CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer service is the support you offer your customers both before and after they buy and use your products or services, that helps them have an easy and enjoyable experience with you. Offering amazing customer service is important if you want to retain customers and grow your business.

Customer, they say is the ‘lifeblood’ of every organization.

Benefits of good customer service

• Increase Business revenue.
• There would be a lot of referrals from your customers using word of mouth Marketing.
• Improves brand loyalty and reputation.
• It helps innovation and growth.
• Customers becomes willing to pay more for excellent service.
• There would be employee’s retention and satisfaction.
• It is how you win your competitors.

Customer service is not:

• A single person’s responsibility.
• The act of solving problem only.
• A series of steps.
• Is not a department.
• Smiling and being friendly even when you are unable to help.

Types of customers

1. Internal customers: Employees.
2. External customers: Buyers.
3. Corporate customers: Stakeholders, agencies etc.

EXPECTATIONS

Expectations refers to how customers think and feel they should be treated when they come to you with their needs.

Key expectations that drive customer satisfaction

• Reliability: Doing what you said you will do, how you said you will do it and when you said you will do it. The key to reliability is to always under promise and over deliver.
• Professionalism: The appearance of your physical facilities, equipment and that of your staff/Employees, helps you create a good first impression.
• Competency: Your ability to convey trust and confidence by being knowledgeable about the product and service you offer.
• Flexibility: This is the ability to recognize the individuality of each customer and offer creative solutions to meet each need.
• Responsiveness: This is the willingness to help and provide customers with prompt service and ability to respond to problem on time.
• Empathy: Ability to share someone else’s feeling or experience by imagining what it will be like to be in the person’s situation.
• Responsible: Take responsibility for your decisions and actions even when they go bad. Takes responsibility for your mistakes.

Ensure that you define your company’s standard of Service; transparent and honest. Build emotional connection with your customer.

CUSTOMER’S COMPLAINTS/ SERVICE DELIVERY GAP

Customer complaints are often a sign that there’s a disconnect between what customers expected and what you delivered.

Customer’s complaints can

• Improve your business.
• Improve your process.
• Improve your policy.

Causes of Service delivery gap

• Customer’s expectations being more than what a company can deliver.
• When organizations promise more than they can deliver.
• Team failure to follow service process.

Steps to handle complaints

1. Listen (Pay attention, be calm and repeat the complaint): Give the customer assurance, apologize and don’t be defensive.
2. Find out what was wrong.
3. Emphasize with the customer.
4. Take action Immediately.
5. Restore customers relationship.
6. Fix all that needs to be fixed.
7.  

To get testimonials from your customers:

1. Give them value for their money.
2. Always go above and beyond their expectations.
3. Make them an offer.

ACCOUNTING SYSTEM IN BUSINESS

Accounting is the process of recording financial transactions pertaining to a business.

Types of Accounting Systems

1. Book keeping: This refers to the systematical gathering of financial information.
2.  Financial Accounting: It is prepared for company owners, lenders, financial analyst etc.
3. Managerial Accounting: This is a customized financial information, to manage it includes pricing, competition, marginality and budgeting.
4. Tax accounting: It determines the amount of taxes that the company has to pay.

Importance of Accounting

1) It helps a business owner to provide financial and management record.

2) It helps users of financial information to make informed decision that will benefit/impact the Business.

3) It helps Business owners to know and understand what is happening in the business.

BOOK KEEPING

Book keeping is the foundation of accounting, where it starts. This is where all daily transactions that occurs in the business are recorded. The first step in business accounting is recording business transaction.

Book keeping starts with a transaction, followed by source documents, record books and then financial statement.

• Transactions: These are economic activities that occurs daily in a business, examples are sales, purchase, receipt and payment.
• Source Documents: These are original documents containing the record of a transaction entered in an accounting system. Source documents includes
• Documents from expenses such as
• Incoming invoice from suppliers and vendors.
• Incoming receipt from suppliers and vendors.
• Payment vouchers, that is, reasons for payment.
• Bank Record.
• Merchant services statement and correspondents.

RECORD BOOKS

Examples of records books includes

1. The cash sale book.
2. Cash purchase book.
3. Cash Book summary.
4. Sales ledger: This is a record of a company’s sale, showing the amount paid and owned by customers.
5. Purchase Ledger: A list of all the purchase invoices it’s ever received from its suppliers, and when they were paid.
6. petty cash book

* Petty cash: This refers to the money used to run day-to- day expenses of the business.

The four S(s) of Records Keeping

1. System: Set a system in place and ensure that you stick to it.
2. Separate: Separate your professional and personal finance.
3. Security: Make it a priority – let few people be involved in the financial system.
4. Safe keeping: Safely store hard copy of your financial in fire proof bags.