It's Never Too Early for Customer Service part 2

That was an example of a best case scenario – one that only exists in a “perfect world” (one in which we do not live). In a more likely situation, more calls will come in than only the 2 reps can handle at one time. Given that little or no consideration was previously given to customer service systems, it is unlikely that there is a queuing feature set up on the phones to handle such a backlog. This may send customers to a generic voicemail, an operator or (heaven forbid) an RNA – ring no answer – state. Now things begin to get interesting (and not in a good way). The customer has become aware of the fact that things have changed (and not in a good way).

Let’s add another level of “less than perfect world” reality to this picture. One of the customers gets through to a customer service rep and wants to follow-up on a call previously placed to Company X on an outstanding issue. Given that there are no systems in place and little or no record keeping to date, the rep (and the customer) is at a definite disadvantage. The best that can be hoped for now is that either 1) the individual who originally handled this issue (i.e., an engineer) can be identified and is readily available to take over the call or 2) the customer service rep takes a message and promises that someone will get back to the customer. Yikes! That does not present a very professional face of Company X to its (relatively) new customer.

Take that same customer, who is, by now, probably pretty frustrated at having to wait on hold (or worse), having to be transferred off to another person and/or having been told that someone will get back to them (because whoever answered the phone had no knowledge of this customer or their outstanding problem). Put this customer on the phone with their salesperson. Let’s say that the sales team is really on the ball and is “proactively” checking in with all of their new customers to make sure that all is well and even venturing so far as to look for another sale. What a surprise that salesperson will get when they hear, from their now very frustrated customer, that “No, things are not going all that well and what’s happening with my outstanding issue?” Whoops! A smart salesperson will do their best to de-ruffle the feathers and promise to get right back to the customer with status.

Now, where does that salesperson go to determine the current status? He may start with the new customer service department. Because there are only 2 of them, one probably remembers that customer (hopefully) and can tell the salesperson that the issue was handed off to an engineer. As the overall company is still pretty small, the salesperson is also successful in tracking down the engineer (who is, by now, fully immersed in trying to resolve a customer issue vs. working on new development efforts – development engineers really hate that). Push has come to shove and a resolution is in the making. A call back to the customer is made by the salesperson (not the customer service rep) and, for now, that customer situation has been resolved. Keep in mind that, throughout this process, little or no records have been kept on any of these interactions or their results. Is it possible that this same customer (or another one) will call again with the same or a similar problem? What will happen then?

The above example is far from extreme in its assumptions. In fact, I’ve personally been privy to just such a set of circumstances (more than once). And, I only took the example so far – it could (and does) get much worse. And it is definitely exacerbated by more customers with more products and variations on those products over time. These not-quite best case scenarios present themselves over and over again in companies getting started and waiting until they really “need” a customer service organization before they deal with the requirements of customer management. In thinking this way, they neglect to recognize the benefits of incorporating the initial systems and processes that will support such an organization once it is in place. There is good news – it doesn’t have to be this way. And, Mr. CFO, it doesn’t necessarily have to cost a bunch of money to do it correctly and in a timely manner. In reality, the actual cost of doing it right up front is far less than that of recovering from the losses incurred by waiting too long.

So, how does doing it right look? The first step (and, arguably, the most important) is to create and maintain a customer service mentality throughout the process of growing the new company. This mentality needs to be shared amongst every single individual in the organization and must be one for which every person is also equally responsible (the customer belongs to the company, not to the customer service department). That’s still a bit on the vague side, I know. How about another example:

The company founders (two engineers, a marketing person and someone with the early funds) are having their first “official meeting” in one of their garages (it really does happen this way!). It’s a brainstorming session on how to put together the early structure of the company so that they’ll know what kind of resources they require in the short and longer term. While it’s not necessary for the “customer service department” resources to be on this agenda at all, the meeting should most certainly include how customers will be managed (and by whom) from that day forward. This includes an inherent acknowledgement that customer management is a vital function of this company and one that will always be a priority. That discussion inevitably leads to one of process and (even rudimentary) systems requirements. Quite literally, it must cover such basics as:

• How will the customer reach us?
• Who will be their primary/initial contact point?
• How will we track and share data accumulated during every customer interaction?
• What will be our commitments to both response time and follow-up and how will we ensure they are met?

It really does not get much more basic than that – nor does it get any more important. A company with the best product, the best profit margins and the best sales and marketing teams will still fail if the customer relationships are not properly managed. And it cannot start too soon.

A bonus in answering the above questions (and adequately addressing them) will be that the overall optimization of the business referenced earlier is enabled. The tracking and sharing component (when effectively managed), in particular, will go a long way toward assuring that all of the functional organizations are on the same page (at least as far as the customer experience is concerned). There is also value in at least identifying the type of communication technology and methodology that will be used between the company and its customers as those same elements will also be needed for internal interface and that with the rest of the “outside world” (i.e., partners, vendors, investors, etc.).

While direct interface between the customer and various functional representatives (i.e., engineering, marketing, sales and senior management) affords many benefits, it is not mutually exclusive from establishing a customer management process. It is as though whomever happens to be on the phone with the customer at any particular moment is acting as a customer service representative (vs. as an engineer, a salesperson, a senior executive, etc.). This provides a smoother transition for both the employees of the company and, more importantly, the customer when there eventually are actual customer service representatives in place. It has the added benefit of demonstrating to the customer, from the onset, that customer management is a company priority (beyond that of just obtaining the customer’s money).

The concept of minimal financial outlay was presumed earlier. This concept is based on the fact that the purchase of specific hardware/software systems meant to manage the customer relationship are not (necessarily) a requirement in meeting the proposed business objectives of customer management (at least, not right away). In the early days, the terms “system” and “process” are virtually interchangeable in that the process is the system and visa versa. For example, a “system” of managing customer information may just be the process of maintaining a written (online) log that is available to all of the functional organizations and representatives. This may be accomplished through means as simple as email or file sharing. Similarly, the “phone system” may be a distribution of the cell phone number for the “technology guru” with call forwarding to his/her backup when the initial call isn’t answered. Both of these examples may make use of technology; however, it is not in the form of an incremental expense to the new business; instead, it is just making best use of existing resources.

I suppose it could be considered trite to state that customer service is a state of mind vs. just a department. However, I cannot think of a better way to summarize where it must fit in the creation and growth of a successful enterprise. Stephen Covey references something called the “emotional bank account”. This same theory can be applied to the customer relationship. If properly managed, customers will put up with a lot more than they would otherwise because good customer management builds up “credits” in that emotional bank account from which to draw during the inevitable times when things don’t go quite as planned. Both the customer and company benefit from viewing their association as a relationship having value over time beyond any one sales transaction. It is with this mindset that strong companies are built and grown to last.

So, the next time you are in a position of contemplating a new enterprise (or investing in one), don’t forget that “It’s never too early for Customer Service!”

Gaven Fahl is a Customer Service professional currently providing consulting services to early stage companies in the form of defining and implementing Customer Service/Professional Service infrastructures. This work included strategic positioning of the Services organization within the company, assistance with staffing, acquisition and implementation of required technology and development of related process and documentation. Additional consulting services have been provided to larger companies in support of existing Service organizations. These include analysis of resource requirements for organizations in transition and general systems/technology consulting.