Your customers, not your competition, are the reason customer service is important

When a client is interested in engaging me to speak at their meeting, I’ll usually ask in our initial call, “Why is hiring a customer service speaker important to you at this time?”

We get many different answers that include low customer satisfaction, ratings are slipping, we are great and want to stay great, and our competition is always trying to catch up to us and we need to stay ahead. Of course, there are other answers, but for today I want to focus on the last one, which is about the competition catching up.

First, if we’re worried about the competition catching up to or surpassing us, it indicates we think we’re already better than the competition. Let’s assume we really are, and if that is true, congratulations. You are envied by your peers – and your competition. You also have a “target on your back” that the competition is aiming at. They want more business, which means they want your customers. Yet as important as that might be, maybe the focus shouldn’t be on them, but turned back to you and your customers.

Don’t let the competition distract you from what you have always done. And always be looking to make it better.

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Of course, we should always keep an eye on our competitors. We should know everything we can about them. That’s standard business intel protocol. And if you make changes based on what the competition is doing, you are playing defense, which at times you may have to do. But I want you to play offense.

Start by looking at what you’re doing that has kept you ahead of your competition. It’s essential to understand this. It’s the value you bring to your customers. It may be what differentiates you. And be smart, if not humble enough to realize what got you to where you are today may not be strong enough for tomorrow. Ask yourself the question, “Is the customer service and experience we provide good enough to get the customer to come back the next time they need what we sell?”

You can’t answer this by yourself. You need help from your customers. Find out what they are saying about you. Do regular surveys. Look at your customer satisfaction ratings. Look at your sales numbers. Look at your churn. If you’re losing ground in any of these areas, your customers may have the answers you need to reverse the trend. These are the reasons why delivering the right customer service and customer experience is important to you and your organization.

While we should always keep an eye on our competition, don’t let it distract you from what you have always done. And always be looking to make it better. We should never let up in our continuous efforts to improve our customer experience. Our customers, not our competition, are the reason customer service is important to you.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker, researcher, and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, contact 314-692-2200 or www.Hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken