Do You Have a Customer Service Vision?

Most companies have what they call mission, purpose, and vision statements, but I have found that very few have a true customer service vision statement (CSV). The true underlying value of what and how your front line delivers to each and every customer provides a meaningful purpose for your employees.

The customer service vision statement is the what. A CSV statement should match the following criteria:

• Easy for all employees to relate to and understand
• Simple, concise, and memorable
• Actionable and empowering
• Measurable, observable, and trainable

In my own experiences through working with and helping many great companies create a customer service vision, I have found that the pre-existing vision is great, but many times too big for the front-line employee to understand the role they play for each and every customer interaction. So it gets moved to a purpose statement and we re-craft a CSV statement that fits the stated criteria. Here are two examples of my own companies’ CSV statement evolution.

Company: John Robert's Spa

Old SV statement: To enhance the quality of lives around us

New SV statement: To be the best part of our customer's day

Company: The DiJulius Group

Old SV statement: Changing the world by creating a customer service revolution

New SV statement: To be the best investment our clients have made

I felt extremely passionate about our existing service vision statements; however, they did not tell our employees what their role was in their interaction with the customer. The new CSV statement was significantly more measurable, trainable, and actionable. Over time our initial CSV statements became our respective companies’ purpose if we hit our customer service vision consistently.

Supporting Pillars

The supporting pillars are the how everyone from your front-line employees to the CEO performs on a daily basis in each customer interaction, therefore executing the CSV. There are traditionally three pillars that support the CSV statement.

1. Refers to the quality/expertise of the service or product your organization is selling
2. Refers to the customer interaction
3. Creates the autonomy for your employees to exceed the norm (see the diagram below)

The Customer Service Vision Package

Here is an example of what the complete customer service vision statement and supporting pillars can look like:

“People want to be part of something larger than them. They want to be part of something they are really proud of, that they’ll fight for, sacrifice for, and that they trust.” Howard Schultz