Four Steps to Improving Customer Service

by Chris Domergue
Director of Client Services

Many of Sinclair Advisory Group’s current customers are Federal agencies, or those who work closely with the Federal government.  On April 27, 2011, President Obama issued an executive order that will have a profound effect on the operations of all Federal agencies—and on the American people who interact with them.

The President’s executive order, titled “Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service,” requires agencies to come up with ways to use technology to improve customer service—within six months.  You can read it here.  The executive order cited previous attempts by other administrations to provide the public with competent, efficient, and responsive service.

“However,” it continues, “with advances in technology and service delivery systems in other sectors, the public’s expectation of the Government have continued to rise.  The Government must keep pace with and even exceed those expectations… Government managers must learn from what is working in the private sector and apply these best practices to deliver services better, faster, and at lower cost.”

In an interview with The Hill newspaper, Federal Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients said, “The President has made clear that now more than ever, we need to make every taxpayer dollar count. He’s also been clear that agencies cannot fall into the trap of viewing decreased funding levels as an excuse for the status quo or for accepting diminished service levels.”

Federal agencies were given 180 days to develop plans to show how they will streamline service delivery and improve the experiences of their customers. It’s a tight deadline, but it can be met if the correct steps are followed. 

As someone who has spent his entire career advising government and private organizations in defining customer relationship management strategies and in delivering related solutions, I suggest a plan built around four key principles  whether you are a Federal agency meeting the mandate or a business just looking to improve your customer service. The four key principles to a successful customer service strategy are the following:

·      Define the Customer Experience: Know your customers, and how, when, and why they interact with your agency.  Understand where they have problems dealing with your organization and how you can optimize their experience

·      Focus on Consistent Information: Make sure all of the “channels” of information you provide, such as your web site, emails and chat, phone systems and customer service agents, smartphone applications, and social media outlets are offering the same information to all customers who use your services

·      Leverage Today’s Technology and Data: The multi-channel, virtual, and ‘cloud’ based technologies now available to managers make it much easier to see a complete picture of their enterprise—and to make smarter and more customer-focused decisions.

·      Make Customer Experience One of Your Core Functions: Consider creating a Customer Experience or Marketing Officer at the Executive Level to emphasize the importance of the voice of the customer.  This can not only improve performance, but reduce operating costs as well!

In future posts, I’ll elaborate on each of these four principles, and how to accomplish them successfully.  In the meantime, whether you represent a giant government department or run your own small business, why not contact us here at Sinclair Advisory Group to see what we can do to improve your customers’ experience and interactions with you.  Our team of experienced Associates and Consultants will be happy to help!