Friday, January 14, 2011

Customer Service Needs Image Management in the Arab World...

I usually get a disapproval look from my wife when I demand at a restaurant or a clothing shop to be given the attention I deserve as a customer. I constantly remind her that as a paying customer, I deserve to be served in the utmost professional manner, much like the service I provide my clients at my PR agency. For over 11 years, I managed to serve my clients in the manner that supersedes their expectations, hence succeeded due to that policy in creating a good reputation across the region for such rarely matched service. 
So if I apply it to my clients, why wouldn't the regular B2C businesses do the same? A question that I am sure a lot of companies across the region - and worldwide as well - have attempted to answer, which is why the post of Customer Relationship Manager was created. But, is that enough? I believe more needs to be done, especially with businesses that cater to fast turnover in customers - retail shops, restaurants, etc. Such businesses should focus on applying a personalized program to ensure their regular customers are retained and their new customers become regular.







It might be my US education and upbringing but I find myself whenever I enter a retail shop or a restaurant to make sure I ask for the name of my waiter/waitress or clerk. I address them by their names and I make sure there is plenty of friendly and courteous communications with this person; however, this attitude/behavior should be reciprocal. I rarely find a waiter/waitress or a shop clerk ask for my name, which would fly with me better instead of calling me Sir!! This example is only tip or beginning of any customer/business relationship.

Interior of Kirkwood Mall Near Payless ShoesMuch like the Image Management service that I have introduced years ago in my Agency, which mainly targets key decision makers in the public and private sectors, I am confident that a similar service needs to be applied with entry level (front line) staff, who are in direct contact with the customer.

It is surely frustrating to be served by a non-courteous clerk, especially if you are paying for the service/product, whichever it is. How can the business owner justify the loss of a customer - any customer? Once a customer is lost, his/her return to shop again at the same outlet becomes an uphill battle.

So what is the solution? Adopting Customer Retention, along with Image Management programs for the staff and management in order to ensure the business is based on a long term strategy of maintaining the largest number of satisfied customers, who make up the backbone of any business.

To be continued...

SMR
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Is Customer Retention a Necessity or a Luxury?

Renno Communications Group taps into Customer Retention Program

As part of its continuous efforts to raise the bar of the communications industry and introduce innovative solutions across the region, Renno Communications Group (Renno CG), a communications consulting agency in the Middle East, announced today the launch of its Customer Retention Program (CRP).

Commenting on the launch of CRP, Samer M. Renno, Chief Executive Officer, Renno Communications Group, said:

'Providing an optimal customer experience is not a luxury but a necessity. The current global financial downturn has uncovered significant flaws among the major sectors, from hospitality to retail and banking, when it comes to customer service, as many companies have become more focused on gaining new customers and neglected the retention of their existing ones.'


Renno added, 'Recent studies of customer experiences indicate that 43% of all customers who defect do so because of service issues, while three quarters of these defectors cite employee attitude as their core frustration. Most serious aspect of these studies showed that 83% of those who have a negative service experience tell at least one other person. With so much riding on employee-to-customer interactions, companies must find new ways to ensure that employees strive to over-serve customers at every opportunity.'


According to Renno, to retain a customer there needs to be proper understanding of how they are being served. 'Our 'Undercover Shopping Program' offers clients the benefit of measuring the abilities of their staff and quality of the customer service they are providing. This provides the clients with the information to analyze the gap in their sales force's performance in order to enable them to make the necessary changes required for the benefit of their customers.'

Renno CG has over the past decade since its inception worked relentlessly to provide its clients with cutting edge communications solutions that are based on 360 degrees (Full Circle) tactics, which are designed to strengthen not only brand positioning but also ensure that the client's image is protected against any internal or external factors.

Renno CG's Customer Retention Program has been implemented in all the Agency's network offices and has already received a positive response from its clients throughout all sectors in the region.