Customer Service: Three Keys to Combat Churn

By Allan Pulga

One of the most overused terms in carrier-retailer relations is “churn.” That’s not to say it’s isn’t a significant issue for both the carrier and the retailer, however. It’s a relevant indicator of how well a company minimizes customer “defectors.”

Despite both parties’ multidimensional efforts to fight churn and increase customer loyalty – including regular promotions, timely sales and catchy marketing – the best way to hang onto customers is by delivering pure, human customer service.

Entrepreneur.com columnist Paul Levesque says businesses too often take an outside-in approach to delivering outstanding service. Since good customer experience is subjective to each individual customer, Levesque suggests doing the opposite: allow your salespeople to provide great service from the inside out.

"The key is to get your employees coming up with their own ideas for delighting customers, and then letting positive feedback from happy customers motivate your workers to continue implementing more of their own innovative service strategies," he says."

This is called the ‘flashpoint effect,’ where employee motivation and customer satisfaction fuel each other in a chain reaction of contagious enthusiasm."Levesque shares three ways to catalyze this flashpoint effect in your employees, to consequently improve customer service and reduce churn:

1. Exceed your customers’ expectations every step of the way."Set up a brainstorming session in which your employees break a typical customer transaction down into its individual steps, and then challenge the group to focus on each step, and uncover ways to add a ‘wow’ element of delight to each step," says Levesque. It could be a gesture as simple as offering a flyer or a cold drink to customers when they walk through the door, or as complex as handing them a simple checklist listing return policies and relevant contact information after they make a purchase.

2. Make your customers feel important."(Especially at stressful peak sales times), you see businesses making it painfully obvious that they consider their customers to be unreasonable intruders, potential criminals, annoying interruptions of the ‘real work’ the business is trying to get done," notes Levesque.Showing a little patience and courtesy goes a long way. Doing the little things, like smiling and addressing customers by name, can make an enormous difference in improving customer satisfaction and closing sales. 

3. Tailor the experience to fit the customer.
The "personalized" sales approach always important when attempting to forge a lasting relationship with a customer. Ask questions like, "What type of phone features would best suit your needs?" or "Do you prefer a particular brand of phone?" or "Let me guess, you want a phone you can play MP3s on…""Flashpoint businesses recognize that they deal with different customers and that each customer can have unique expectations," says Levesque. Abandon one-size-fits all mentalities and look for ways to provide something special for each customer. Next thing you know, you’ll be providing something special for their friends, their family and everybody else they tell about the exceptional service you provide… and they’ll be loyal customers at that.