Simple Customer Service Lessons

1. Listen to the customer. Most will tell you what they want from you, leaving you the simple task of just doing it. 9 times out of 10 this will lead to a reasonable level of customer satisfaction all on it's own. Many companies fail at this first hurdle.

2. If you can't do what you have said you will do - communicate with the customer. Most people are reasonable and know that things go wrong. But don't wait for the customer to discover the problem for themselves, or to have to chase you up to see where the promised item is. Are you scared to tell your customer bad news? You could be making things worse.

3. It is always better to underpromise and overdeliver. It is a cliche, but delighting your customer relies on going some way further than the expected. Customers are increasingly demanding, but creative thought can still lead you to exceed their expectations. Doing the bare minimum is no way to beat your competitors.

4. Never criticise your customer. It does not matter if they gave you a duff brief, if they changed their minds or if they wouldn't know quality if it bit them on the nose. Flatter them and they'll love you. If you feel the need to blame them for a mistake or a misunderstanding, ask yourself how you could have avoided the situation. Perhaps you didn't ask them enough questions when they told you what they needed. If you make them feel attacked, they certainly won't feel valued.

These four lessons are so simple, I'm sure that you feel they weren't worth stating again. But do you know what? I frequently have dealings with businesses that forget any number of them. Ask yourself whether you and your staff always remember them. The answer could keep your customers coming back.

Tracking responses - a cautionary tale

If you're involved in advertising or marketing in any form, you'll already know how important it is to track responses and measure results in order to refine your programme and maximise the return on your investment. This week, while speaking to clients about Fun Under Five, I was reminded of a lesson I learnt in my first job, and it is an important one.

If you ask your new clients where they heard about you, what kind of answers do you get? I would bet that the most frequent response is "word of mouth" - am I right? You might have a press campaign, you might be running a complex direct mail campaign, but time and again, WOM comes out tops, eh?

For offline media, it is the frustrating truth that a large proportion of people cannot remember where they got your number - or can't be bothered to try. For a publisher, this answer kills repeat business, as it is used to explain that the advertisement didn't generate any business, that the cost can't be justified, etc etc.

Well, next time you hear "Word of Mouth", think of this story:

My first job was at Candis magazine. Now this was before everything and everyone was online, and the only way to get the magazine was from a rep on your doorstep. We had about 1 million subscribers, which is fantastic for a mag without newsstand presence.

When we did some research, where do you think most people said they bought their magazine from? Yup, the newsagents.

Impossible, they just weren't sold there. However, the human brain reverts to the norm as often as possible, and you usually buy magazines in a newsagents, so it seems a reasonable answer.

A significant number of respondents also said they'd seen us advertised on TV. They hadn't.

So by all means, track your responses and refine where you spend your money. But have a healthy scepticism for what people tell you - and maybe throw in a rogue answer option to test out the theory! Let me know what happens.