Whether you’re offering a service or a product you need to satisfy your customers, and that relies on delivering consistent quality time after time.

Standards offer a superb set of tools to achieve consistent quality and customer service excellence. They lay out good practices for carrying out a whole range of services and the processes and systems that underpin customer excellence.

That’s not all: in a complex, interconnected global economy, standards can help you work seamlessly with supply chains and partners, and provide assurance to those procuring services, whether in the same region or on the other side of the world. They do this by providing a common language and helping to define service requirements, customer expectations, and recognized terms and definitions. They also reduce the risks that might hit customers, such as data security vulnerabilities.

Why are Customer Excellence Standards Important to an Organization?

Achieving customer excellence isn’t just about being courteous to your customers – it’s a vital element of business operations that can impact your bottom line and affect how your company is viewed in the public eye.

Customer expectations in today’s competitive world have changed and are constantly evolving. Today, globalization and digitalization and the increased variety of products and services allow customers more freedom of choice.

A lot of businesses just like yours are competing for customer money and customer loyalty. Chances are good that you’re investing in marketing and advertising efforts to bring consumers through your doors. The important part of customer service is in keeping the customers once you bring them in. It costs significantly more to attract new customers than it does to take care of the ones you already have.

Several high-profile companies have found themselves in the spotlight because of poor customer service policies. Customers frequently share their opinions of businesses online and through social media, which means even one wrong move or perceived slight can spread quickly and damage your business. In addition to providing high-quality service, monitor what’s being said about your business online so you can quickly address and resolve any complaints as they arise.

To find out more about how your organization can improve its management of complaints, click here.

The good news is that it’s relatively simple to implement a customer service improvement plan that keeps your business on top.

Achieving Excellence Through Standards: Fair, Flexible Services for All

Our range of customer service standards can help your business implement the necessary frameworks to achieve excellent customer service.

BS 8477 Code of practice for customer service sets out principles for establishing and maintaining an effective customer service culture and mindset in an organization of any size, geographical location, or business sector.

It also provides recommendations on applying these principles so that the organization has the capability to deliver a consistent standard of service that meets or exceeds the expectations of its customers.

BS ISO 23592 Service excellence. Principles and model is the international standard that focuses on helping business organizations provide excellent services to their consumers. It specifies service excellence terminology, principles, and model to achieve outstanding customer experience and sustainable customer delight.

To ensure excellent customer service is being achieved organizations also need to fully consider the potential impact of a new product or service or assess the most appropriate approach to anticipate and meet the needs of their customers.

BS ISO 22458 Consumer vulnerability. Requirements and guidelines for the design and delivery of inclusive service is a pioneering new international standard that specifies requirements and guidelines for organizations on how to design and deliver fair, flexible, and inclusive services that will increase positive outcomes for consumers and minimize the risk of harm.

It covers organizational culture and strategy, inclusive design, and how to identify and respond to consumer vulnerability. BS ISO 22458 is applicable to any organization that provides services, including service-related products, to consumers, regardless of location or size. This framework helps businesses to ensure they are doing all they can to shape their operations in a way that is most beneficial to all their consumers, and to achieve levels of excellent customer service.

Get everyone in your business involved in embedding a culture of excellent customer service. A BSI Knowledge subscription gives you instant access to the resources you need to improve your customer service and complaint management processes and the performance of your people - all in one place. The flexibility and visibility it provides of the best practices guidance enables you to get the most from your standards. Request to learn more.

Set the standard for customer service excellence. Implement these best practice frameworks today to meet the needs of your consumers.