Improve Customer Service Ahead Of Olympics

British businesses must improve their customer service ahead of next year’s Olympic Games in order to take advantage of the expected extra revenue.

With approximately half a million people predicted to visit Britain during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, UK companies are looking at ways to maximise their share of the event’s revenue.

It has been estimated that Olympic visitors will contribute 2 billion towards British business next year and providing optimum levels of customer service is where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can steal a march on their bigger competitors.

Investing in customer service training is one way that organisations can ensure that their employees have the appropriate skills to generate repeat business by encouraging consumer loyalty.

SMEs are ideally placed to provide the highest levels of service because they will have more time to interact with customers and their local knowledge will enable them to offer a more personal touch which visitors to a new city are sure to appreciate.

As visitors from various different countries are expected to visit Britain, it is important that front line employees are trained on how to interact with foreign customers so that they are sensitive to any cultural requirements.

It is also vital that all British businesses are accessible and disability-friendly during the Games as there will be an increase in the number of disabled people visiting the country during the Games.

British disabled customers generate 80 billion in revenue every year and account for approximately 20 per cent of the country’s customer base so all organisations should focus on improving services for those people with disabilities.

The vast majority of disabled consumers will take their business to an organisation which has built a reputation for providing accessible and disability-friendly customer service so companies must learn how to offer this ahead of the Games.

Employees must understand that disabled people do not appreciated being pitied, patronised or generalised and that they should not feel afraid to ask what they can do to help them.

Companies can improve service by employing performance improvement consulting professionals to apply systems thinking to their business so that they can view their organisation from a customer’s perspective.

Applying systems thinking theory will enable a business to examine what customer’s value most when interacting with their businesses and this will show them how to improve their processes.

Performance improvement consultants are expected to experience increased demand for their services as more businesses look to make the most of the Olympic Games.