In this article we shall be looking at Customer Service Orientation and the importance of having this skill. With more competition in our globalised market, an increasing number of organisations are becoming aware of the importance of customer service orientation and more workers are being sent on customer service training courses. Read on to find out more about what it is and what you can do to improve this skill.
What is Customer Service Orientation?
Having good customer service orientation is the ability to keep customers happy, by doing some of the following things effectively:
Why is customer service orientation important?
How many times have you been disappointed in the way you have been treated by an organisation? Maybe you had to wait to be served for a long time, or the person serving you didn’t smile at all. Perhaps you received an unapologetic response to something which went wrong. You were probably so disappointed that you have not used their services since. Unless you have no choice in the matter it is unlikely that you would want to use their services again. But in the majority of cases now we do have a wider choice, and with business becoming more globalised, as well as communications being a lot easier, we can have better access to products and services.
Even if the customer is not wholly satisfied with a product or service, if excellent, efficient customer service is offered, they will be more likely to return to you, which is good for business. Remember no customers means no business.
If you understand your customers, you can better determine which of your products or services are more suitable for them and you can even develop and deliver a more tailored product or service.
How can you show you have this competency?
Think of a situation you have been in where the customer has gained satisfaction. What did the customer want and how did you respond? What was the positive thing you did which made them content? If you can answer these questions with different examples then you can demonstrate a good customer service orientation. If you have difficulty in remembering a situation where a customer has gone away gratified, take a look at the following tips on how to improve your skills.
How to improve your customer service skills
Follow these tips and you can increase the chances that your customers will soon become loyal customers.
Comprehension activity: are these sentences true or false?
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Comprehension activity: good or bad customer service?
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Grammar activity: focus on using gerunds
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