CUSTOMER SERVICE SUMMIT 2022: Reveals the fact, the myth and the experience

As part of deepening knowledge and practice of customer service, some leading customer service experts shared their rich and vast experience with the audience at the just-ended Customer Service Summit 2022.

The customer should always feel right, that is basic to good customer service delivery, a fact revealed, during the just-ended Maiden Customer Service Summit organized by Customer Service Africa at Alisa Hotel in Accra. Speaking on the theme; Celebrating Customer Service the Executive Way keynote speaker, Dr Damien Duchamp threw light on some facts surrounding customers and customer service, namely:

Customer retention is less expensive as compared to customer acquisition; it takes a lot more money to go out to prospect for new clients than to attend to and treat existing ones properly.
Existing customers contribute 65% to the company’s bottom line, new customers bring in the rest of the 35%.
Employees are the initial customers of every organization, when they are properly managed, it translates to the external customer.

Chairman Stephen Essien, speaking on the topic Customer Service, a discussion for the boardroom alluded to the myth that customer service executives are not major contributors to the bottom line of an organization. It is a myth, every organization can operate because of customers, how then is the one tasked to manage the “money bags” marginalized and not paid attention to? he opined. He urged customer service executives to amplify their voice on solutions to customer complaints or problems till they are given a seat in the boardroom to affect those solutions.

An organization’s interaction with customers should transcend from just a service (meeting an expectation) to an experience (exceeding the expectation). Dr Edward Ackah Nyamike Jnr, described this with a hotel visit analogy. Right from the website of an organization where the information is derived, a customer should have a delightful experience that will make him or her an indirect ambassador for your brand. we often make the mistake that the customer experience starts at the lobby or front desk, the experience should start immediately the customer decides to look you up on the search engine and interact with your outfit” he added.

The maiden customer service summit was a two-day session that opened with experienced customer service Gurus within the Ghanaian space and ended with a Master Class which dived into detailing the step-by-step approach to wholesome quality customer service delivery. The customer service summit is an annual event organized by Customer Service Africa.