It seems that when many companies want to reduce their costs, they cut back on customer services such as call centers. I suppose the theory goes that since the caller is already a customer (and we have their money) it shouldn't matter that they have to wait an extra few minutes to be helped, or they won't mind if the less-qualified help desk person can't always answer their questions.
Some companies regard the cost and trouble of providing customer service as a necessary evil to do business in a Web 2.0 world where unhappy customers can, with a few keystrokes, share their pain with people around the globe. Their concept of service is like that pretend defense guy's play in pro all-star games.
Yogi Berra once said, "You can observe a lot just by watching." Similarly, you can learn a lot from unhappy customers if you view them as vital feedback sources about product features or company procedures that annoy them. If complaints are consistent, they point to ways to improve future offerings or change how the company operates to create loyal customers instead of angry ones.
As important as customer service is at the individual consumer level, it is a matter of life and death at the B2B level. If you are in a highly competitive market where product offerings are perceived (rightly or wrongly) to be similar, the real difference in why customers pick you over your competition is the sense that you and you company really care about them.
Caring about your customers means more than making certain that there are no hiccups in their use of your products and services. To me it means understanding the marketing challenges that confront them and suggesting the very best solution (even if it's not always one of yours). What I would prefer is that when someone sees my name on their caller ID that they think, "Hey, this is a smart guy who always has something helpful to say," rather than, "Here's Young, trying to sell me his newest video ad unit."
Customer service to me is not waiting to fix the problems; it is anticipating them so that they don't happen. I remember five years ago a guy who worked with me was planning an outdoor client event. He was angry when I made him plan and rehearse for what he'd have to do if it started raining at the event. We held our breaths as we watched the long-term forecast and when it showed a nice, sunny day, my guy, somewhat indignantly said, "See, I told you that the rain plan was a waste of time." My reply: "Too bad it won't rain, because then everyone could have seen how smart you really are."
Chris Young is executive vice president of rich media for DoubleClick Inc. Read full bio.
