Whatever the organization, excellent customer service is the basis for sustained success - whether profit making or not-for-profit, all organizations are accountable for their customers’ satisfaction. Whether the customer is external, and purchasing/receiving products or services, or internal, and dependent on colleagues for the provision of information or services, meeting the expectations of customers is key to survival. When there is customer loyalty, the customer retention rate is high and business results tend to follow. Conversely, dissatisfied customers are believed to tell eight to sixteen others by word of mouth about their dissatisfaction, or thousands of others through the internet.

This course will enable participants to meet the ever-increasing needs of their customers. It will show participants how to make a good first impression, and how to develop and maintain ongoing relationships based on trust and high quality communication that will bring long-term success to the organization. The course will use a range of relevant, powerful and motivating activities that draw on participants’ own experiences and that generate ideas to make improvements to the way they work with and respond to their customers.

High standards of customer care are critical to the success of any organization, and executives in customer service are expected to play an important leadership role in implementing company guidelines for interaction with customers.

The Professional Diploma in Customer Service Management (PDCS) would help prepare participants for such a demanding role by offering a comprehensive overview and formal development training of customer service.

KEY AIMS

• Assist the organization to increase maximum performance through improved customer service
• Introduce powerful and flexible tools for use by both individuals and teams within the organization, whatever their previous experience or circumstances.
• Enable participants to become more knowledgeable, effective, and motivated in their roles through the development of customer service skills.
• Focus on key issues and challenges relating to effective customer service.
• Accommodate a range of learning styles, by including a variety of group challenges, practical exercises, opportunities for personal assessment, and presentation of key techniques and strategies. 

KEY BENEFITS

Participants will:

• Have a better understanding of customers’ needs
• Handle “difficult” customers more effectively and confidently
• Become more customer focused in their work
• Become more aware of the link between good customer service and organisational success
• Learn the importance of team work in customer care 

The organisation will:

•  Immediately improve customer service levels
• Generate a significant difference in customer perception
• Improve sales results

·         All business professionals in customer facing positions or with specific responsibilities for Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction.

·         It will be especially valuable to those in specific customer service roles.

·         Personnel new to the role, as well as more experienced officers seeking to examine and enhance their service quality and customer satisfaction skills.

CUSTOMER FOCUS ORIENTATION

Topic Objectives:

·         This Topic will equip participants with the skills knowledge and attitude to become a world-class provider of customer service which will exceed the expectations and delight their customers every time they experience service from them.

·         It will also provide participants with the motivation not only to put the new methods into practice but to sustain them and thrive on the delight from their customers.

THE WORLD OF CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE

·         Customer service and what it means

·         Identifying excellence in front-line customer services

·         What are the services and products that you offer

·         The role of NLP and Emotional Excellence in customer service

·         What do your customers say about you and your organization

·         What do you want your customers to say?

·         Myths and legends about customer service

ENHANCING YOUR INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

·         People like people like themselves - how to be liked by the customer

·         Four customer personality types

·         Listeners are said to be the best communicators - how to perfect your skills

·         Questions, questions, questions - if you don’t ask, you won’t find out

·         What am I saying when I am not speaking - how to read body language signals

·         The do and don’ts of communicating effectively

·         How well does your Organization/Department communicate the customer

·         Service message to your colleagues?

USING & COMMUNICATING CUSTOMER INFORMATION

·         What exactly Communication is?

·         The three “Vs”

·         Why communications

·         Interpersonal & communication skills

·         Ways of core customer communications

·         E.A.R indicators for customer service communication

·         Personality types and ways to deal with

·         Final word & group exercises

HOW TO TURN DIFFICULT SITUATIONS INTO OPPORTUNITIES

·         Why do customers complain?

·         Why should we encourage complaints?

·         The customer loyalty chain

·         Customer behavioral types and how to deal with them

·         Understanding and managing emotions

·         Creative thinking to go that ‘extra mile’

TOTAL CUSTOMERS SATISFACTION

Topic Objectives:

·         Building and strengthening bonds with customers to create the optimum working relationship

·         Transforming customer service into complete customer satisfaction

·         Meeting customer needs and exceeding their expectations

·         Creating the systems to measure customer service and satisfaction levels

·         Effective handling of customer complaints for positive outcomes

·         Designing and implementing a customer service action plan for your business

COMMITMENT & CLIMATE

·         What is Total Customer Satisfaction

·         Know your customer

·         Kinds of customer

·         Leading from the top

·         Staff commitment – the key to success

·         Customer service policy development

·         Final word & group exercises

ALIGNING OURSELVES WITH OUR CUSTOMERS

·         Customer partnership pre-requests and rules of creation

·         Cases in point

·         Business to business value hierarchy

·         Customer value process & performance

·         Competitive difference on value

·         Final word and group exercises

CUSTOMER SERVICES MINDSET

·         Customer service definition

·         Stages of customer services

·         Dimensions of customer services

·         The three Rs of customer services

·         Service factors

·         Customer service barriers

·         Customer service action plan

·         Customer care team

·         Establish customer service framework

·         Service value chain

·         Final word & group exercises

COMPETENCE, CAPABILITY & EMPOWERMENT OF PEOPLE

·         Why customer satisfactions start with employee’s satisfaction?

·         How could we look after our customer better?

·         Customer awareness / orientation

·         Types of customer needs

·         Understanding customers’ expectations and quality service

·         How do we treat customers

·         Internal customer

·         Final word & group exercises

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

·         What is customer satisfaction?

·         Who is the satisfied customer?

·         The critical component of profitability

·         Levels of customer satisfaction

·         Customer satisfaction – main benefits

·         Customer satisfaction facts

·         Types of customer satisfaction

·         Measuring performance & customer satisfaction

·         Ways of measuring customer satisfaction

·         Handling customer complaints

·         Improvement tools

·         Customer interaction pattern

·         Final word & group exercises

MANAGING CUSTOMER SERVICES

Topic Objectives:

·         Describe how to use Quality Management tools and methods

·         Build strong customer relationships

·         Help influence and set customer expectations

·         Measure their own degree of customer focus and be able to apply a variety of methods to get closer to the customer

·         Implement improved people skills to enhance customer service

·         Improve service to internal customers as well as external customers

·         Use skills to build effective relationships

Topic Modules:

INTRODUCING QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND CUSTOMER SERVICES

·         Introduction to Quality Management

·         The history of Quality in business

·         Basic Quality concepts

·         What is it that Customers want

·         How can we calculate the total cost of Quality

·         Customer satisfaction is a perception and can be managed

·         Setting customer expectations

·         Changing internal perceptions

·         Getting closer to customers

·         Understanding customer needs and expectations

·         Commitment starts at the top of the organisation

SERVICE QUALITY – TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

·         Five steps to Effective Quality Management

·         Beginning with measurement

·         Then we need methods of Control

·         Continuous Improvement

·         Service Quality Tools & Techniques

·         Questionnaires

·         Pareto Analysis

·         Nominal Group Technique

·         Cause and Effect Analysis

·         Solution Effect Analysis

·         Selection Grid

MANAGING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

·         Exceeding customer expectations every time

·         Determining how to exceed expectations

·         It’s the little things that matter – increased satisfaction at minimal cost

·         Asking for feedback on performance

·         Ongoing evaluation of effectiveness to ensure satisfaction

·         Maximize the value you deliver

·         Understanding different customer styles

PEOPLE SKILLS TO DELIVER EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE

·         Back to basics – communicating with our customers

·         Identify Listening Styles for you and your customer

·         Building Rapport

·         Influencing skills

·         Persuasion techniques

·         Dealing with Difficult Customers

·         Understanding Customer Behaviors

·         Understanding where Anger comes from

·         Developing Emotional Intelligence

MAKING IT HAPPEN

·         A look at Quality Management Systems

·         Producing a Plan of Action

·         Improving customer Satisfaction in 5 quick steps

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MEASUREMENT

Topic Objectives:

·         The role of surveys within a customer loyalty program

·         How to identify aspects of the service process to be measured through the survey

·         Critical issues in the construction of valid questions

·         Alternative question formats and scales

·         Response rate requirements

·         How to select your survey sample

·         Advantages of various survey administration methods, with a particular emphasis on the new electronic survey methods

·         Methods for analyzing survey data

·         How to organize and report data for maximum effect

CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAM GOALS AND THE ROLE OF SURVEYING

·         What is a survey and why conduct one?

·         The ROI of customer loyalty programs

·         Customer surveying as bilateral communications

PITFALLS ON THE SURVEY TRAIL

·         Validity and reliability of the survey instrument

·         Validity of administration

SURVEY PROJECT MANAGEMENT

·         Key stages of a survey project: preparing the project plan

·         Resources: who's on the team

·         Budget: cost components of a customer surveying project

·         Schedule: reasonable expectations for total elapsed time

Designing a Survey Questionnaire

·         Types of surveys:

ü  Specific purpose surveys

ü  Periodic surveys

ü  Transaction-driven surveys

·         Elements of a questionnaire

·         How to sequence questions

·         Question formats and when to use them

ü  Multiple choice or categorical

ü  Ordinal

ü  Interval ratings

·         The effects of wording

·         Testing the survey

ADMINISTERING THE SURVEY

·         Different types of administration methods and the advantages and disadvantages of each

ü  Postal mail surveys

ü  Telephone surveys

ü  Electronic mail

ü  Web form

ü  Surveying "by disk"

ü  Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

·         Selecting the sample

ü  Determining the sample size and the sample distribution size

ü  Determining the confidence of the results

·         Ensuring the quality of the administrative process

·         When and how to use pre-administration notification and follow-up notes

·         How to increase your response rates

·         Best practices for collecting and organizing data

ANALYZING & PRESENTING THE RESULTS

·         Planning for your analysis

·         Types of analysis: descriptive and multivariate statistics

·         Analyzing textual data

·         Preparing your written report

·         Presenting your findings to management

ü  The best uses of charts and graphs

SURVEY AUTOMATION SOFTWARE

·         What is survey automation software?

·         Benefits of using this software

·         The role of automation software in a survey project

·         Selecting survey automation software

·         Pricing of survey automation software

·         Hidden shortcomings with automation software

·         Sources of survey automation software

A variety of methodologies will be used during the course that includes:

·         (30%) Based on Case Studies

·         (30%) Techniques 

·         (30%) Role Play

·         (10%) Concepts

·         Pre-test and Post-test

·         Variety of Learning Methods

·         Lectures

·         Case Studies and Self Questionaires

·         Group Work

·         Discussion

·         Presentation

This rate includes participant’s manual, Hand-Outs, buffet lunch, coffee/tea on arrival, morning & afternoon of each day.

Daily Course Timings:

    08:00 - 08:20       Morning Coffee / Tea

    08:20 - 10:00       First Session

    10:00 - 10:20       Coffee / Tea / Snacks

    10:20 - 12:20       Second Session

    12:20 - 13:30       Lunch Break & Prayer Break

    13:30 - 15:00       Last Session