Author: Neftaly Malatjie

Loyal customers are at the core of every business’ including IT business – success businesses have a 60 to 70% chance of selling to an existing customer, while the probability of selling to a new prospect is only 5 to 20 percent. Maintaining customer relationships is no easy task, but if done right, it can help set your company apart from your competitors.

The act of maintaining a relationship with your customers is an essential part of a business strategy, and should be included in every business plan. To guide small businesses through this essential strategic point, we have put together 5 ways your brand can maintain customer relationships.

Not all customer request-for-support can be resolved at once, some requests or problems can be unresolved after an intervention has been implemented. If a customer problem has been unresolved after an intervention, there is need for the problem to be escalated to the relevant persons e.g. line manager or technical specialist.

Escalation

Remember the following when escalating problems;

1. Do I have all of the facts?

Escalation in its purest form is a strategic move. Make sure you have all your facts together and have taken the time to consider alternatives before escalating. If the issue personally involves team members, strategize how this escalation will be a learning tool if at all possible.

2. Will this issue come to a complete surprise to superiors?

If communication is open and effective, then your superiors should have some indication that a challenge is present before the escalation occurs. The soft skills involved in finessing communication techniques over the course of a career become more complex and more important as the stakes grow. Be sure that your communication skills grow with increasing responsibility. Seek professional mentoring or other professional development to keep skills current.

3. What do I want from this process?

Escalation as a management strategy involves a comprehensive understanding of outcome goals and long-term project planning. Escalate too many issues and you may be perceived as the “Boy Who Cried Wolf” which may result in the lack of engagement of superiors when you truly need them. Holding back and waiting too long to escalate an issue can result in the things falling apart. Effective escalation takes skill, knowledge, and experience.

4. Am I prepared?

While seasoned professionals will disagree about when or how to escalate an issue, most will agree that if you are going to escalate an issue you need to be completely prepared. Accumulate your documentation about what you have done so far to mitigate the situation; prepare a concise report detailing any related financials; have clear ideas about your outcomes. You want to be a partner in the process, so involve your team as necessary and engage your superiors as colleagues. An escalation can be an effective learning tool for teams if strategized properly.

Additional Factors to Consider

Effective escalation requires a certain level of professional maturity that emanates from top project managers. When you are in the presence of great leaders, how they handle conflicts and unexpected issues becomes the glue that builds team cohesion and is noticeable from a distance. Every company has divisions and teams that work smoothly despite issues that arise as projects evolve. Developing effective escalation strategies can help you keep your skills relevant and leverage career growth throughout the longevity of your career.

Responding to a customer in a prompt and professional manner is very important for many reasons.

Companies rely on their customers to keep a business running smoothly and profitable. In order to keep customers satisfied, they expect their concerns to be handled professionally, effectively and swiftly. This is why it is very important to respond to customers request in a prompt and professional manner. If a customer feels disrespected or like their problem was not resolved effectively then they may spread a bad word about your business or file complaint with other agencies. This leads to a bad reputation for the company.

When dealing with customers online or by phone, try asking yourself these questions?

• When a customer calls and has a problem that requires a call back, how long does it take, on average, to call them back either with an answer or to let them know the problem is still being worked on?
• If a customer leaves a message for an employee, what are the expectations in terms of how much time can elapse before calling him/her back?
• What are the policies regarding responding to customers?
• How much training have employees had with regard to responding to customers in terms of time management, prioritization of customer issues and dealing with difficult or angry customers?
• How well do employees understand the company’s products/services, its policies and what the next level or step in problem resolution is?

If you can see thing calmly and from the customer’s point of view, you are much more likely to succeed in gaining good word of mouth, and a feel good factor for the customer also.

Demonstrate appropriate customer care in the context of IT support, according to a Service Level Agreement     

Candidate’s Name:				ID No
Assessor’s Name:				Ass. Reg. No
Moderator’s Name:				Mod. Reg. No
Date:
UNIT STANDARD	NQF LEVEL	CREDITS	DATE OF COMPLETION		SIGNATURE OF ASSESSOR		SIGNATURE OF MODERATOR
114052	5	8

Insert your completed assessment activities and evidence here: