Unparalleled customer service begins with a compelling vision that can ignite employee enthusiasm while delivering customer satisfaction. Easier said than done! The responsibility for crafting the vision statement lies with the owner, CEO or president of the company. Once created, the vision statement will serve as a long-term customer service strategy.

The vision should appeal to a predetermined customer profile. Establishing a customer profile is easy as long as you can answer the following question: Who is your target audience for your company's goods or services? If your answer is everyone, then defining a vision statement that covers the full gamut of quality, price, results, value, etc. will be difficult at best. Being all things to all people is a very difficult proposition.
Find your niche market.

Narrowing the customer profile to a set of demographics that will generate a high profit return for the investment is advisable. For instance, a customer profile that includes a certain income bracket, an average cost of a home, a particular geographical area, etc., will allow for a vision that specifically appeals to those customers, in turn it will provide the business with an opportunity to yield higher profits than spreading itself across a widely defined demographic.

After the vision statement and customer profile are in alignment, it is time for extensive and intensive customer service training with every individual in the organization.   

The chief cheerleader of the vision will always be the top leader of the organization; from there it is the task of other senior and mid-level managers to take up the vision charge. Companywide buy-in is crucial for a successful outcome.

Aside from the vision, which should be a simple statement of few words that delivers a powerful compelling message, there needs to be a well-defined set of customer service standards.

Examples of Customer Service Standards:
1. Must have a "Can Do" Attitude.
2. Always be Cheerful, Positive, Courteous and Caring.
3. Our Service Goal is to Yield Results.
4. Service Equals Satisfaction Guaranteed.
5. Must exhibit Enthusiasm for the Vision.
6. Never degrade a fellow employee.
7. Never degrade the incumbent or competing service company. Sell on our merits not another's flaws.
8. The Customer is King.
9. Must respond to service requests in the same day they were received.

These are but a few examples as the list could be infinite. As a rule, it is better to keep a short list 10 items or the list becomes too cumbersome to remember and infuse. Create your own list based on the desired outcome of the company vision statement.

Not only should these customer standards be taught to the existing employees, but they can and should be used in the hiring process as well. The opening of every interview regardless of the position should be preceded by the candidate's review of the company vision and customer standards. Encourage the candidate to comment on the documents along with providing past examples of how he or she may have lived these standards in other positions. Take notes and verify these examples with past employers to make sure you hire the right person, and not someone who is just good at interviewing. Employing and retaining the "right employees" is necessary to deliver on the company vision. Don't hesitate to terminate employees who refuse to live the vision after they have been trained and consulted.

In order to make sure the vision and customer standards are met, surveying customers by phone and the mail are a couple of ways to measure the results of the company's service. The responses can help you identify areas of service that require improvement, correction and enhancement, as well as serve as a method to recognize top performing employees. These customer testimonials can also be effectively used to draw new customers into the company.

The easiest way to grow a business is through solid customer retention. Retaining customers at a high percentage allows all new sales activity to truly grow the business at a consistently rapid rate. If a company has a customer retention factor of 85%, then that places a 15% makeup burden on the sales force before they can grow the business by one dollar. Therefore, companies with a strong vision that can translate excellent service to higher retention, have an easier time growing through strong and poor seasons alike.

High retention rates and customer referrals go hand-in-hand, and that is another contributing factor to consistent and solid growth year after year. Remember, if the vision is well-infused throughout the company and it carries a sustainable message, then sales growth and profits will follow.

Additionally, it is wise to read about, study and experience businesses that have found and developed a compelling consumer and employee vision. Look within our industry to the successful, high-quality, high-profit businesses, and look outside of our industry to see how other businesses have defined success, and then build your own business model using some of the discovered best-practices and concepts. It is not necessary to totally reinvent the wheel, but utilize the winning formulas that other businesses have developed, and then add your company's personality, culture and specializations to the mix.

Companies that seem to always prosper and grow even in down years are generally those businesses that continuously challenge the status quo. Business leaders who want to succeed find innovative ways to reach their goals. Consensus-oriented teams tend to be more creative and innovative than teams that look to one person for all of the answers. The best solutions and innovations lie in the hands and the minds of the field and frontline personnel. The leader's role is to foster a culture that allows for open and constructive criticism and innovation.

Design teams that focus on customer improvement and innovation, is not an "everyone must participate" process. Select individuals whom have either shown or contributed innovations, solutions and ideas, and place them on the team. Team members must earn their right to stay on the team through measurable participation in the process. If they are simply involved to relax and listen, then remove them from the team, and only keep and recruit members and candidates who can contribute to the team. The main objective of the team is to define "open space" that the competitors have not identified. Open space comes in two forms: 1. The competitor isn't there yet, but could match up to the offering in short-order. 2. The competitor cannot get to the open space for a considerable length of time. Option number two gives a company open space, hopefully very profitable open space to reside in for a number of years before the competition can come close to a match.

In closing, get started on redefining your service offering by crafting a compelling vision that will carry your company forward and hopefully into an open space. There are no cookie cutter recipes for offering unparalleled customer service; the concept needs to be created and customized to fit your company's culture or style. As with any business, success is defined by having a compelling vision, the "right" people and the support structure to execute the plan.

Residex and our employees are dedicated to helping our customers build their businesses in a variety of ways. Our goal is to provide the tools and concepts necessary so you can soar above your competition by making them irrelevant. Please contact your local representative or Bobby Kossowicz at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for additional information on this topic or any other topic of need or interest.