Are you maximizing your Service revenues?

Customer service has changed. Instead of being a cost driver, it is now viewed as a revenue-generator, which potentially can generate over 15% of a company’s total revenues. It all boils down to Customer Needs, create Value to your customers, and close Customer relations. Here are several points to consider which are essential for any service organization planning to create a life-time value for its customers.

1.  WHY DO YOUR CUSTOMERS NEED YOU?

Start from the basics. Every business needs a reason for their customers to buy from them and not their competitors. This is called a Unique Sales Proposition (USP). Your USP can be identified by completing the phrase "Customers will buy from me because my business is the only...".

It's a good idea to review your USPs regularly. Can you tailor your services and after-sales offerings to better match your customers' needs? Consider asking your customers why they buy from you. This will tell you what they think your USP is - this may differ from what you think your USP is.

2.  WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS?

The more you know about your customers, the more effective you can customize and promote your after-sales and service offerings. It's well worth making the effort to find out:

• Who they are?
• What they do?
• Why they buy?
• When they buy?
• How they buy?
• How much money they have?
• What makes them feel good about buying?
• What they expect of you?
• What they think about you?
• What they think about your competitors?
• What are their pain points?

 3.  CREATE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS

The success of a B2B company hinges largely on strong client relationships, combined with a high level of service can help with customer retention, especially in ever increasing competitive landscape. Creating a long lasting customer relationship is all about transition from a vendor consideration set to trusted partner. Several points to consider:

• Be patient in building new relationships. Relationships take time. take the time to get to know your client, as your client is paramount in building a relationship. At the end of the day, no amount of personal connection can substitute for great work.
• Get to know their industry and company. Keep up with your client’s company as well as their industry, speak the same language as the client, understand what keeps them up at night, and cater your interaction and offerings accordingly.

• Go the extra mile. As you grow your business and your client relationships, there will be times that you’ll have to make a decision on when to adjust or expand your core offerings to cater to the needs of a client. The benefits of offering customized solutions are two-fold: 1) clients remember the times you came through for them and 2) it may open up additional revenue streams and new product offerings you had not previously considered.

• Treat every client as your most important one. Simply put, happy clients are more likely to make referrals. Provide all clients with your best service. You never know who your clients may know or to whom they will refer you. Just as importantly, when they switch jobs, either within their company or to a new one, you want to be the partner they recommend to their new team.

• Respond promptly. When a client emails you, acknowledge the receipt of the email as quickly as possible, even if you do not have the answer they are looking for. You will give them comfort by simply acknowledging the receipt of their request and by communicating that you’re on it.

• Be more than an email address. Despite its prevalence in business today, email communication can often be misconstrued, especially during stressful situations, if senders and recipients do not know each other well. Use other channels to help shed light on who you are. Consider a phone call, Skype or an in-person meeting to put a face (or voice) to a name. Often the phone gets a bad reputation, but if used for good news, a phone call is a great way to build a better relationship with your client.

• Always summarize next steps. No matter how quick or trivial a client meeting seems, always recap the conversation with next steps. Many vendors skip this basic step. You think you’ll remember all of the details, and maybe you will, but your client may not. Aligning on the same page with next steps prevents a lot of confusion down the road.

Maximizing your After-sales and service revenues and still keeping your customer satisfied is a delicate balance, which can be made possible only if you truly understand your customer needs, you provide a clear value to their needs, and you have established a strong relationships with your customers.