Follow: Action, Reaction and Result

You can't improve what you're not measuring!

Therefore, realising what goes right and what goes wrong and keeping up to date will always help to develop assertive strategies. Always follow: Action, Reaction and Results.

Discovering, understanding, comprehending and evaluating how your work or business is doing involves gathering real information that can give you an insight into the various processes within your company. In other words, you need to take a close look at: the level of satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, of your customers; the quality of your products; the functionality of your logistics; the visibility of your image in the market; and much more.

You can obtain this information through HR surveys, climate control, surveys and many other auxiliary tools. But nothing will be more effective at giving you these parameters than the results of a well-designed after-sales service that is effectively put into practice.

We talk a lot about after-sales but, despite recognising its importance, little or nothing is done about it. Everyone knows about the after-sales tool, but unfortunately the reality is that practically less than 3% of people or companies use or apply it in practice.

How many times in your life have you felt abandoned and helpless by companies or people who have sold you products or services? Have you ever had problems with what you bought and nobody helped you? Or have you struggled to resolve the situation?

We have many examples of companies that top the complaints ranking. Some are even the target of jokes on social media.

Poor customer service can tarnish a company's reputation or even bring it down. Fortunately, it also works the other way round: well-served customers turn people and companies into successes.

If companies or service providers used after-sales services properly, they would realise that this is the most effective tool for keeping and retaining customers and promoting their services or products. Your customer is an unquestionable source of information when they decide to promote your product or service.

It's through post-sales that you can make a real assessment of the quality of your company, product or service and whether it meets your customers' needs. You can also see where and how they need to be improved in order to optimise your service.

By maintaining a quality relationship with the customer through personalised service, we are able to convey security and reliability. The customer sees the seriousness and importance that the company gives to its consumers, thus creating a much stronger relationship.

If you still have doubts about the effectiveness and importance of after-sales service, here are some of the main reasons why you should fall in love with it:

• It builds customer loyalty and keeps their records active.
• Makes it possible to identify and correct all your faults: product, logistics and customer service.
• Allows for a significant increase in profits.
• It turns your customers into VIP salespeople, with credibility and at no cost.
• You'll always be one step ahead of your competitors.

You have to realise that quality after-sales service is the guarantee of a constant sales cycle, which creates stability and success not only for the professional on the front line of negotiations, but also for the whole company.