Difficulties Are Customer Service Value
Habits are the basis for most of our work. Individually or organizationally, we tend to be creatures of habit. If we want to improve, we know the story of replacing bad habits with good ones. Do the challenges we face really create customer service value?
The path of least resistance may be the easiest one to follow. It may also be the most crowded.
Easy or Difficult?
Most people probably go for the low hanging fruit. It is the easiest to pick, uses less energy, and it may produce more than what we need or can consume. Organizations love low hanging fruit, and will pick it all day. They often end up in the path of the many.
It is hard to sell in a crowded market. Unique feels risky and is harder work, but it is probably where there is the most value.
When your business does more than what is average, more than where the crowd goes, and pursues beyond the low hanging fruit it may become unique.
In a service-based economy, where do you want to be positioned? It seems that standing out in a crowd may make the most sense.
Customer Service Value
The customer experience you create likely won’t provide great value when it is just like all the rest. Having exceptional levels of service will not be the path of least resistance, it is not picking only the low hanging fruit. Standing out will take resources, time, and will be difficult to maintain.
When we consider what is the most valuable, it is probably connected to what is scarce, not abundant. Being average is easy. It is plentiful and abundant.
Habits form the basis for our work. They are directly connected to the culture. If you want a culture that thrives in a service economy, you are going to have to be unique.
When you do the difficult work, you’ll stand out from the crowd. You may also be recognized as highly valuable, not because you are one of many, but because you are scarce.
What do customers see in a service economy? They often see little need for loyalty in a market where there is abundance.
Competing on price is a model. So is providing the most value.
– DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
