The new meaning of customer service

These days we’re surrounded by new technology. It has a huge influence on communications, transport and the way we go about everyday activities – for instance, the way we work, or shop. It also affects the relationship between companies and their customers. Customer service takes on a whole new meaning because consumers are no longer passive recipients but play an active role in communications and, increasingly, in the process of creating products.

Customers create the products

The days when products were developed behind closed doors and only revealed to customers in their final form are now long gone. Today’s consumers play an ongoing role in the development of new products. And not just when it comes to testing prototypes but also early on in the development of a product – for example at the planning stage. It’s the customers themselves who define the functions they expect from a system being newly developed, or which in their view constitute an “ideal service”.

A good example is crowdfunding where consumers support projects that they themselves want to use, participating in the creation of a product right from the design stage up to the moment when the end product of their collaborative input is made available to them. This is also the way that modern, open and dynamically growing companies operate; customer service takes the form of an ongoing exchange of information – a two-way communication during which the needs and expectations of consumers are explored.

Customers are sellers and brand ambassadors

Traditional advertisements that are scarcely credible and purely out to sell are a thing of the past. The claims of a good-looking TV personality or catchy billboard slogans are no longer convincing for switched-on consumers. Customers of today are unwilling to blindly accept everything offered by producers. Instead, they actively search for the products they want, compare available options and also check out reviews. They use information available on the Internet and act on the advice of friends and acquaintances. So what is the role of customer service in these cases? An absolutely crucial one.

Regular and appropriately tailored communication helps build a long lasting, positive relationship with customers. Everything starts with simple emotions – if people like a company they are inclined to trust it. They will be keen to buy its products and when pleased with the results will share their positive impressions with others. In this way a company acquires a following of loyal customers who at the same time act as ambassadors for the brand. They talk about it, review it and recommend it.

Two-way communication

On the subject of the evolving nature of customer service, it’s also worth noting that the distance between companies and customers is changing. Mutual relations are now significantly closer than before, and communications are two-way. Consumers these days actually expect to have an opportunity to voice their opinions. They’re conscious of how important these are – not only for producers but also for new consumers. They know the huge importance of every voiced opinion, whether good or bad. That’s why it’s important to make getting in contact with a company easy. When they buy its products they want fast and open communication.

They look for ways of getting in contact and, at the same time, convincing reasons to stay with a particular brand. A contact form on a website which gives a response at best several hours later fails to meet such expectations. In fact, it does quite the reverse – having to wait leads to frustration and damages relationships. The answer is fast, active forms of communication such as live chats or helplines, with consultants always available to respond to customers. It’s also worth noting that in customer service, it’s increasingly common to find “Customer satisfaction specialists” – because, today, it’s no longer enough to have customers; they have to be satisfied ones.

What is generally recognized as “high quality customer service” has dramatically changed over recent years. Relationships have evolved and become closer and more direct. The concept of a mass approach has almost ceased to exist – nowadays every customer expects to be treated individually. It’s vital to keep pace with these changes and meet the expectations of today’s customers, and this can only be done using modern tools.

Author Monika Kasperczyk

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5 Sales Presentation Tips From a Self-Made Millionaire

A great sales presentation is challenging to pull off but practice does make perfect.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you sell things, then you must present things -- there’s no getting around it. Customers have to see what you sell, what it does, and how it can benefit them. I can’t count how many sales presentations I’ve done over the last 35 years, so I’ve learned a thing or two about how to do them correctly. Anyone who wants to increase revenue needs to learn to present better in order to make more sales.

Here’s how to present like a pro:

1. Avoid product knowledge mistakes.

There are several problems with this.

A) You know too little about the product.

B) You share too much about the product.

C) You don’t know enough about the competition.

You can never know too much but you can certainly talk too much. Become an expert with your product and be able to discuss features, advantages, and benefits better than anyone. When comparing products, know how your product is different, know the advantages, and know how to make sense of the purchase.

Build your product up so much that people quit thinking about the competition. Your greatest advantage in selling anything is to be more prepared than your competition.

2. Control your presentation.

My goal is to get complete control while presenting. The way to gain control is by getting an agreement. Get the buyer’s full attention, get the product away from other products so they aren’t distracted, and present the product while in full control. 

Assumptions are my way of maintaining an attitude and language of agreement. It is projecting ownership into the future. Be confident when demonstrating and create mental ownership. The word assume means to take for granted or as the truth. You make an assumption of the future and project mentally where you want to go.

You need to project ownership with words during your demonstration. Use questions that create mental ownership. “Which course will you be taking your new clubs out on?” Mental ownership precedes every purchase and a big part of how you control your presentation.

3. Find what the buyer values.

If you are selling me a home, you’d make a mistake if you started from the inside of the home to do the presentation. To me, the most important thing is how the home feels and looks from the outside -- the view. Sure, I spend most of my time inside, but if you are selling me you have to know what’s most important and start there. “Sir, what’s most important to you in a home? The outside? Good, let’s start there, does that sound good?”

Tell your customer what you’re going to do and get an agreement. Be interesting and reassure the customer with any concerns. Break your presentation down into parts. Know where you’re going to start and end. Always get permission to give the presentation, address the time (how long it’ll take), invite any questions they may have, and start in the same place every time you give the presentation. You want stability for yourself.

4. Avoid lazy mistakes.

The biggest mistake salespeople do is not doing a demonstration. Another mistake is not believing that the buyer will buy. You don’t think the buyer can buy because you over qualify the buyer. This is another mistake. A huge mistake many make is thinking the demo does not influence people.

Whether you sell homes or phones, a mistake is taking the product you sell for granted. You begin forgetting some of the biggest benefits of your product. Other mistakes include believing the buyer when they say the price is most important. Price is never the reason why people buy something. Some make the mistake of using slang that a buyer doesn’t understand. Every industry has these words and it turns people off.

Let’s count where it all goes wrong:

Mistake: demonstrating without tying down the advantages and benefits to the feature.

Mistake: You don’t use enthusiasm. You go through the motions.

Mistake: You don’t know the why -- the real reason they want the product.

Mistake: You don’t build mental ownership.

Mistake: You don’t demonstrate what the product is worth. You should be showing how it’s double the value. If you have a $100,000 product, you want to do a $200,000 presentation.

5. Anticipate objections.

You’re going to get objections when you try and do a presentation.

“I don’t need to try it on”

“I don’t need to see how it operates”

 “I know all about it”

 “I don’t need to see this”

Don’t shortcut the presentation because this is where you build value. Understand that these objections are reactions, not valid objections. To handle these, you have to be committed to your demonstration. You have to know that your demonstration will be of value to your client.

A great sales presentation is more difficult to pull off than many people realize, but it’s also easier than you can imagine once you practice enough doing it right. Nobody is born a great salesperson -- it takes training. Over the years I’ve codified how to sell and I want to help you turn the knowledge I’ve gained into revenue for yourself.


Grant Cardone • VIP Contributor
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