The Biggest Differentiator

The new economic reality is one of ever increasing competition driven by rapid and continuous innovation, informed and demanding customers, commoditization of products and services, and relentless pressure to cut costs and improve services. In this environment, customer service and customer intimacy is a biggest differentiator for businesses and a key source of your sustainable competitive advantage.

Kaizen Mindset

• Imagine the ideal customer experience and strive to provide it.... More

Be the Best Possible

10 Tips by Ten3 NZ Ltd.

• Be a "Go-giver" in customer service.  It's no secret that every organisation of value in today's world economy, is focused on customer service.  The future belongs to those individuals and businesses that service their customers in a superior fashion. To get ahead, organisations must know who their customers are and what they expect.  They must deliver more.  The same applies to you as a member of the organisation.  To get ahead in your current and future employment, you must first know who you customers are (e.g., your team leader) and what their expectations of you are.  You must then deliver more than those expectations.... More

Customer Service as a Competitive Advantage

Businesses have traditionally relied on technology and product innovation for competitive advantage. However, as products became commodities due to global competition and relentless technological advances, the battleground for differentiation and customer value creation shifted to customer intimacy and service. This service-focused competitive strategy has worked well for numerous companies across various industry sectors.

 Case in Point  Dell Inc.

"We learned to identify our core strengths," says Michael Dell, Founder of Dell Inc. “We wanted to earn a reputation for providing great customer service, as well as great products. Engaging the entire company – from manufacturing to engineering to sales to support staff – in the process of understanding customer requirements became a constant focus of management, energy, training, and employee education.“ ... More

Customer-driven Innovation: 7 Practice Tips

• Live your customer's life, "walk a mile in the shoes of your customer".

• Involve everyone, require every person, regardless of their position, to spend time on customer contact and services activities... More

Customers for Life

By: Brian Tracy

The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. If a business successfully creates and keeps customers in a cost-effective way, it will make a profit while continuing to survive and thrive. If, for any reason, a business fails to attract or sustain a sufficient number of customers, it will experience losses. Too many losses will lead to the demise of the enterprise.

According to Dun and Bradstreet, the single, most important reason for the failure of businesses in America is lack of sales. And, of course, this refers to resales as well as initial sales. So your company’s job is to create and keep a customer, and your job is exactly the same. Remember, no matter what your official title is, you are a salesperson for yourself and your company... More