The notion of what got us here won’t get us where we want to go couldn’t be more true than in customer service. Like all aspects of business, we either evolve with the times or we wither on the vines. Customer service is experiencing an evolution where providing even the best customer service won’t be enough in the future.
First of all, customer service is not a differentiator. No matter how exceptional your customer service may be, it is likely not enough to separate you from your competition. Without a great deal of difficulty, anyone can match your level of customer service.
Secondly, in today’s complex world of different psychographics of consumers, who’s to say what someone interprets as excellent customer service. One person’s excellent customer service could be another person’s annoyingly involved complexity. To some customers, being doted on is the pinnacle of service. To another, that level of being catered to is annoying (I’m one of those). One size does not fit all in customer service today. It’s a moving target and even still it may not be enough. What more could anyone want you to wonder? Maybe they don’t want customer service as we’ve known anymore.
The Future of Customer Service
What if the future of customer service isn’t about serving the customer at all? Not in the traditional sense of fulfilling their needs or requests. What if the best way to serve your customers is not to provide for them, but to stand up for them?
The future of customer service is customer advocacy. To have their best interest so much at heart that you are more their advocate than a service provider. To go beyond serving and stand up for what’s in the customer’s best interest. Customer service by definition means to fulfill or even exceed what the customer expects. The problem is customers expect a lot today. If you meet their expectations, they may be happy but they are not likely to talk about their experience. However, if you don’t meet their expectations they certainly will talk! If you exceed their expectations, they may share with a few friends or perhaps post on social. But if they feel like you are their advocate, that you understand them, and always have their back, you will have a customer for life.
There’s an energy to being a customer advocate that simple customer service doesn’t provide. Customers have very high standards, and this noisy world makes it hard to get and hold their attention. When your level of service is compared to behemoth companies, it’s important to make your customers feel that you are their best advocate. This is the only way to cut through the noise and differentiate yourself from your competition.
Chosen for Your Expertise
To command the highest price for what you do, you want to be seen and chosen as an expert in your field. As the chosen expert, your customer expects a leader, not a doer. This includes leading them to make decisions. Let’s take going to a doctor as an example. For pretty much every ailment these days there is a multitude of choices of medicines. For high cholesterol alone there must be dozens of medicines. Can you imagine having your doctor open the medicine cabinet, point to dozens of medicines, and say, “Any one of these medicines will do the trick. Which one would you like?”
I’d like to think you’d go running out the door! We expect an expert in their field to lead us to the right decision. To narrow down the options, offer a couple of choices, educate us on the different choices and perhaps even make a suggestion as a final choice. That’s stepping into your expertise and being an advocate for your customer. Customer service is fulfilling the request. Customer advocacy is leading your customer and doing at least part of the thinking for them.
What They Don’t Know To Ask For
The difference between customer service and customer advocacy becomes more evident as the gap between what you know and what they know increases. If your customer knows everything they need to know, what they want and you fulfill that request, once again, at best you’re providing good customer service. If you stay a step ahead of them, then maybe you’re providing excellent customer service. But if you know what your customer needs that they don’t know to ask for, now you are in the realm of customer advocacy. It’s the difference between their acknowledged need and their deeper need. Their acknowledged need is what they know to ask for. The deeper need is knowing what is best for them that they don’t know to ask for. That’s being an advocate for your customer. It’s going beyond fulfilling a request or even staying a step ahead. It’s looking for opportunities to provide what they don’t even know to ask for. That’s customer advocacy.
To stand out in business today, to be memorable, and be the business that makes people’s lives easier, be your customer’s advocate. Go beyond customer service. Be so confident in your abilities that you know they will be thrilled with what you provide regardless of what they ask for. Lead them to make the best decisions to alleviate the burden of having to think about every step along the way. Listen for what they believe they want and look for what you can offer that goes beyond what they even know to ask for. The bar on customer service has been raised. Good enough is barely acceptable. Excellence is better but not distinguishable. If you really want to endear your customers and be their number one choice, change your goal of providing excellent customer service to being your customer’s number one advocate.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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