[1])! In addition, customers who felt a genuine sense of service reported reduced perceptions of anxiety and risk, and increased trust, making them more likely to take your advice.[2]

Customer service is also critical for spreading the (good OR bad) word about your organization. Did you know that the average happy customer tells nine other people about their good experience, and the average unhappy customer tells 16 people about their bad experience?[3]

To ramp up your organization’s customer service, try these ten tips. Even though you may not think you have “customers,” if you serve clients, patients, providers, partners or community members, then these tips apply to you.

1)     Build loyalty. More than being about punch cards, discounts, accumulated miles or points, as Nordstrom president Jamie Nordstrom said, loyalty is “about giving [people] something personalized and relevant that they value.” In addition, 40 percent of customers say that interactions with employees are what keep them loyal to one organization over another. To build this loyalty, it’s critical to communicate in ways that make your customers feel important (e.g., involving them in decision making processes) and appreciated (e.g., delivering a personalized experience).

2)     Know that being warm and friendly goes a long way! We doubt that many people choose to eat at McDonald’s for their outstanding service; regardless of the relatively low bar, McDonald’s recently reported that 20 percent of all customer complaints are due to “unfriendly service,” and that the No. 1 complaint is “rude or unprofessional employees.”[4] The takeaway here? A friendly staff is critical to all organizations.

3)     Make your processes intuitive for first-time customers. It’s always tough being in a new place where you don’t know the “rules” of what do to, how to order or be noticed, where to stand, or what you’re supposed to do to get what you want. In fact, research shows that this “figuring things out” process causes a good deal of anxiety for many customers. To stave off potential anxiety, develop clear processes to ensure that new customers know how things work, and make it as easy as possible for customers to figure out how to become an “insider.”

4)     Reward repeat or long-term customers. Make sure that return customers know how happy you are to see them again, and reward your long-term customers. Even no-cost rewards can go a long way when done well.

5)     Practice deliberate inefficiency. Interestingly, research shows that customers perceive it as caring when you do small things on their behalf that are actually inefficient, in that it makes them feel valued as important customers worthy of your extra time. As such, time you put into walking customers to their car or making a phone call on their behalf should be considered beneficial investments in your organizations’ customer service.

6)     Build a homey atmosphere and know that it’s all in the details. Remember that a home-like atmosphere is in the little “homey” details, not necessarily about the end game. For example, Janet Adamy, of the Wall Street Journal, shares the story of a man who received excellent hospital care that, against the odds, saved his life, but who complained about cold food on the feedback survey![5] Key takeaway: Your customers’ priorities may be different than you think they are.

7)     Use the bookending strategy. Overwhelmed by having to make a radical shift to your customer service approach? Start by using the research-supported bookending strategy, which asserts that the most important times to make a customer service impression on your clients are at the “ hello” and “goodbye”[6] phases. Many large companies know the importance of this, and do special things during these times to improve the customer experience (Think: Walmart’s sticker greeters or companies that yell a friendly “hello!” to all who enter).

8)     Engage in strategies to better understand your customers’ experiences. Monitor blogs or websites (e.g., Yelp) to read reviews from your customers, create your own customer feedback process or survey, or develop internal strategies to ensure that you and your staff understand how customers experience your organization (e.g., taking the role of a customer for a morning and going through your organization, or engaging “secret shoppers” to do this more covertly).

9)     Make sure that staff is knowledgeable and empowered to solve customer problems. A recent study had customers rank the most important dimension of service and customers chose “having knowledgeable employees,” as one of the top most important factors. To achieve this at your organization, build a culture where staff is knowledgeable and empowered to address customers’ needs and solve problems (even those that may fall outside of their immediate area).

10)  Take the initiative to proactively address common complaints. Do you frequently get the same questions (“Where’s your bathroom?”) or complaints from customers (“This line is really long!”)? If so, think proactively about what you can do to provide more information so customers can answer questions on their own (e.g., create clear signage, develop a FAQ sheet) or build in strategies to help lessen customer annoyance with inefficient processes (e.g., tell customers upfront about wait times, create activities to occupy their time while waiting).

Our upcoming training, in Carbondale, will show you how to incorporate these tips—and many more—into your organization. In addition, you’ll learn strategies for building a customer service culture to ensure that your service is not only top-notch, but also that it is infused into every level of your organizational process—and is eagerly implemented by your staff and volunteers!