Overview of chapter 12
Your attitude and approach to your job will affect the customers you deal with and will affect your actions as well. Everyone feels good about themselves and about a place they are dealing with if the initial contact is positive and enthusiastic. Elder (1994)
To start you thinking
Ask yourself the following questions:
- If a customer really annoys me am I capable of controlling my moods and emotions?
- When people treat me badly can I still be polite and professional?
- Am I happy to apologise when I make mistakes?
- Am I a good, clear communicator?
- Am I someone who remembers names and faces, who smiles at most people, and who sends out messages of confidence and good will?
Customer service and public relations are important to all organisations. Developing rapport and a good relationship with customers is an essential competitive advantage and will encourage repeat business. More importantly, word of mouth is a potent marketing tool: a good reputation with customers is far more favourable than a poor one!
Learning objectives
On completion of this chapter you should be able to:
- identify customers' needs and expectations and the organisation's role in providing the service to fill these needs
- develop a plan for establishing a working relationship with clients
- analyse skills, particularly communication skills, in customer service
- outline potential communication barriers in a customer service interaction
- apply problem solving strategies to handle customer complaints and difficult situations
- identify the different groups that are an organisation's public
- analyse the goals and objectives of a public relations plan
- discuss the role of a media release and a special event in presenting a positive public image
- outline the steps in the strategic management of public relations.
Topics
- 12.1 Overview of customer service
- 12.2 Developing a working relationship with clients
- 12.3 Customer relations and communication skills
- 12.4 Handling difficult situations
- 12.5 Public relations
In your text
Read Chapter 8 in your text by Dwyer, J. 2005, Communication in Business: Strategies and Skills, 3 rd edn, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest , Australia .
