Episode #28:Professional Service Operations: The Top 10 Principles for Customer Retention
Professional Service Operations & Account Management: The Top 10 Principles for Customer Retention Your customer is a partner in your future - service them with that in mind Author Graham Peelle September 18, 2023 Professional Service Operations & Account Management: The Top 10 Principles for Customer Retention Your customer is a partner in your future - service them with that in mind Above all, take care of your employees. They are partners in your business. Your customer will never get truly next level optimum service without employees being a priority and getting the proper care and consideration. Happy employees create happy customers. I’ve heard Cameron Herold reference this. Once you have that set as a priority and moving in the right direction, keep reading. A customer 1st approach A customer 1st approach is paramount to service operations success. You may be thinking, wait, I thought he said the employer was first. Associates are first at an organizational and interpersonal level, as they are your first customers in a sense, and it becomes engrained in the organization, not requiring focused attention, because you have done the ground work to make it an expectation that goes beyond conscious thinking and action. You’ve made it a fundamental core value in your culture. But in day-to-day operations, everyone’s focus is your customer. This may be an internal customer or your external end customer. A customer-first operational mindset starts with mindset and culture. A belief in driving service and value for your customer, with everyone having the customer in mind at any level. There are a multitude of philosophies and approaches with customer service and account management, but in my experience, there are 10 principles to effective customer retention along the path to customer delight with professional service operations and account management. Protect the flag Below is an overview of my Top 10 Principles to Effective Customer Retention: Truly care - show your customer you actually have a vested interest in their success. This does not mean you’re required to be their best friend, although helpful, this means show them that you’ll actually be there in good times or in bad. Your customer is the star. Emotions drive decisions. Never make the client feel they are simply replaceable- companies want to invest and prioritize in new business, which is essential to growth and diversification. Unfortunately, far too many companies invest an underwhelming amount in their current customers. Why go get a new flag to wave and not protect your own flag that you already have in place. New business development is critical, and one of the key blood flows of business, but if you don’t have any of your current customers from this year, why is it helpful to have new customers next year. Account management, account retention, account strategy, account saturation, and customer intelligence are extremely underrated. Current customers are your best agents and an extension of your BD team. If you want new customers, take care of your current current customers. If you lost that big deal, look carefully into the mirror and see the likely possibly that your current customer had at least a small part of contributing to this. if you don’t take care of them. customers impact your future success, It’s a shared journey. Customers are along for your journey. You are along your customers’ journey. Once you separate the two, you no longer have a sustainable business or customer. Value drives decisions right alongside emotions. Provide value, and prove it, and if you’re worried about giving away “the farm”, you likely need a more fruitful farm. Service given away and added value builds trust, attention, and supplements your overall value if delivered and communicated properly. Be fair, but make it business you want. Never take advantage of your customers. Your profit is monetized value provided to your customer. Don’t discount your product or position in your business, but don’t ripoff your customer - they can feel it. Culture drives your customer retention mindset. From the top down, your company’s personnel must have your customers top of mind. In order for that to truly happen, employees must be focused on nothing else, but taking care of the customer, with leaders and peers taking care of employees. This approach enables everyone to take care of your customers. Internal distractions are the kryptonite to caring for your customers. Customers must be respected and listened to. No, the customer isn’t always right, but the customer often decides when you’re right. Service over saving pennies. Your level of service and attention to your customer will dictate how long you work with that customer. Never take them for granted. Don’t break the first 9 principles. This list of ten principles helps shown the value of advancing your customer relationships, customer approach, and customer centric culture. Taking care of your team members first as an overarching priority enables further weaving in a customer centric approach. Happy employees make happy customers, and when coupled with a performance operations culture you can drive a customer-first mindset, essential to any service-based organization. Railway station from above 1 Photo by Timon Studler on Unsplash If you are interested in learning more about taking care of customers, study the stories about Henry Ford, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs, all who could help transform your viewpoint. Regarding account retention from a service perspective, I heard Micah Solomon speak recently and was impressed with his approach. Without customers, you have no business - never forget that. Hopefully, this adds a little value to your business or personal growth. Thank you for reading. Climb Higher, Raise Your^ROI RESOURCES 10 Principles of Customer Strategy It’s no longer enough to target your chosen customers. To stay ahead, you need to create distinctive value and experiences for them. www.strategy-business.com/article/10-Principles-of-Customer-Strategy Seven Keys to Customer Retention | EurekaFacts Identify, prioritize, and develop a customer management plan that efficiently applies retention management tools and monitors progress. www.eurekafacts.com/project/seven-keys-customer-retention 5 Steps For Building A Customer Retention Strategy What actions can you take to develop an effective customer retention strategy? Here’s a 5-step roadmap to get you started. www.integritysolutions.com/blog/5-steps-customer-retention-strategy 7 Strategies to Improve Customer Retention in 2023 No company survives unless it holds onto customers. The Ascent breaks down the best strategies your small business can use for customer retention. www.fool.com/the-ascent/small-business/e-commerce/articles/customer-retention Client-Centric Approach and its Benefits Client-centric, also known as customer-centric, is an approach to doing business that focuses on creating a positive experience for the customer by maximizing service and/or product offerings and building relationships. www.investopedia.com/terms/c/client-centric.asp https://www.bradcleveland.com/resources/articles/the-12-principles-for-building-profitable-customer-relationships/ OpCo: The People Ops Blueprint — Operations | People | Culture | Opportunity If Performance Operations Culture means something to you, or you would like to be notified for future posts on operations leadership, culture, and people related topics from the world of work, make sure you click the 🔔 on my LinkedIn profile page. For additional daily content, check out grahampeelle.com. 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