Sunday Times : Rewards & Loyalty 2016 RewardsAndLoyalty2016 | Page 48

IT’S ALL GOOD HOW MAY WE BE OF SERVICE? CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE FOUNDATION OF A CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAMME. JOYCE MONSON LOOKS AT THE FUNDAMENTAL MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT HELP EXPEDITE LOYALTY. T he focus of customer loyalty has shifted from points and perks to engaging people and creating customer experiences that engender loyal relationships. Customer service is fundamental to a meaningful customer experience and it starts way before point of sale. Everyone in the organisation has a stake in good customer service, but does everyone know how to deliver? If your staff don’t know what good customer service looks like, you can’t expect them to practise it, and no amount of technology will fix that. So here’s 46 R E WA R D S & L O YA LT Y S A a brief lesson from a man who should know – Koos Jérard Louw, corporate etiquette and international protocol trainer, and advisor: Question: What are the basic elements of good customer service? Answer: Good manners. There you have it. Easy. And as a refresher on what good manners look like, he continues, “Behaving with good manners is simply showing respect. Address people correctly. Ask yourself how you make people feel with your approach and tone.” Also easy. There’s just no excuse for bad customer service. How satisfied are South African consumers? Overall, we’re pretty well satisfied, according to results of the 2015 South African Consumer Satisfaction Index. The index consolidates the results of research across 21 industries and 118 brands with a sample of 51 000 respondents. A few highlights include: • The top five brands overall for 2015 were Wimpy; Nando’s; Chicken Licken; KFC; and Apple. • Capitec came out on top in the banking category and also captured one of the highest customer-satisfaction scores in the country. • Momentum Health had the highest industry score for handling complaints satisfactorily and also scored a high fairness perception among customers. Before you can engage your customers, you have to engage your entire staff, customer facing or not. Everyone. Customer service is as much a mind-set as it is an action – and it’s intangible, but powerful, when it’s entrenched in the corporate DNA. But you need to start the cycle with the people on the frontline. Great customer service starts with engaged, impassioned, loyal employees empowered to deliver it. You need to make an employee/customer connection. MILLENNIALS AND OTHER CHALLENGES Ever impatient, always connected, millennials will force a change in the way service is delivered.