7 Habits of Highly Effective Customer Service

I've always been a fan of Stephen Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The book describes a principle-centred approach to solving personal and professional problems. It's a book I was introduced to many years ago as a new manager and it's a book I've gone back to many times and have recommended to colleagues throughout my career.

Some people say it's common sense wrapped up as something more and I understand why. Although, now more than ever common sense is much needed, particularly as the worlds of customer service and operations get more and more complex.

Over the years I've often thought ‘could I apply the seven habits to customer service - and now I finally have, so here goes! Let me know what you think.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

• Anticipate customer needs and potential issues rather than waiting for problems to arise.

• Use customer data to foresee needs and present these to your advisors and customers. 

• Take ownership of problems to ensure they are fully resolved.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

• Define what a positive service experience looks like for your business and customers. 

• Start each interaction with a clear understanding of the desired outcome.

• Use service principles ((LINK)) to guide your actions, decisions and ways of working.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

• Have a clear strategy and ensure people are focused on delivering to it. 

• Focus on high-impact activities such as resolving critical pain points quickly.

• Remove or automate low value, low complexity, repetitive tasks to free up your team. 

  
  

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

• Prioritise activities that drive employee and customer satisfaction. 

• Approach every interaction with a mindset that seeks a mutually beneficial solution.

• Use creative problem-solving and bend (break) the rules when it makes sense to do so.

  
  

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

• Actively listen to your customers to genuinely understand their viewpoint.

• Clarify and validate their wants and needs.

• Be clear and consistent in your communication across all your channels. 

Habit 6: Synergize

• Work collaboratively across teams to develop simple, repeatable and scalable solutions. 

• Leverage diverse knowledge, experiences and perspectives to drive innovation.

• Listen to, learn from and co-design with your customer-facing colleagues.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

• Use qualitative and quantitative data to always be learning about the service you deliver. 

• Make continuous improvement part of your culture and enable anyone to change anything.

• Keep training your people and get them to challenge and support one another.

There you go! Let me know what you think or would add in the comments.

I work with companies to achieve effective customer service - get in touch if you want a conversation about how I can help. I look forward to hearing from you.