Your phone rings. It’s “that customer”. Making her happy could mean a very profitable month. This is a huge opportunity, but she’s notoriously hard to please. What can you do to ensure your customer is always happy? These tips may seem obvious, but in the heat of the battle, sometimes we could use a reminder.
- Communication: Make sure to communicate everything to your customer honestly, especially if it is negative news. Whether it be a truck breakdown, missed pick up or delivery, or not being able to cover a load at the contracted rate, the customer needs to hear the truth with no sugarcoating. And don’t delay; when bad news needs to be delivered it should be right away so your customer can react quickly and make adjustments as needed. Your customer will have more faith and trust in you, and your company, if honest communication is constantly flowing.
- Adaptability: If you’re in the logistics industry, you know freight procurement management is a demanding job. There are daily challenges, so you must be flexible for your customer. You must always be available to handle last-minute “surprises” your customer may have. And the key is to handle these urgent transportation matters with a smile on your face and a positive tone in your voice.
- Advise: Strong customer success advisors are not order takers; they are not “yes” people. Instead, strong freight procurement success advisors help their shipper customers solve problems, which means they are not afraid to challenge decisions to ensure their customer sees things from all viewpoints so the best possible decisions can be made.
After years of providing customer service, I have learned that the most important skill a customer service advisor can possess is emotional intelligence. Putting oneself in the shoes of the customer and understanding what motivates them or what makes them nervous about your interaction with them goes a long way. The best business relationship starts with empathy and thrives with good customer service principles.
This blog is written by Sarah Christensen. Sarah is a Client Success Advisor at Sleek Technologies. She has over 20 years of experience in Customer Service, and 4 years in logistics and transportation