smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Following an extensive customer survey, Nishant Agarwal, the MD at cosmetic surgery practice Castlefield Clinic, realised that change was long overdue.

‘We had been running for 20 years and had manual systems in place right from the year dot, which we had just improved as we went along rather than having a complete overhaul of everything,’ he says.

After investing in a customer relationship management system, turnover improved by 15 per cent per annum. ‘It seemed the problem was that not all staff knew what they were doing, so we decided to put a CRM system in place,’ he says.

Now, staff performance and customer service are both measurable. ‘We can pull out information that shows how many enquiries are turned into orders and which members of staff are performing,’ says Agarwal. ‘It has also freed up a lot of time for staff so they can focus on the phone with customers, rather than doing admin. And as the service we offer is so personal, building up relationships with customers is crucial. It has absolutely transformed the business.’

Valeria Zilkha, co-owner of restaurant Brompton Quarter Brasserie, says that negative customer feedback led to the transformation of the business. ‘We had a few complaints; people were saying the food was great and they liked the location but the service wasn’t all there – it wasn’t prompt enough and they weren’t being given enough attention.’
The solution was to roll out a thorough staff training programme, says Zilkha.

‘The problem was that employees weren’t properly aware of their roles. Now we assess every member of staff each week. We go through all the positives and negatives with them, which is time-consuming but important to keep staff engaged. ‘Following these changes people told us that they noticed the difference. It really shifted the energy of the place and our turnover has improved by 30 per cent,’ she says.

In certain sectors, keeping customers satisfied is a matter of survival. Liam Hennessy, head of call centre at Ladbrokes, says, ‘For us, it’s a matter of the cost of not having it. It’s a very competitive market and we would lose market share if people weren’t happy with the service they received.’

Hennessy adds that the key to staying ahead of the game is to make sure that every phone call is answered in the shortest space of time. ‘A speedy response is crucial; if the phone isn’t answered immediately, the customer will go somewhere else.’

In order to prevent people from waiting, Hennessy invested in a router, which transfers calls to agents in different call centres if lines are busy. This approach was coupled with an extensive training programme.

‘We’ve extended the length of the training course from four to eight weeks. That way, staff confidence levels are high when they are on the phone. Some customers phone around five to six times a day and it’s important they receive a consistent customer experience.’

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