DECA Instructional Area: Customer Relations

explain the nature of positive customer relations

o "The customer is always right" & "Make it right" = look at it from the customer's point of view and empathize "I can't control ___, but I can control ____"

o believing that your customers: deserve the very best, are your employers, deserve your focused attention, have the right to expect things of me, and have important problems and complaints

o Steps: know what your customers consider to be good customer service; take the time to find out customers' expectations; follow up on both positive and negative feedback you receive; ensure that you consider customer service in all aspects of your business; continuously look for ways to improve the level of customer service you deliver.

demonstrate a customer-service mindset

o Culture- company, direction employees, treat customers, see company

o Employees- care committee = employees- community, environment, guest, employee's initiatives, meet monthly

o Warm cookies when check in

o "The little things mean everything" - what puts us overtop ie. Recognize birthday or anniversary, show you care, complimenting

o The customer is always right.

o You can afford to be generous.

o Every interaction is a moment to shine.

o Fostering positive customer interactions vs. negative

o View negative customer interactions as a way to identify customer's needs

o View your work through the eyes of the customer

develop rapport with customers

mutual friendliness,trust,interest in well being,customer preferences

reinforce service orientation through communication

concern for customers,enthusiasim

respond to customer inquiries

sense of urgency,customer=own problems,consistency,loyal customers,standards reflect image, employee responsiveness

adapt communication to the cultural and social differences among clients

overcoming language barriers,international business,neutral tone,target audience,technology(time zones),no politics

interpret business policies to customers/clients

employees learn how to interpret and explain corporate policy in a way that customers can appreciate and understand;use simple language, listen/sympathize

,explain (health hazard,nonrefundable)

build and maintain relationships with customers

dependable income,touch base frequently,-be prompt/ organized,respect/care -especially important with small businesses, communicate openly, honesty

handle difficult customers

Control yourself(don't argue),listen intently, show that you care,fix the problem

handle customer/client complaints

assess complaints,ask questions,record/ organize feedback,identify customer,DON't be passive,aggressive

identify company's brand promise

Statement made to customers to identify what they should expect out of a product/service

Also called a slogan (Save Money. Live Better. Walmart)

determine ways of reinforcing the company's image through employee performance

Employees should know their company's mission and vision an work in a way that demonstrates these.

discuss the nature of customer relationship management

Discuss the nature of customer relationship management.

Customer relationship management involves finding customers and keeping them satisfied through a variety of means. It is useful for developing and maintaining customer relationships. The sharing of customer information among businesses has led to privacy issues. The government has regulations protecting the privacy of consumers, including offering customers the option of being added to mailing lists.

explain the role of ethics in customer relationship management

o Building trust and loyalty is key

o Customer information is personal information and must be protected

o The company has a moral obligation to safeguard personal information collected from the customer

o The company often is legally culpable if information is mishandled or not properly protected

o Some customer information could be used to steal from the customer or impersonate him/her

Children's information often has legal restrictions concerning what can be collected and stored

o Security measures when handling credit card payments and information

o Customer data is stored in a secured manner that monitors when and who accesses the information

o There are secure levels of access so those that should not be able to see certain information can't

o Data is properly deleted when a customer leaves the CRM program

describe the use of technology in customer relationship management

o By gathering and organizing customer information: determine and fulfill its customers' needs and wants; identify the most profitable, loyal customers. After identifying these customers, the business may provide higher, better service to these customers to maintain their loyalty and increase their profitability

o Uses: Customer information; Employee information; Create reports on buying habits and trends; Track sales and create goals for the sales team

o Types of software:

Operational CRM - provide support to front office business processes such as sales personnel, marketing and service staff

Analytical CRM - Basically it evaluates the necessary customer data for a wide variety of reasons

o Types of data:

Contact data - ability to build stronger, longer lasting relationships with customers. Know what they "Like" on Facebook and who/what they're following on Twitter in addition to their personal data

Demographic data - income, zip code, etc.

Transactional data - what, when, where, and how much a customer bought

Relationship data - allows customer facing employees in such areas as sales, customer support, and marketing to make quick yet informed decisions on everything from cross-selling and upselling opportunities to target marketing strategies to competitive positioning tactics.

o Use for creating a view of the customer:

Software can be programmed to collect and display customer information in a way the works best for the employee

• A "dashboard" summarizes information so that a manager or employee can get pertinent information at a glance

• Employees can be taught to read standardized summary pages that give them the information needed to best approach the customer

CRM technology can present only the critical information for the particular customer and can be used to compare customers using like information