Marketing Stockport Breakfast: Focus on customer service

Marketing Stockport’s May members’ meeting focused on customer service following a mystery shopping exercise on six lucky members!

Hosted by Gold member Orbit Developments, Stockport’s largest commercial landlord, a packed audience filled the 2nd floor at their town centre located Applicon House to learn the fundamentals of excellence in customer service.

Guest presenter Chris Lowe of Stockport Anonymous explained how today’s customer journey includes many touchpoints – each one an opportunity – from first point of contact to point of purchase.

First impressions are key to success and perception is king. The importance of an excellent first touchpoint  cannot be underestimated – how do your staff respond to a telephone call? Do they answer promptly? Do they answer with a smile? A £m marketing budget can be wiped out by a negative 1st impression.

80% of CEOs surveyed believed that their business offered great customer service; in reality only 8% of their customers agreed!

Chris’s mystery shopping exercise found that while customer service and presentation were generally good, the companies surveyed showed poor sales skills, identifying where a business needs to focus in terms of training.

Low follow up rates, easily rectified, can also harm conversion rates.

It was the group’s first visit to Applicon House after Orbit’s flagship Regent House reached 93% capacity.

Orbit’s marketing manager, Claire Stott, explained that the past 2 years had seen many new businesses moving into the town centre, much as a result of the £900m investment being ploughed into Stockport over the next 2 years, and the active communities working to improve the offering in Stockport and change perceptions.

Regent House based Bellyflop TV’s Jonathan Robinson and Hatter’s managing director Jo Shippen explained how they have experienced excellent customer service from Orbit whose approach has helped them both to develop their businesses as part of the Regent House business community.