Thor Muller, CEO & Co-founder of Get Satisfaction, is dedicated to turning customer service into customer engagement. He highlights three ways companies can increase customer satisfaction and translate this satisfaction into increased engagement: 1) putting conversations at the center of the business, 2) reducing your sphere of control to increase your sphere of influence, and 3) by “smashing the silos” and forgetting customer service strategies that distance and frustrate customers. What is the end result? More loyal customers and reduced customer service costs.
According to Muller, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be applied to customer service. A company can create satisfied customers by meeting minimum expectations, but when a company meets a customer’s desires they have a committed customer. However, even more favorable is when a company identifies unrecognized needs of the customer. When a company can identify unrecognized needs, they have an evangelist. Zappos.com is perhaps one of the best examples of a company that has incorporated these principles into their customer service strategy. As a result, Zappos has succeeded in turning customer service into customer engagement and becoming a juggernaut in online sales in the process.
Time Tracker
October 2nd, 2008
Agreed 100%. I watched a podcast a while back from Andrew Lock from helpmybusiness.com where he discussed these exact principles - by putting customer service above all else, businesses are able to distinguish themselves from the already crowded marketplace.