Guest Blogger: Emmanuel Trenche - Customer service is an art form sales reps should brush up on

Here are some other ways sales reps can exceed customer expectations after winning over new customers:

1. Understand and confirm what the customer expects to receive in full.
2. Communicate to the customer what is required from them to meet their expectations. (Don’t assume they already know!)
3. Collect and gather all necessary information up front to minimize inefficiencies and lost time.
4. Provide all of the necessary information to other departments working on the job.
5. Communicate and reiterate what the customer expects to receive to other employees working the job.
6. Address potential obstacles or production issues head on and provide alternative solutions whenever possible. (Don’t beat around the bush and don’t promise anything you cannot guarantee.)
7. Encourage service to take ownership of the relationship to minimize service breaks and exceed customer expectations.
Examples:
a. Include a thank you card with your shipment
b. Provide a savings coupon or an additional service free of charge
c. Send a box of cookies or treats with the order
8. Follow up with the customer to ensure you delivered a pleasant customer experience (If possible, over the phone. This is a great time to build rapport and talk about future work.)
9. Gather feedback from the customer to improve your service patterns and understand their overall experience with the company.
10. Track missed commitments to ensure that a root-cause analysis is conducted and that employees are properly trained.

Emmanuel Trenche is the Marketing and Communications Director for Rex Three, one of South Florida’s top commercial printers. Emmanuel is also the Diversity Chair for the Advertising Federation of Greater Fort Lauderdale’s board of directors. His professional background is in sales and marketing alignment by capitalizing on customer relationship management (CRM) tools and sales process configuration. If you'd like to contact Emmanuel, please e-mail him at etrenche@rex3.com.