10 Reasons For Exceptional Customer Service

When the Dog Gurus asked me to contribute to their month-long series dedicated to Customer Service—I was thrilled to participate! I feel very fortunate to work in an industry filled with so many amazing and kindhearted people who share a passion for pets. With businesses run by all these nice people, one might assume that exceptional customer service would simply just happen. However, pet care businesses are often so focused on education and training to ensure superior care for pets, that they sometimes overlook the education and training that is necessary to ensure superior care for the pet parents as well!

In today’s market, providing superior care for pets in a safe, loving and secure environment is just not enough to sustain, much less grow, a profitable pet care business…because let’s face it, dogs don’t have wallets! Yes, you’re in the pet care business but you’re also in the people business. It’s the pet parent who decides if they remain your client, or if they become the client to one of your competitors.

So, throughout this month, I’ll be sharing information, strategies, tools and recommendations to help the Dog Guru’s members provide exceptional customer experiences that are equal to, if not better than, the superior level of pet experiences provided.

To get started, it’s important to understand the enormous impact both positive and negative customer experiences can and will have on your business.

Did you know…

1. 70% of buying experiences are based on how a customer feels they are being treated. [Returnonbehavior.com 2012]
2. 55% of consumers would pay more for a better customer experience. [Defaqto Research returnonbehavior.com 2012]
3. 89% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company after experiencing poor customer service. [RightNow Customer Experience Impact Report]
4. Consumers are twice as likely to share their bad customer service experiences than they are to talk about positive experiences. [Global Customer Service Barometer]
5. It takes 12 positive customer experiences to make up for one negative experience. [Parature]
6. On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase. [White House Office of Consumer Affairs]
7. It is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one. [White House Office of Consumer Affairs]
8. 80% of companies say they deliver “superior” customer service while only 8% of consumers think these same companies deliver “superior” customer service. [Lee Resources]
9. “Although your customers won’t love you if you give bad service, your competitors will.” [Kate Zabriskie]
10. Customers overwhelmingly show appreciation for great service with their wallets! [Anonymous]

Now what…?

Over the next few weeks, I will provide you with a list of the most important customer service skills in a pet care business, strategies for handling challenging customers and difficult conversations, and much more! I look forward to helping you differentiate your business from the rest of the ‘pack’ by delivering exceptional pet AND exceptional customer experiences with every point of contact.