The Importance of Customer Service Week 2023
Customer Service Week 2023 (CSW) is right around the corner. From October 2nd to the 6th the annual international celebration of the importance of customer service will be taking place. Thousands of companies in dozens of countries will be celebrating this focus on the customer – including our team at DATAMARK.
On the surface it may look like CSW is all about the customers. This is true to a certain extent. The focus is on making sure that your customers always get the best possible service.
However, the real point of this week is to honor and celebrate the people who make customer service happen. Since 1987, CSW has been celebrated, and it received government recognition way back in 1992.
President George Bush officially designated the first full week of October as National Customer Service Week. Bush proclaimed, “A business will do a better job of providing high-quality goods and services by listening to its employees and by empowering them with opportunities to make a difference.”
That is a powerful message.
How to Recognize Your Customer Service Representatives
Writing in the business magazine Forbes, CX analyst Shep Hyken, suggests these three ideas for all companies connected to customer service:
- Focus on your employees: it could be as simple as pizza after work, but find some way to recognize that great customer service only happens because of the great people on your team. Remind them and thank them.
- Honor your vendors: you might feel that your customers are more important than the companies you buy from, but we all know what happens when a vendor lets you down – great vendors can become a part of the fabric of your business. Send them a note of appreciation for their role in your joint success.
- Appreciate your customers: why not ask your clients to join in the celebration by helping to honor your employees? At the very least just remind your customers of how much they mean to your business.
This is all great advice. Customer service week is focuses on the employees that deliver great client service. However, as Shep points out, we all exist within an ecosystem of vendors and customers. We all need each other to really deliver on customer service promises.
The Impact of CSW
Nobody has really measured the direct impact of CSW over the years. However, as you look across the industry it is clear that this week makes a real difference in several ways:
- Raised awareness – it boosts the value of client service and draws attention to just how important it is for client satisfaction and loyalty
- Morale boost – shining a light on the team that really makes it happen is great because it reminds them of their own importance in the process.
- Focus on improvement – it is a great opportunity for companies to announce new training programs or upgrades. The focus on delivering great customer service at this time leads to many new improvements.
- Enhanced customer experience – Many companies use this week to offer special deals or offers tied to CSW, thanks to their focus on the customer.
The focus underlying the effort that goes into CSW is the employee engagement, but it does spin out into all these other effects and outcomes too.
What plans does your company have for customer service week 2023?
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