1-Sentence-Summary: Legendary Service talks about the principles behind extraordinary customer service and how a company can implement them to achieve a competitive advantage and stand out on the market using simple, yet crucial tactics to satisfy customers.
Read in: 4 minutes
Favorite quote from the author:
A company’s purpose is, among other things, to make a profit. Its survival depends on its ability to outperform competition and produce cash flow to maintain operations. For this reason, every business is constantly looking for ways to either maintain their current strategy or find new ones in order to grow.
Many businesses opt for cost leadership, which consists in offering the cheapest alternative on the market. Another option is differentiation, which implies offering premium products for a higher-than-average price. However, as the competition intensifies faster than ever, businesses must find new ways to gain a competitive advantage.
Therefore, offering the highest level of customer service has become the newest challenge. Companies like Amazon, Apple, or Tesla are prime examples of how outstanding customer service can benefit an organization. If clients feel valued and receive better than expected products and services, they’re more likely to come back. They even advocate for their favorite brands.
Legendary Service by Ken Blanchard delves into what top-tier customer experience should look like and how any company can implement practices that will help them deliver outstanding service for their prospects. It all starts with genuinely caring about employees, clients, and generally about all stakeholders.
Here are my three favorite lessons from the book:
- The relationship you have with your employees and customers is the most important to your business.
- Be proactive when it comes to your clients and develop a customer-centric culture.
- Be attentive and responsive to your customer’s inquiries.
Now, we’ll take every lesson and explore it in detail. Let’s start with the first one!
Lesson 1: The happiness level of both employees and customers will dictate the success of a company.
As cliché as it sounds, change comes from within. Legendary service must start from inside the company. Therefore, as a business owner, it is crucial to not just encourage your employees to be nice to your customers. You must also train them to develop a sense of responsibility for them and always meet their needs.
The best way to ensure stellar customer service is to provide outstanding care for your employees. When you take care of your staff, they will take care of your clients. And when your clients feel valued, they will become loyal to your brand and promote it to their friends and family. In other words, they will make your business flourish.
Therefore, try to create a friendly environment and a learning space for your employees, where they can get their professional satisfaction from. The ‘’open-door’’ policy is also a great practice, as it allows them to communicate more openly with you and discuss any problems they may encounter along the way.
By doing this, you will take care of your customers indirectly. In time, you will notice how your employees enjoy coming to work and spreading positivity around. Consequently, this will make your customers feel appreciated and leave them wanting to come back for more of that great energy.
Lesson 2: Put yourself in your clients’ shoes and work hard to meet their needs.
When was the last time you experienced outstanding customer service? In general, you’ll have to think twice before remembering this type of situation. That is because most companies deliver mediocre services and spend few resources on improving their customers’ experiences with their brand.
As such, the first step towards growing your company and outperforming your competitors is offering ideal service. Be empathetic when it comes to your customers, acknowledge their needs and wants, and meet them every single time. Make them feel special, valued, and cared for.
Train your employees to listen carefully to the customer’s needs and bond with them during the delivery of the service or product. They can do this by presenting themselves first, asking customer-specific questions about their desired outcome, and anticipating their needs.
Let’s take the following example: a woman walks into a clothing store to buy a dress for a very special occasion. A model employee would greet her and introduce themselves. They would then ask the woman what occasion she’s shopping for. They would also explore more options with her as the woman tries on different dresses.
Then, she would anticipate that the woman might need shoes to match that dress. Thus, they will offer to help her find the right pair. At the end of the shopping experience, the employee should explain the warranty terms and encourage the customer to come back again. Now that is what legendary service looks like.
Lesson 3: Responsiveness and attentiveness are key when it comes to your customers.
The best way to ensure stellar customer service is to listen and act on the information received. When you center your business around your clients, the first thing you want to do is make them talk and share their opinions about your service. Receiving both negative and positive feedback is a crucial step in this process.
After all, your goal is to meet their expectations, so once you get to know what those are it will become much easier to do so. If you look around, big companies like McDonald’s or Starbucks are even offering rewards for customers willing to talk about their experiences with their brand by completing questionnaires.
Then, ask yourself how you can fulfill their expressed needs. This is quite important, as meeting their expectations will keep them loyal to your brand. However, studies suggest that one bad experience can ruin all the good ones in the client’s perception, so make sure to keep the bar high and avoid making mistakes.
Try to remember your customer’s particular preferences. This will make them feel truly valued and listened to while increasing the recurring rates. For example, if you’re in the restaurant business, ask your client if they’ll have their usual thing to eat when they come back.
Legendary Service Review
Legendary Service focuses on key business aspects that every manager and company executive should learn about and implement right away. The book explores how great customer service can set the foundation for a company’s success and how to achieve it. Its readers will learn not only how outstanding service for clients can help a business of any size stand out, but also how to provide a top-tier customer experience by following a few practical steps.
Who would I recommend our Legendary Service summary to?
The 35-year-old business owner who wants to upscale their company, the 40-year-old manager working in hospitality who wants to improve their customer service or the 24-year-old student who wants to learn more about good business practices.
Last Updated on May 22, 2023
