How Much Do You REALLY Care for Your Business?
As leaders, we spend so much time focusing on how to improve our bottom line that we often forget what actually influences the bottom line. Substantial effort is placed on training our employees to better serve the customer, but how does the employee know what is considered quality service? Are they modeling their interactions based on an experience they had elsewhere? Well, without a defined development program, they probably are-and God help us if they choose the DMV as their service culture role model!
We already know that a great customer experience is what makes the customer come back, but what makes a customer perceive that an employee was friendly, knowledgeable, courteous, welcoming, and helpful? What is it that makes a customer feel like they have been served well? It’s their experience resulting from employee behaviors, actions, and tone – or more commonly defined as “CARE” that’s most memorable to them.
Real care begins with YOU. Still not convinced? Keep on reading.
Care = Loyalty2
While we try to avoid complex math formulas as much as possible, stay with me because this one is beneficial. When you CARE for your people, both your employees AND your customers become LOYAL.
Most business leaders believe that loyalty starts and ends with the customer, but in reality, its the company leaders who will influence employee behaviors first. Then those employee behaviors that you drive home during training will translate to the customer, as a result.
Loyalty is not a guaranteed outcome, it’s something that must be worked for and carefully cultivated. Show your team that you care about their personal and professional goals and encourage team members to care for each other too by actively creating a supportive culture. You set the expectations for the front-line by leading the charge for genuine interactions.
Care, for real.
Care must be genuine-not fake or contaminated. If you’re willing to spend all this time driving a philosophy of care, then you better make sure it’s real! During my time as a Disney leader, I learned how to properly define the differences between manufactured and genuine care.
SPOILER ALERT: Real care is all about TRAITS VS. BEHAVIORS
Yes, a good customer service leader will ask if there’s anything else they can do for you during your interaction, but if the tone is flat and their face unpleasant, the sentiment lacks true meaning.
So always support your claim. For example, Disney is known for “making magic”. When a Cast Member sees your ‘Happy Birthday’ pin and wish you the most magical of birthdays, they genuinely mean it. You start to believe in magic because they’ve created an experience that feels magical and personalized. The same goes for you and your employees. They will learn the true meaning of genuine care by modeling your example of real compassion towards them.
It could cost you!
THIS JUST IN: there are business outcomes and consequences that directly relate to how much a leader genuinely cares- and these consequences are all detrimental. When service interactions fail, and customer dissatisfaction is on the rise, it is likely not your front-line employees to blame.
Organizations need their people on the front-lines to be friendly, courteous and helpful to create a returning customer base. Experience proves that loyal customers want these traits, and more, in the people who serve them.
Otherwise, both your employees and your customers will find someone else who does.
Differentiate your training process by setting clear expectations for customer care. Now, take a look at your service culture: is it THRIVING? If it could use a transformation, consider how you can directly influence your employee CARE: through behaviors, actions, and tone that better support your business.
How do YOU demonstrate genuine care for your people? Let us know your tips below!
