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Becoming customer centered is one of the most important aims of any organization. Customer centered refers to the orientation of a company to the needs and behaviors of its customers, rather than internal drivers such as the quest for short-term profit. Customers have high expectations and demand quality customer service from companies they choose to do business with. Providing customer service excellence gives an organization a competitive advantage in the marketplace and is the key factor that keeps customers coming back. Successful organizations understand the importance of developing a customer centered mindset and deliberately restructure their customer service model to increase customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

Today, customers have an increasing range of choice: choice of supplier, choice of channel, choice of products and services. Their loyalty is determined by the quality of the experience they receive. The candidates will learn effective customer centered strategies and best practices to provide world-class customer service excellence. This course gives customer service professionals the communication skills, technology tools, and motivation they require to build strong customer relationships and develop a customer centered organization.

• Develop a strategy to build a more proactive, customer centric organization
• Analyze and implement the 'best practices' of world-class customer centric organizations
• Utilize interpersonal skills as vital tools in the provision of customer service
• Measure and assess how well customer service standards and objectives are being achieved
• Enhanced communication, persuasion, and conflict resolution skills

By the end of this course delegates will be able to:

· Establish the importance of setting and reviewing customer service standards

· Develop an understanding of internal and external customer expectations

· Communicate more effectively by utilizing active listening and questioning skills

· Demonstrate how to deal with difficult or demanding customers in a professional manner

· Set SMART objectives and goals to become more productive

· Utilize stress management techniques to increase job satisfaction

Customer Service Professionals, Managers, Public Relations Officers, Practitioners & Personnel, Quality Management Personnel, Customer Analysts, HR Professionals who have communications roles, Customer Service Representatives & Professionals, Team Leaders & Supervisors, Administrators, HR & Training Professionals, Accounts Personnel, Sales & Marketing Professionals, Marketing Managers or Directors, Sales Managers or Directors, Sales Trainers, Salespeople, Communication Specialists, Brand Managers, Frontline & Reception Staff, Customer Service Representatives (CSR), Personnel responsible for building and sustaining their company’s reputation for customer service excellence, anyone who provides services, products or information to internal, or external customers

The Building Blocks of a Customer Centered Organization

· Course overview and learning objectives

· Define Customer Service Excellence

· What do you want your customer to experience?

· Five key steps for implementing a Customer Centered Service Model

· Serving your internal customers

· First impressions are important - What do your customers see and hear?

· Understanding your customer’s nonverbal communication

Developing a Top-Down Customer-Centered Culture

· What do customers really want from your organization and why?

· Does the customer experience align with your organization’s business goals and vision and mission statement?

· What do your competitors do better or differently than you do?

· Shaping customer expectations - perception versus reality

· Case study: Examples of companies that provide world-class customer service

· Little things make a big difference

· The four customer personality types

Responding to the Voice of the Customer

· Case study: Best and worst rated companies for customer service

· Listen, act, and deliver on customer needs

· Re-evaluate and realign the customer experience in line with demand

· Creating favorable customer service ‘touch points’ within your company

· Leading and motivating others to deliver superior service levels

· The Customer Loyalty Chain

· Developing the processes that nurture customer brand loyalty

Measuring & Monitoring Customer Satisfaction

· Why is measuring customer satisfaction important?

· Why is it critical to encourage customer complaints and feedback?

· Establishing quality customer service satisfaction measuring and monitoring standards

· Using customer diagnostic tools to evaluate trends, perceptions, and opportunities for performance improvement

· Best practices for recording and monitoring customer service issues

· Putting in place processes to resolve customer dissatisfaction

· Customer service quality control checklist

· Strategies for working with difficult and demanding customers

Leading the Way to Customer Service Excellence!

· The importance of attitude, teamwork, and professional development

· Developing a customer centric training program

· Setting performance goals

· Contests and employee recognition programs

· Coaching and mentoring strategies

· Methods to empower and motivate customer service employees

· What is your action plan?