Customer Service, key to business and national prosperity
By Ehimare Omoike
The role of customer service in organizational growth cannot be overemphasized. It is what drives business performance and growth. It is the essence of every business’ survival – from product idea, conceptualisation(development) to introduction, growth to maturity, and saturation.
Inherent in the product life cycle is the customer whom the products’ value utilization and gratification are impacting uniquely; and response to this impact from the customer translates to profit optimization objectives for the business or otherwise. In essence, quality customer service can help your business attract and retain business, customers, decrease employee turnover, and increase your earnings.
As the old maxim says, “Customer is king”, but how organizations treat their customer service unit teams directly impacts how they will treat their Customers – and the overall experience delivered.
On this unique occasion of the international celebration of the ‘Customer Service Week’ and this year’s edition which was observed from Monday, October 2 – Friday, October 6, 2023, with the theme, “Team Service”, we reflect as an organization on how we have served our customers, recognized our incredible team’s achievements, and showed our commitment to service excellence.
Customer Service Week reminds us as organizational leaders of the importance of the frontline. Corporate locations do not by themselves generate revenue for organizations; the frontline teams are the heavy lifters, delivering the goods. And as is often quoted, nothing just happens, gets made, delivered, served, or replaced without a key frontline team member owning the experience.
For instance, for us at 9mobile, customer service is at the heart of our growth and one we have consistently practiced since inception. It is one of the tripods of our business strategy and we see this also as a vital role in successful business practice and the growth not only for the company but also for the Nigerian economy.
Customer service is a key strategic consideration at the corporate and national levels.
In the past week, the world witnessed an array of activities ranging from reward for service excellence, celebration of staff members, departments, or business units’ contribution to sustenance of customers’ loyalty, from institutions that, not only values their customers but also identify them as being at the heart of their operations. Most especially, it was a week that customers were accorded due recognition and organizations increased awareness of the uniqueness of their products and services to existing and potential customers.
At 9mobile, the celebration of Customer Service Week kicked off at all our business locations with staff activities from different units and departments across the customer frontline, backend support, and senior management. The Retail Team treated walk-in customers who participated in Fastest Fingers to exciting treats, while callers were randomly selected and rewarded instantly and corporate customers and channel partners were not left out. Customer service personnel also participated in a Sip-and-Paint session to conclude the week-long activities for Customer Service Week.
As a company, 9mobile has always remained committed to its dynamic and vibrant customer service culture and has shown a devotion to rendering the gold standard of services to customers and stakeholders, regardless of where they may be across all our business touchpoints. This, I believe, is one of the best ways to appreciate customers for their support and loyalty over the years. As such, the company will continually aim to satisfy customer needs through innovations backed by strategic investments in its network modernization, and more importantly, its people.
In summation, the 2023 Customer Service Week is an important reminder that no matter where frontline reps are working, what their job titles are, or how they serve customers, everyone is on the same team to serve our customers. This attitude is what makes 9mobile unique, and the main contributor to its success in almost 15 years of operations, contributing to Nigeria’s competitive telecommunications sector which, as of Q2 2023 boasted a $77 billion investment inflow to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This feat has notably been achieved with a reinvigorated and reliable customer service team that makes its customers the essence of its business operations.
Ehimare Omoike is the Director, Customer Care at 9mobile.
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