Customer Service - Impact of Perception and Professionalism on Start-ups

Article provided for Bytestart readers by Ian Osborne, Chief Executive, Yac

When we meet someone for the first time, we all generally make assumptions based on our first impressions of them. Our perception of a person, and ultimately whether we are drawn to them or not, can have a massive impact on our relationship with them in the future. In the relationship between a consumer and a business, perception is no less important.

To consumers, a positive or negative perception of a business is likely to play heavily on whether the relationship is going to continue or falter. If a consumer doesn’t feel they can trust the business for example, they’re highly unlikely to want to keep purchasing from it. And if we also remember the age old adage that on average we tell five people about a good experience with a company, but tell 20 people about a bad one, getting the relationship right is key to future success.

So for any business to grow and prosper, it needs to think carefully about the way it’s perceived by its customers.

A number of factors can impact on how a company is viewed by its public. The level of service a customer experiences is absolutely key to their feelings toward it. Bad service, so easily delivered especially on a busy day when there are a hundred and one other things to consider, can be more damaging to a business than anything else.

For the consumer, the only time they get to form an opinion of the business is through contact with it, yet if they’re dissatisfied by the way they’re treated, the relationship won’t last much longer! Of course, good service is highly influential in not only retaining a customer and encouraging them to continue purchasing from you, but is also an active factor in getting them to recommend you to other potential customers.

So how can a start-up or small business deliver a positive view of itself to the outside world? It actually doesn’t take huge structural or organisational changes to deliver. If you were to put yourself in your customers’ shoes, think about where they interact with your company, and also think about what level of professionalism they’re currently being presented versus their expectation of what good service should be.

If your customers are actually visiting the workplace – visiting your office or retail space, are they going to be enthused if they see papers and junk all around the place? If they phone you, how will they feel if all they ever hear is the engaged tone? And does outgoing communication, such as letters or emails, look like it’s originated in a slick and dynamic business, or one ran from a garden shed?

All of these considerations can be easily addressed by any business – size shouldn’t be an issue. Tidy up the workspace if its going to be viewed by customers. If you take a high volume of calls, think about available solutions that can easily organise incoming calls (this can even be done without any kind of technological investment – and can be managed to grow with the company). And take a step back to consider any communication flowing out of the business – taking care and pride in this will reflect well with an outside audience.

Jan Carlzon, former President and CEO of the Scandinavian Airlines Group (SAS) once said “You cannot improve one thing by 1000% but you can improve 1000 little things by 1%”. Customer service follows the same principle – truly delivering good service relies on a number of positive elements all working in unison. From simply smiling when answering the phone (to improve your inflection whilst letting the customer know you’re happy to be taking their call) to investing in training, technology and infrastructure, every piece of the puzzle works towards creating a positive experience.

All these elements are easy to achieve, and they don’t all have to be a strain on cash flow or to take huge amounts of time, and yet can still drastically improve perceptions of your business. Let common sense prevail; make sure that maintaining a positive face to your customers is always top of the agenda. By managing perceptions you can encourage your customers to keeping coming back, supporting the future development and growth of your business.