the office.

3. Provide feedback. If you have only an office phone number and an e-mail address from your contacts, and even those are hidden somewhere at the end of the main site - sit down, two for you. Clients are now used to chatting, asking questions and sharing their concerns. Few people will call or write by e-mail - this is already last century. In 2018, feedback widgets rule the show-, VKontakte widget, chat window and others. All of them are cleverly arranged: in a chat, for example, a consultant does not necessarily sit and is on duty day and night. It is quite possible to answer the standard questions of the visitor. And when a client orders a call back, the service immediately connects to the manager, and he calls back.

4. Don't keep the client waiting. Answers should be quick - literally within a minute. Who would like to sit and wait for an online store employee to deign to answer? What if he has an urgent business - for example, his wife's birthday is in a few days, and he needs a present immediately?

5. Delve into each situation, use an individual approach. People have different problems. Someone, as already mentioned, needs to immediately order the goods right now and even pay urgent delivery- if only the goods arrive on time. Someone is ready to place an order for a large amount, but there is not enough money -. In fact, these are very common requests. To make life easier for sellers, prepare scripts for each common situation telephone conversations and chat dialogs. However, be prepared for the conversation to go wrong - people are not bots, anything can happen.

6. Make your site user-friendly. Have you heard about UX / UI design? It is aimed at making the user as comfortable and pleasant as possible to sail along the waves of your resource, slowly reaching the shore - making an order. Do not forget about useful functionality and other amenities. If the product is temporarily not on sale - write this so that the person does not waste time.

7. Don't forget about omnichannel. We already wrote about it in the article. The bottom line is that everyone is used to communicating in their own way. Someone comes to the site from a PC, someone is more comfortable with a mobile application, someone “lives” in social networks and instant messengers. In order not to miss a single client, start all these channels.

8. Track customer reviews. They can write them anywhere - on review sites, on their personal pages. Read each review carefully, be it a complaint or a praise. There will be more complaints - people are so arranged that thanks for good service not everyone guess, but scolding is always welcome.

We have already written what to do,. Firstly, to apologize, secondly, to show your interest, and thirdly, to offer a solution to the problem. But what exactly should not be done is to ignore or even more to delete negative comments, to stoop to wrangling and retaliatory insults.

9. Ask for feedback yourself. What could be simpler - ask directly if customers are satisfied with the service, and if not - how to improve it? So you will collect a real constructive proposal and strengthen your reputation, having won the title of an open loyal company. It's elementary, but for some reason, not all online store owners do this.

10. Exceed expectations. The most difficult point. Put yourself in the client's shoes: he has chosen a product, paid for it and is waiting for the coveted parcel. How can you surprise him? An enclosed note with warm words and wishes, a small souvenir, unusual beautiful packaging. Yes, you will have to spend money, but the emotions of the client and subsequent good feedback will be a worthy reward for you.

11. Reward loyal customers. Develop a loyalty program and reward loyal customers. Discount cards work well, as in offline stores, VIP cards for special customers. Invite them to events "for their own", give access to classified materials - anything, just to make the person feel important.

All this is good if the clients are adequate people and gladly accept your efforts. But what to do if you encounter an unpleasant person how to serve it? Let's take a look at some of the worst types of clients and show you how to work with them.

Types of unpleasant clients

1. Dunno

“I myself don't know what I need,” he says. For all the suggestions of the consultant, his nose wrinkles, wrinkles - it's all wrong. He himself does not understand what is “that”.

How to work with them?

• try to determine at least an approximate category of goods, price plug;
• consistently offer more and more new products;
• to describe in as much detail as possible the characteristics and properties, trying to "hook" and make a choice;
• stock up on patience, grow Zen;
• when the client makes a choice - to clarify whether he has decided exactly. It is advisable to do this in writing, so that later he does not refuse, otherwise suddenly again it will turn out to be “not that”.

2. Know

With this, the opposite is true: he understands the properties of goods better than the seller... Or he thinks he understands. He thinks the service staff are idiots: they know better.

How to work with them?

• using facts, not emotions. Show Znayka that you also understand the product you are selling. He will respect you, although, of course, he will not say so;
• provide any information: expert opinions, research results (do not forget to provide links!), numbers and data;
• take your time with the answer, better prepare yourself and impress the client with your knowledge.

3. Hamlo

The most unpleasant type - such are rude to sellers in a store, waiters in a cafe, come off on service personnel... A consultant for them is the same staff with whom boors do not stand on ceremony.

How to work with them?

• do not slide down to insults in response, be emphatically polite;
• demonstrate product benefits that are beneficial to the customer in order to reduce aggression;
• in especially difficult cases, consult with the management - if the degree of rudeness goes off scale, such a client may not be served.

4. Offended

Remember the joke about the duck? The little skinny duck wanted to fly with the swans to the south, they were ready to take her, but the duck always found excuses. Do not be lazy, find an anecdote on the net and find out how it all ended there. Offended clients are also like ducks. A dialogue with them is usually built like this:

Oh, what is so dear to you?

It's not expensive here, just look - prices are average for the market (cites statistics).

Kone-e-chno ... It's still expensive, you steal from people.

Oh, and this is probably China, right?

No, not China, look: made in Italy (shows certificates for the goods).

Kone-e-chno ... Everything is Chinese, you are deceiving me.

Well, stuff like that.

How to work with them?

• prove, prove, prove. Endlessly;
• be patient, explain that no one wants to deceive him;
• offer a discount, a bonus - ducks love that.

How to check the quality of service?

First, decide on the criteria by which you need to assess the level of service. This is politeness, and the culture of communication, working with objections, clarifying the client's needs, knowing the characteristics of the product, offering several options, and so on. Then choose a verification method.

1. Examine statistics

Everyone knows the numbers: whether the sales plan is being fulfilled, how many people leave the site within the first minute, the percentage of order abandonments and returns, and so on. Where it is thin - there it breaks: if the indicators worry you, it's time to understand in more detail.

2. Conduct a survey among clients

What we have already talked about: ask directly if customers are satisfied with the level of service... If yes, name a specific employee and. If not, indicate specific cases of inappropriate behavior and suggest your options for improving the service.

3. Send a mystery shopper

Ask a friend or pretend to be a client yourself, ask provocative questions and observe how the employee copes with a difficult situation. Then draw conclusions and work out weak spots- conduct training, train an employee. Only under no circumstances arrange a public flogging of the offender- you can say nothing at all and take measures to correct the situation, you can talk face to face.

4. Conduct testing

There are many tests that assess communication skills. Basically, these are projective methods - that is, not direct questions (it is easy to predict the correct answers to them), but picture exploration, situation description, simple test "What are these people talking about in the pictures?"... Such techniques make it possible to identify personal problems of an employee, his weaknesses... You can correct them yourself or invite a psychologist.

5. Listen to recordings of telephone conversations, watch dialogues in the chat

Almost all callback services provide services for transcribing calls and dialogues. That is, every conversation that takes place will come to you on email, you will listen or read it and draw conclusions.

In any case, first you need to make excellent service one of the main tasks of your online store, build it into a cult, and then ask each employee. Good luck in promoting!

Customer service is part of the company's work to assist customers in the process of purchasing or using goods and services. Many companies have their own customer service department: you need to pay special attention to quality customer service in order to remain competitive. How more company is customer-oriented, the more opportunities it has to help its customers before, during and after the purchase and, as a result, build more trusting and lasting relationships with customers.

Quality customer service

Many companies are extending the standard customer service clauses to their employees. Doing so will make the customer as happy as possible and give the company a reputation for excellence in customer service. For example, once the following story happened: a customer requested a replacement car tires which he was sure were purchased from the store. A little later it turned out that this store never sold at all similar type the product, but the customer service department did the replacement. As a result, the client became a regular customer of the store. There is also a known case when a support employee served one customer by phone for 10 hours and 29 minutes. This conversation ended with a sale; true only one unit of the product. In this case, the management was confident: if you have the opportunity to devote a lot of time to customer service, then such communication will end in a sale and will be able to build a list of regular customers. And it was right.

Companies that consider it their duty to provide customer service at the highest level tend to earn a very good reputation and attract many new customers through word of mouth. Let's list a few possible ways to improve the quality of service and raise it in the company to a new level:

• Attention... Pay as much attention to your customers as possible, as shown in the examples above. As a result, buyers will be able to feel significant and heard and will definitely remember given fact communication.
• Courtesy... Be polite and show appreciation that the visitor is a customer of your company.
• Sympathy... When a customer calls with negative feelings about a product or service, show empathy and understanding. Show that you care and you enter his position. In no case argue and do not explain why he might be wrong. Help.
• Rapid reaction... High-quality customer service always presupposes a quick response to a request. The sooner assistance is provided to the client, the faster the problem on his side will be solved. Thus, high-quality service allows you to get happier and more regular customers.
• Simplicity... It is imperative that your customers can easily find a support number and resolve their issue without spending too much time communicating with the company.
• Connection... Connect with customers after purchase. This is much better than the "No new hits - no new problems" way.

Even if you sell very quality product or service - there is always a need for the same level of customer service. These are inseparable ingredients of a successful and prosperous company.

How to offer customers quality service

Delivering quality customer service is actually easier than it sounds. Once you decide to provide an easy way to communicate with your customer service, give your employees additional authority to interact with them and can create a rapid response system, then it's time to move on to the following important points:

• Add a contact center email at the top and bottom of your company website;
• The number for communication must be free (8-800);
• Suggest different ways of interacting with specialists: live chat on the site is one of them;
• Clearly define your customer communication policy and all its rules;
• Offer a product or service warranty.

The more customers are confident that they will receive quality service and that if a problem arises, it will be solved, the more trust they have in your company and, as a rule, the higher your sales. Create your own quality customer service with your own standards and a good reputation will go ahead of your business.

Tinkoff Business

bank for business

Today we'll talk about customer service.

At the beginning of the 2000s, there was a fashion for customer service in Russia. It was believed that good business must look into the eyes of the client, hold the pen and flirt in the chat. Even if your client is a capricious bloodthirsty goblin.

Then there was another crisis, all this haze was dispelled, but you still need to know something about customer service. And although Tinkoff-Bank traditionally pays great attention to customer service, this does not mean that it is also necessary in your business. And even if the client is done well, it does not mean that he will be satisfied.

Our beloved Tinkoff Business continues to write a book for entrepreneurs, and again we cut a fragment of a chapter from them. To read the entire book, open your business and become our client.

Useful action

If service is not the main thing in business, then what is the main thing? To answer this question, you need to understand a non-obvious thing: why people choose a particular business from many others. Let's do the exercise for this.

Economy:

1. “This is the cheapest taxi”;
2. "It's cheaper here than others";
3. “I am satisfied with the price”;
4. “It's the cheapest place for such a trip (for example, to the airport)”;
5. "The best ratio of price and quality".

1. "There are good cars here";
2. “The drivers are good, they drive carefully, you can send your wife, mother, child”;
3. "They have the most user-friendly application";
4. “They have machines with mounts for ...”;
5. “I always choose the best”;
6. “You can take a receipt from them and report back at work”;
7. "They take cards."

Availability:

1. “You can order a car from them in the morning when everyone is busy”;
2. “Only they go to such and such an area”;
3. “This is a corporate taxi of our company, we only order it”;
4. “I don’t know, my son, husband, wife, secretary are ordering a taxi for me.”

Habits:

1. "There is some kind of business card in my wallet, I always call them";
2. "Recorded in the phone";
3. "Yes, somehow I began to provoke a long time ago, and I got used to it";
4. "I AM used to live in another city, there was only this taxi, so I still use it ”;
5. "Are there any others?"

Marketing:

1. “They have advertisements on the radio, I remember them”;
2. “They have every fifth trip for free”;
3. "They have a discount on my card."

1. “Their drivers are polite, it's nice to ride with them. Not like ... ".

Look at the list of habits: many people use the services of a taxi company simply because they have one number on their phone. A company can invest in marketing and service and get calls simply because customers have their phone number recorded.

Or distribution: service availability plays a huge role. You can have great service and great drivers, but it's pointless if you can't give a person a car at the right time.

And of course the price. In any country, at all times and in any segment, there are people who are simply looking for the cheapest. There will always be a customer who wants the cheapest Bentley, the cheapest Vertu, the cheapest taxi, and the cheapest Chinese noodles.

Now look at the "Service" list. A taxi company can have very polite operators, nice drivers, water and chocolates for passengers - but for how many people will this be a decisive factor in choosing? This does not mean that for anyone - someone probably really wants a sincere taxi with chocolates. But it seems that in the case of taxis, service will only be the determining factor for a small segment of customers.

Habits, geography, assortment and prices often play a more important role than service. If in one cafe the waiter is friendly, and in the next one is ordinary, then they will go to the place where it is tastier (or cheaper). You may have the friendliest vendors in the world, but people will go to the nearest convenience store for milk.

Service can be a decisive factor if the client is in constant contact with you. For example, it is important for an entrepreneur to communicate with a bank because of payments and taxes. Then you need a very good support service - this is, in a sense, a service. Or in a private clinic, it is very important that everyone in the waiting room is friendly, the doctors tell everything patiently, and puts the analyzes in a neat folder - this is also a service.

But before you invest big money in a service, make a map like the one above: perhaps instead of a polite call center, you need to hire more couriers. Wow-service - it sounds beautiful at conferences, but in life it is often not needed.

Dealing with expectations

Service (and in fact all work with the client) is mostly about working with expectations. You need to make sure that the client expects from you a little less than you can give. The absolute level of product quality only makes sense in relation to these expectations.

Take as an example two grocery stores: cheap "Semerochka" and expensive "Primer of taste 24". People with low wages and the middle class go to "Semerochka"; successful managers, directors, their families and housekeepers go to "Primer". Let's see what is important for customers and not very important in each of the stores.

What is important for customers in the store

	"Semerochka"	"Primer of taste 24"
Who is the buyer	Middle class and people with small salaries	Successful managers, directors, their families and housekeepers
Important	Price	Product quality
	Assortment of required products	Specific, rare, dietary products
	Open until 8-9pm to catch up after work	Cleanliness, lighting
	Food must be edible	Open at night
Does not matter	Cleanliness, lighting	Price
	Rare and dietary products

"Semerochka"

Who is the buyer

Middle class and people with small salaries

Assortment of required products

Open until 8-9pm to catch up after work

Food must be edible

Cleanliness, lighting

Rare and dietary products

"Primer of taste 24"

Who is the buyer

Successful managers, directors, their families and housekeepers

Product quality

Specific, rare, dietary products

Cleanliness, lighting

Open at night

If Semerochka suddenly starts scrubbing the floors ten times better and turning in brighter light bulbs, the customers will, of course, be pleased. But this is unlikely to have any effect on sales: perhaps, thanks to brighter bulbs, buyers will better see the product and want to buy it. But if you raise prices, there will be a lot of indignation. People come to Semerochka to save money, not enjoy life.

In Prikvar, it is exactly the opposite: people come for comfort and a sense of well-being. If you stop mopping the floors and replace the light bulbs with dimmer ones, your customers will be unhappy. But if you raise prices, most likely, no one will notice anything. People who go to the Primer rarely look at the price tags.

Entrepreneurs make such a mistake: they put a lot of effort to pump the product in some direction that interests them, but this direction does not meet the basic expectations of customers. And in the end, their efforts are in vain.

How a taxi does not meet customer expectations

The client calls an economy class taxi, which promises delivery in five minutes. The customer expects fast delivery and a low price, but does not expect a good car.

If the killed "nine" arrived for him in 5 minutes and 100 R, expectations coincided with reality, the client is calm.

If instead of the "nine" they served a BMW, but not in 5, but in 20 minutes, then it doesn't matter which car. The client needed it quickly. Expectations did not coincide with reality, the client is dissatisfied. Even if the trip costs 100 rubles.

If a BMW was submitted in 5 minutes, but instead of 100 R for the trip he was asked for 300 R, the client is unhappy. He was expecting a car for 100 rubles. He understands perfectly well that it is fair to pay 300 R for a BMW, but he did not ask for a BMW. He asked for a car for 100 R.

But if a BMW was submitted in 5 minutes and 100 R, then the client, of course, will be surprised at such a presentation, but will not consider it some great achievement.

Forming expectations

There is a problem with expectations: people will spread some kind of expectation on you, even though you didn’t promise anything like that. These are stories like this:

• "Well, you are a cafe, you must have sockets and wifi!"
• “You’re an airline! This is an international flight! How do you expect me to fly without luggage? "
• "All normal restaurants accept card payments!"
• "This is the first time I see that a car wash in a car service was paid!"

And it doesn't matter at all that it is written in large size on your website that the car wash is paid, but there is no wifi: the person came without reading and now he has complaints against you. This is a very common problem that makes customers seem stupid. In fact, it is just a poorly organized process of forming expectations.

Expectations need to be actively shaped so that the client does not have the opportunity to pass by without forming them. So that he makes an informed choice of what to expect from you: with or without a car wash, with or without the Internet, with or without luggage. And ideally - so that you can make money on this choice.

Example. The School of Public Speaking opened an online stream: people paid 30% of the price to connect to classes remotely. On the page where people registered, it was clearly stated: in each lesson, the performances of all participants in the class (offline) and three more participants from online are analyzed. If you want to be guaranteed to work with a teacher, come to class for full price.

In the first two streams, everything was fine: some online participants did not have time to listen and make out, they understood the conditions of the game and did not complain. We wrote positive reviews. And from the third stream, people began to appear online who expected to be taken apart. They began to be indignant. They were shown the terms and conditions to which they had signed up. It turned out that they did not read any conditions, but simply came on a recommendation. "Since you have a school, you have to work with everyone personally!" The person came with expectations, but the site did not adjust them.

The problem was solved as follows. When registering, a person was forced to choose one of the options for participating in the course - without the fact of choosing, it was impossible to register. On the face-to-face version they wrote "Guaranteed analysis", and on the online version - "No guarantee." The participant had to consciously press the desired button.

Anti-example: worked a lot, still resented

At an English school, the teacher did not have time to sort out all the homework during the lesson. The students complained to the administration, to which they received a calm explanation: there is no need to disassemble all the assignments, no one promised you that. They showed the agreement, the conditions on the site, the conflict was removed, but the students were unhappy.

The teacher, seeing the discontent of the students, decided to rectify the situation. She began to conduct additional classes: she gathered people separately via the Internet, spent her personal time on them, dealt with tasks with them.

Then the unexpected. The disciples not only did not thank them, they started complaining. They wrote that the teacher spends their personal time on what he was supposed to do in the classroom. Like, one’s homework was sorted out in the lesson, and I need to go to additional classes separately! It got to the point of open rudeness with insults: “This sheep has favorites, she pays attention to them. And we are forced to take time away from the family to study! "

The teacher wanted to do well, but in the end it turned out to be guilty.

The mistake was that she did not sell her extra classes as valuable. The students were sure that she was just doing her job, and moreover, not at a convenient time for them.

How it should have been done:

1. Set expectations at the start: “Friends, we have such and such tasks. Parsing homework is not included in them. But I will try to make out some of them. I definitely won't have time to make out everything. "
2. To fill the price of extra cases: “I understand that you want more analysis, but this is not included in the course, nor in my work at school. Therefore, I can only do this out of love for you, my dears. "
3. Provide an opportunity for choice and a sense of exclusivity: “I have one window a week when I can work out with you additionally. Who wants to and who really needs it - come. Whoever came first, we take it apart. "
4. Maybe even sell: "Usually my lesson costs 1500 R, but since you are my students, you have a 50% discount."

When dealing with expectations, it is important to “sell” all your extra effort to the client. If you are adding a gift, sign that it is a gift. If you are upgrading the class of service or giving some kind of bonus, communicate it loudly and clearly. The client must understand that you are trying and want to do better. Expectations cannot be exceeded in silence.

Example. One taxi service has a mechanism: when a client orders a business class car, but there are only higher VIP class cars nearby, the service is forced to send one of the VIP cars, even to its own detriment. And he writes to the client: “Thank you for being with us. Here's a gift for you: a free upgrade. " The customer thinks they are immensely appreciated, when in reality it is just a problem of the availability of cars. If this service just silently sent the VIP machine, there would be no gratitude from the client.

Example. The workshop was engaged in covering car dealerships with leather. They came up with the idea of ​​giving customers additional leather cushions for the back seat: they, in fact, cost nothing to the workshop, and the idea was to make the customers happy. But just adding the pads didn't work: customers got into their cars and drove away. Once the client even returned after half an hour: "You forgot your pillow here, here you go."

The manager came up with the idea of ​​doing this. He handed the pillow to the owner personally and said: "And this is a gift from us, in the color of your salon, so that you and your children will be more comfortable on the road."

Anti-example. Some restaurants that operate on delivery often offer some kind of drink when ordering from a certain amount. For example, fruit drink when ordering from 2000 RUR. In this case, the fruit drink is simply poured into a transparent bottle and put into the package with the order. There are no markings that this is a gift. As a result, the client opens the package, looks at the bottle: “What is this? I didn't order this. Probably wrong. " I could feel like a king.

Predictability

Service is about working with expectations. Therefore, the main sin of customer service is not rudeness, rudeness or even slow work. The main sin customer service - unpredictability.

When a company has good service, the client always understands what to expect: who, what, how and when will do it according to his order; what is happening right now; what will happen next; when the result will be. To do this, the company constantly tells him what and when it will do. In this case, the very quality of work is of secondary importance.

Three situations when the performer mows, but the client is okay

The photographer took the photograph, but before giving the photographs, he must process them. It delays processing. You need to call the client and say: the change is delayed, there are problems. Photos will be there then. The client may be upset, but much less than if the photographer silently completes the photos after the deadline.

A courier from an online store is delivering a parcel. To meet the parcel, the person took time off from work and waits at home. The courier got into an accident, the police are waiting. You need to call the client: "I am in an accident, I am afraid that I will be delayed for a few hours." The client calmly goes to the store, sleeps, goes out for a walk, or re-negotiate the next day.

The restaurant has a lot of visitors, the kitchen has a large queue of orders. New guests came and ordered two hot dishes. The waiter immediately: “We now have a lot of orders for the kitchen, the hotter will not be earlier than in 40 minutes. I can offer cold snacks for a start, they will be in 10 minutes. For example, today we have a very tasty warm salad with roast beef. " Customers happily choose both the salad and the main course.

The main predictability tool is communication. This is when your employees tell the client what to expect. The magic of the word. The lost art of making sounds to convey information.

The main mistake in this moment is the feeling that good job compensates for the need for communication. Like "instead of groveling in front of the client, I better get the job done faster." This is a myth, and it stems from the fact that it hurts all normal people to tell the client that they are mowing. It is much more convenient to make a stern face and try your best to be in time. But it’s much more important for the client to understand what’s going on than getting your work super fast.

Let's try it on the example of a taxi service. The client calls the car by phone. The dispatcher says: “We are looking for a typewriter, an SMS will come” - and hangs up. Here's what happens next.

The client called a taxi by phone

	Unpredictable service	Predictable service
3 minutes	The car is not located. The operator continues to search silently. He is confident that he would rather find a car as soon as possible than call the client and apologize. The client is nervous at this time	The car is not located. The operator calls back: “The typewriter is not located. Will you expect? We'll try to serve it within 10 minutes, but that's not certain. " The client says: "No more than 10 minutes"
5 minutes	The operator continues to search. The client calls back: "Where is my car?" The operator makes excuses, gets nervous. "Just two more minutes, and we'll find you a car, wait." Hangs up the phone	The operator sees that there are no cars. Calls back to the client: “Sorry, we cannot deliver a car to your address, there are no drivers nearby. We can offer to cancel the order or search for more "
10 minutes	The client is nervous. Calls back and in anger cancels the order himself	The client understands everything, refuses the order without offense

3 minutes

Unpredictable service

The car is not located. The operator continues to search silently. He is confident that he would rather find a car as soon as possible than call the client and apologize. The client is nervous at this time

Predictable service

The car is not located. The operator calls back: “The typewriter is not located. Will you expect? We'll try to serve it within 10 minutes, but that's not certain. " The client says: "No more than 10 minutes"

The What? Where? When?" Maxim Potashev and Mikhail Lewandovsky are engaged not only in intellectual competitions. Both of them worked as managers in the largest Russian companies, now they conduct trainings in marketing, customer service, decision-making technologies and run R&P Consalting. In their book, Potashev and Lewandovsky talk about how to effectively build relationships with a client. Secret publishes excerpts from it that will help you understand the psychological foundations of customer service and launch a competent loyalty program. The book goes on sale November 5.

The world is becoming more and more global. And the supply on the global market is becoming more and more diversified. At the same time, there is less and less difference in the quality of the offered goods and services and their "functionality", that is, consumer properties that would allow buyers to make a meaningful choice. As a result, the positioning of products, their promotion and, of course, customer service come to the fore for the consumer.

The client's age has come. In the 21st century, all business participants are forced, first of all, to think about the client. And not only about what needs he has, what desires he wants to satisfy with the help of the purchased products, but also what feelings he experiences when contacting the seller, what impressions he will take from this contact, what recommendations he will then give to other potential customers.

Customer service as a psychology

The service is created for clients experiencing various emotions. People who work in the service have to be a bit of psychologists. At a minimum, they should be able to recognize the most common manifestations and know how to respond to them:

1. Feeling of comfort and safety: one of the main tasks of the service is to make the client feel calm and relaxed.

2. Ambition: we all want to be or at least seem to be something more than we are. The service must be built in such a way that each client rises in his own eyes at least one step.

3. Love and care: We value caring for our loved ones even more than caring for ourselves. Caring for children is especially valuable for parents. Owners of shopping centers are well aware of this, allocating premises for play rooms, or restaurateurs inviting clowns to children's matinees on weekends. Caring for people with disabilities is no less valuable: the presence of a ramp for wheelchair users in a store or office is gratefully perceived not only by them, but also by their families and friends.

4. Curiosity: the desire to try something new, to learn something, to solve a riddle are wonderful qualities that smart companies actively use. They try to surprise the client, show him something that he will not see anywhere else. These are the companies that are remembered.

5. The joy of live communication: For many clients, communication is one of the main needs, as they lack it. The Zappos online shoe store, which has become famous all over the world for its outstanding customer service, has earned its reputation, in particular, by the fact that its operators are ready to talk for hours with a customer who has called the company, to discuss any issues with him, even far beyond the shoe theme.

6. Anger, resentment, irritation: Dealing with an outraged customer is difficult. Many customer service procedures are built specifically for such a client - he needs to be disarmed with a smile, reassured, and charged with optimism. In fact, the company's ability to build communication with such customers and turn them into satisfied customers is one of the main indicators of service quality.

7. Greed: This emotion affects consumer behavior in two ways. On the one hand, it is difficult for the client to decide to complete the transaction; he weighs it up and down and compares the benefits and costs for a long time. Such a client, in principle, is a convenient object of influence, he is ready to listen to explanations, he can reasonably prove that the company offers favorable conditions for him. On the other hand, such a client is susceptible to various bonuses, he can and should be offered discounts, gifts, additional services.

8. Aggression, arrogance: These emotions are usually associated with the fact that the company has problems assessing the level of service required by the client. In other words, the client usually becomes aggressive and arrogant when he believes he has a right to special treatment, and the company does not show it. If his claims are justified, this is a serious error in the settings of service processes that needs to be corrected.

9. Envy: a lot of decisions, primarily those concerning our consumer behavior, we make, striving to be no worse than someone else. That is why it is very important to beautifully tell customers about the benefits of an exclusive service and emphasize the exclusivity and high status of those who use it.

10. Disappointment: Service is the most common cause of disappointment. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary, firstly, to make real promises, not to publicly talk about what the company is not really ready to provide to customers, and secondly, to carefully work out all the business processes of the service and strictly monitor their compliance with all employees. ...

How to deal with customer fears

We are all subject to one or another fear. They inevitably influence all decisions we make, including decisions related to consumer behavior. What are the clients most often afraid of?

1. Fear of deception

“If you won’t cheat, you won’t sell” - the iron rule of trade. At least that's how we were taught from childhood. And no matter how many honest and profitable purchases we make, no matter how many times we are faced with the responsible fulfillment of our obligations, we still have a subconscious confidence that any company we deal with sleeps and sees how to cash in at our expense.

How to treat? In no case should you put pressure on the client, in every possible way create in him the impression that he makes all decisions absolutely independently. Keep your word, fulfill everything that is promised to the client. Be open - clients are interested in knowing exactly how their problems are solved.

2. Fear of their own incompetence

In many areas of business, new products and services appear so often that the consumer cannot keep up with the changes. Few of us are not afraid to show our ignorance and start asking questions that may seem stupid to the interlocutor. Therefore, potential clients try to avoid such awkward situations, and if they do get into them, they then experience very unpleasant emotions.

How to treat? Communicate with the client in a language that he understands. Any terms that may seem incomprehensible to him, try to simply and easily explain, preferably with examples. This is almost always possible, provided that the scenarios of the dialogue with the client are carefully worked out.

3. Fear of status inconsistency

Service is precisely the area where we subconsciously demand special attention to our status. We are firmly convinced that we should be served in accordance with it, and we are very offended if it seems to us that this is not the case. This is especially evident if the informal status is also confirmed by formal grounds - for example, by a VIP client card.

How to treat? First, the strictest adherence to our own rules in relation to VIP-clients. All preferences provided for by the VIP status must be provided to the client without fail. Secondly, any employee of the customer service system must have the ability to assess the client at first glance and determine the status for which he claims. Thirdly, if the company completely shifts its market strategy towards a lower segment target audience or conducts a special promotion designed for this segment, it is not enough just to add cheaper items to the assortment or apply large discounts, you still need to convey to these customers that they are welcome.

4. Fear of wasting time

For modern man time has become the main value. The pace of life has accelerated so much that few people are ready to spend even an extra 5 minutes waiting.

How to treat? Maximum acceleration and simplification of all business processes associated with the service. Key factors are the competence of employees, their ability to clearly and concisely answer any questions from customers, a carefully worked out procedure for registration required documents, well thought out and built logic of the client's movement in the service area. Many companies use the well-known marketing technique: they provide the customer with discounts if the customer's wait takes longer than usual.

5. Fear of choice

The choice is often quite painful for the client. A priori, any of us believes that the more choice, the better. But when faced in practice with a situation where our eyes run wide, we are far from always able to develop an objective set of criteria and make a rational choice.

How to treat? Having demonstrated the breadth of the assortment, ask the client leading questions in order to accurately and tactfully reduce the range of choices for him. Optimally - to reduce the choice to three or four options, this is exactly the amount that most of us are able to rationally weigh and evaluate.

How to manipulate a client for his good

This is a difficult and dangerous topic as such tools can be used to the detriment of the client. Nevertheless, we consider it necessary to talk about this, because, firstly, any customer service specialist must necessarily own this arsenal of techniques, and secondly, it is useful to know these techniques and recognize situations when they are abused in relation to us, because each of us regularly appears in the role of a client.

All these techniques are based on the use of various features of our thinking and, as a result, consumer behavior. One of these features is adherence to stereotypes.

A typical example of this situation is our reaction to a queue. In Soviet times, when people saw a long tail peeking out of the store, they stood in this line without even bothering to find out what it was behind. We behave this way not only in a situation of total deficit. Experienced manipulators actively use this, including creating an artificial deficit. If you are told in a store or restaurant that something is not enough, then most likely this means that they are trying to convince you to buy a product or service that you would not have bought under other circumstances.

Another common stereotype is that the more expensive the better. Very often we are guided by this point of view when choosing a product. This is especially true of goods that are prestigious, such as mobile phones, laptops, cars, etc. Of course, creating the illusion of high product value, it is necessary to support it with the appropriate design of the point of sale and high quality customer service. He is unlikely to believe that untidy salespeople in a shabby office can offer him an exclusive product.

Another common property for all of us is that we tend to listen to the opinion of authorities. The most different people, and they are not always experts in the issue in which we are guided by their opinion.

Very effective tool manipulation is the principle of contrast. This principle is well known to realtors, who do not immediately make an optimal offer to the client. First, they show him a house or apartment that is slightly worse in quality and at the same time somewhat more expensive. This inevitably causes the client positive reaction on the offer that, in fact, the seller wants to make him from the very beginning. Another application of the same principle is that, against the background of fairly large spending, related products that cost significantly less are perceived by the buyer as almost free. So, in stores selling men's clothing, ties, belts, shirts, sell well with expensive suits. Likewise, along with an expensive product, you can sell much cheaper, but at the same time, elements of the service that generate quite tangible income for the company - additional guarantees, VIP-client cards, and so on.

Another very common tool is the quid pro quo. Most of us don't like being in debt. And if a seller starts a conversation with a client with a small gift or a discount offer, the client inevitably feels obligated. The likelihood that he will buy something and the purchase amount is significantly increased.

The technique that the author of the famous book "The Psychology of Influence" Robert Cialdini calls a "gambit" also works great. This refers to a kind of sacrifice made by the company at the beginning of a chess game that it plays with a client. A typical example of a "gambit" is the actions of a waiter, who confidentially informs the client that the chef has not succeeded in a particular dish from the menu today. The client, firstly, feels obligated to this honest and caring person, and secondly, the degree of trust in him increases sharply. Therefore, the waiter has the opportunity to offer him more expensive dishes, more expensive wines and count on a larger tip in the end.

How to use customer portraits

An important and useful result of the research is the portraits of typical clients belonging to several key segments of the company's target audience. The portrait of the client is, of course, a generalization; when creating it, one should not go into details. You need to introduce yourself as a typical representative of the target segment and, based on the results of the study, answer the following questions.

How old is he? Where does he live? What is his education? What does he work for (or where does he study)? What is his experience of interacting with our company? What is his motivation for buying? Where does he prefer to buy? How sensitive is it to price and discounts? How does it relate to outbound communications and marketing materials? What are his media preferences (what does he prefer to watch, read, listen to)?

1. Determination of assortment and pricing policy

For each typical client, basic preferences are highlighted, in accordance with which the optimal product line is formed. So, if a typical customer is price sensitive and focused on the economy segment, the company cannot ignore this in its product line and pricing. For example, a travel company operating in a small town with a not very rich population is forced to specialize in selling tickets to Egypt and Turkey, and not to the Canary Islands and Maldives.

2. Determination of optimal sales channels

A classic example: In 1984, Michael Dell realized that it was profitable and convenient for the typical computer user to buy them directly from the manufacturer rather than from a reseller. This idea turned out to be revolutionary for the entire computer industry and made Della one of the richest people in the world.

3. Determination of optimal promotion channels

Only by understanding where a typical client lives, what he watches, listens, reads, which establishments he visits, whose opinion he listens to, can one build effective strategy promotion. An example of Dimitri Maeks: an English company that produces cucumber-scented wipes, which are very popular in the UK, when entering the American market with its product, it is worth first of all focusing on the British who have moved to the United States, remembering these wipes from childhood, and place advertisements in sports bars, where Football matches of the British Premier League are broadcast.

4. Profiling of employees working with clients

Starting from the moment a new employee is hired, it is worth thinking about which clients he will work with most effectively. It has long been noted that different types customers are most trusted by different types of employees. For example, retail executives in insurance are well aware that an elderly lady who owns a farmhouse is more likely to insure it if the insurance agent is her age or a respectable man with a military bearing. But you shouldn't send a young girl to her.

5. Formation of service standards

For each type of client, specific parameters of the service can be determined, including the availability and duration of the guarantee, the speed of service, the allowable queue length, the need for a personal manager, the ability to send offers to the client, and much more.

How to educate clients

Customer education is a very important and effective element of customer service that many companies underestimate. The history of a Japanese restaurant opened in a residential area of ​​one of the major Russian cities is widely known. Given the intense competition from the chain stores already operating in the area, it was imperative to gain visibility and impress potential customers as quickly as possible.

Standard methods of promotion in such cases are billboards, advertising on asphalt, leaflets in mailboxes and on message boards. However, the restaurant owner decided that this was not enough. He drew attention to the fact that many potential customers do not go to Japanese restaurants because they do not know how to use hashi - chopsticks. Of course, in any such restaurant, visitors are offered European appliances, but many of them are ashamed to ask the waiter for it, believing that they will look stupid. This observation prompted him to decide - to conduct free master classes on teaching food with chopsticks in the restaurant, designed for children and adults. It turned out to be an effective reception of customer service and, at the same time, a marketing ploy. Residents of the area have remembered this restaurant with better side and were grateful for the useful skill they had been helped to acquire. In addition, word of mouth started working. People were happy to tell their friends about it. Soon, residents of other districts began to come to master classes. The result was the capture of a significant market share.

These examples prove that training as a customer service tool works well in the retail market. It is even more effective in the B2B market. Moreover, for companies offering goods and services for corporate clients, this tool is vital. Regularly held presentations, seminars, conferences, during which potential and already working with this company clients and partners are told about the products offered by the company, not only allow them to increase their level of knowledge.

How to use loyalty programs

Loyalty programs have become a standard practice in the work of many companies. The experience they have accumulated makes it possible to highlight the basic principles of implementing such programs, which make it possible to achieve impressive results:

1. Long-term strategy

Involving the client in the loyalty system, you should strive to ensure that he remains loyal for a long time. Accordingly, the system of accumulating points and bonuses should be built in such a way that it would give the client the maximum benefit in a few years. For example, airline loyalty programs are usually designed so that the average customer can reach top status in two to three years. On the other hand, the client should receive some advantages from joining the loyalty system quickly enough, otherwise, instead of a loyal client, the company will receive a disappointed one.

2. A gift at the start

Considering the number of companies using loyalty systems, a client inclined to active consumer behavior(namely, such clients are of particular interest to companies), a large number of different bonus and discount cards can accumulate. He will simply throw out some of them, put some in his wallet and remember them only if he happens to be in the right store or restaurant. Loyalty is not formed in this case. But if the card already has a certain number of points, this stimulates the client to continue accumulating them. Therefore, it is useful to immediately credit each customer who receives a card with a certain amount of points even before he makes the first purchase using this card.

3. Flexible scheme of accumulation of points

The client should be able to plan for earning bonus points. For this, the system of their accrual should be quite simple and transparent. In essence, the company engages the client in gambling intellectual game, and the game must have clear rules. At the same time, the client should leave some room for creativity within the framework of the rules of the game. For example, he can, according to the rules, pay with points, and not with money, but not earn additional points, or pay with money, having accumulated additional points.

4. It is more important for clients to receive bonuses than to spend them

An interesting psychological effect is that for many clients, earning points becomes an end in itself. It is more interesting for them to accumulate them than to spend. This effect is of course beneficial for companies using loyalty schemes. It is advisable to back it up with additional motivation of clients, for example, by giving away valuable prizes once a year among those who have accumulated a certain number of points.

5. Refusal from the material medium

The card may be lost, or the client may not have it at the right time. It is advisable to give him the opportunity to receive the due bonus in such a situation. Accordingly, one cannot be limited only to material media; the client's participation in the loyalty program must be recorded in the corporate CRM system.

6. Unexpected bonuses

Sometimes it is worth making changes to the "rules of the game" that are unexpected for customers - but always in their favor. Examples of such changes are additional points for the purchase of certain products, a reduction in the number of points at which the next level of service is reached, and the issuance of partner bonus cards.

7. Integration of loyalty programs

In recent years, there has been a tendency to combine loyalty programs of different companies. Thus, airlines that are traditionally more active in implementing other bonus programs, often form alliances and, accordingly, expand the scope of their cards. Increasingly, programs are being combined not only by companies operating in the same industry. “Horizontal integration” of loyalty programs is developing, for example, the same card can give a client a discount in a hotel and in a restaurant.

8. Gift in parts

An interesting technique, effectively used by a chain of stores selling board games, consists in the fact that the client who bought one of the games is given a part of the other as a gift - a chip, playing field etc. Having bought several games in a year, you can thus collect a complete set and get another game for free.

9. Bonuses for helping the company

The company should thank the client for actions that benefit it. A good way to show gratitude is to award points. The client can receive them, for example, for taking part in a survey, a comment left on the company's website, a comment on the company's page in a social network. Of course, the client should receive the most points for the recommendation.

10. Elements of charity

People enjoy helping others, especially when it doesn’t require serious efforts from them. Therefore, loyalty programs that include elements of charity work very well. Experience shows that the buying activity of a client who knows that part of his money will go to charitable purposes increases significantly.

The cost of building customer loyalty is almost always lower than the profit that he brings to the company. According to Frederick Reicheld, author of the book "The Loyalty Effect", having achieved loyalty of 5% of customers, it is possible to increase the company's profit by at least 25%. In addition, it is loyal customers who usually act as referrals, that is, they contribute to the emergence of new customers for the company.

The book is provided by the publishing house "AST"