When it comes to good, old-fashioned customer service, small businesses tend to have the edge over their larger rivals – as owners are still close enough to the front line to know what really matters to their customers, and to deliver that personal touch.
But has that changed in the digital ‘have it now’ age, which has seen customer expectations soar?
The evidence suggests not. In fact, staff attitude and behaviour is now as much a priority for customers as fast service, according to the Institute of Customer Service. In a de-personalised world, staff competence, helpfulness and friendliness are rising in importance, its latest findings suggest. Consumers don’t need companies to promise the earth either, but rather just to “do what they say they will do”, and do it with a smile.
It comes back to the basics, says Jo Causon, the Institute’s CEO – “for instance, steps such as ensuring it is simple for customers to get in touch, making the checkout process as straightforward as possible, and delivering on what is promised to a customer.”
Talking Heads: where staff make time to chat
Simple, good service has been a winning formula for Talking Heads, a hair and beauty salon in the small market town of Newcastle Emlyn in West Wales. It is frequently rated the ‘most loved’ business in town in the local business rankings (it also came thirteenth in the top UK 100), based on customer reviews.
“Yes people want more now, but mostly that’s our time – for consultations, for example,” says owner Ann Biggs, who started the business 23 years ago. “We pride ourselves on being warm and friendly - but without being unprofessional. A lot of salons are quite starchy, bordering on unfriendly – that doesn’t work in a small town.” Before moving to Wales, Biggs was artistic director in a London salon so she has seen both sides.
Talking Heads has over 1,000 active customers, not bad for a salon sharing a modest high street with six other hairdressers and barbers. It’s a relationship business based on trust, but simple things like the hospitable atmosphere, “a nice shampooing with head massage”, good coffee, a clean environment and modern products all play their part.
The business keeps up with technology too. Last autumn it introduced a new customer management system with an automated text option, useful for reminding clients about appointments. The salon’s payment terminal, meanwhile, supports contactless transactions, keeping things slick at the front desk. Innovation can be a case of trial and error, but is important, Biggs says. Having multiple payment options has helped make the checkout process as pain-free as possible and meant the salon can appeal to the broadest range of customers.
Cycas Hospitality: providing all of the comforts of home
Hoteliers have a similar act to balance between efficiency, ambiance and innovation, and Cycas Hospitality, a hotel management company with five hotels around the UK, is always looking for new ways to enhance the customer service experience. This has included getting a hotel dog.
It claims its 350 staff are the driving force of the business, with a mantra is to consistently deliver a ‘positively outrageous service so that guests feel as relaxed as they would be at home. Introducing a dog to one of its London hotels was part of the drive to create that environment. ‘Waggers’, a Labradoodle puppy, has become an integral part of the ‘welcome home’ team, and staff are just as enthusiastic as the guests, leading to them providing a better service.
How staff feel is an important aspect to the company philosophy. In place of a traditional ‘human resources’ role, Cycas employs culture coach, Janet Roberts. “We create teams where people can be themselves,” Roberts says. The business has an open group interview process for recruiting, and staff are employed based on personality, teased out through role-play and games.
Employees are also encouraged to get to know guests via occasional social evenings and movie nights, with free drinks and nibbles, and other initiatives which single out guests for special treats.
It’s a strategy that clearly works. Cycas Hospitality was named No1 Best Employer in Hospitality 2015 by Caterer.com, scoring the highest for employee engagement, and its Staybridge Suites London Vauxhall is ranked in the top 20 hotels in London on TripAdvisor.
Born Gifted: managing online expectations
But how do you maintain this kind of customer attention if your business is online? Jim Wilson, managing director of 13-year-old children’s toy and gift e-tailer Born Gifted, believes it’s about managing customers’ expectations. In his case, that means being proactive if products are out of stock.
“Customers would come across ‘out of stock’ items on our website and immediately leave, resulting in a lost sale and a disappointing experience,” Wilson explains. So the company added a ‘stock notification’ box next to unavailable items, encouraging customers to sign up for an update. “As soon as the item is back in stock, we send them a personal email with a link to the product.”
Wilson got the idea when researching the features offered by its larger competitors, and added the facility to its own website a year ago.
“It has made a huge difference to potentially lost/unhappy/disappointed customers,” he says. On average the facility has led to 20% of the notified customers purchasing an item, but the bigger benefit is customers’ experience of the Born Gifted brand. “Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best,” Wilson says. “This was a low-cost feature which was relatively easy to implement and has made a huge impact.”
That’s a view echoed by the experts. “All of our research over the past seven years has pointed us to the same conclusion: that the best customer service experience is the easiest service experience,” comments Matt Dixon, group leader at advisory group CEB and co-author of The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty.
For businesses that accept payments online, the big story for the future will be mobile. James McDonald, Barclaycard’s head of strategic initiatives and innovation, says it can be clunky for customers to enter personal and payment information into smartphones: “The mobile payment experience is often an adapted version of the web experience,” he says. “That has to be improved.”
It’s something Wilson has also realised the importance of, with 60% of the business’s sales occurring via a mobile device in the last 12 months: “It is now therefore, more important than ever to ensure that we offer our customers a smooth seamless online payment solution – on all devices. It’s about maintaining a high level of customer service and satisfaction from the point of ordering through to delivering the goods.”
Staying grounded
As businesses get bigger, there are three important areas they should focus on to maintain a good experience, according to Causon of The Institute of Customer Service:
- Personalisation: “Customers want – and expect – a personalised service, so maximise the potential to improve personalisation by asking customers for, and responding to, feedback – and take action based on what you learn.” (This can be done in person, by text or via a web form or survey.)
- Data security: “When capturing customer data, ensure robust and secure processes so customers feel reassured that their personal or financial details are receiving a high standard of protection.”
- Convenience: “Support a range of channels for purchasing, complaint handling or feedback, and make customers aware of them so they can choose the route that best suits them.”
However demanding modern customers might seem, focusing on these elements and providing good value for money is the key to keeping them coming back.
Content on this page is paid for and produced to a brief agreed with Barclaycard, sponsor of the Smarter Working hub on the Guardian Small Business Network.
