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st Contributor. . .
Build Customer Service Skills While
Building Your Toastmasters Club
By Tamala Takahashi, DTM
As I was reading this article about customer service, it became clear
that the Toastmasters clubs which have good customer service are very good at
bringing in guests and converting guests to members. The better we are at customer
service in our clubs, the better we will be at gaining and retaining members.
You might have heard of the "Moments of Truth", the Toastmasters International rubric
of best practices of a Toastmasters club.
Here are a few more to consider, from the perspective of building a client base and
building customer relationships in business.
Make an impression. Customers return to businesses and spend money at places
they feel comfortable and satisfied. Impressions are everything. What the customer
walks away from their experience with a business has a lasting effect. Make an
impression with your Toastmasters club with solid organization, genuine appreciation
for the members and guests, and something that makes your club unique.
Make it easy for customers to buy and to come back. People are busy. If something
is too hard to find or the process of buying something is too complicated, there are
too many opportunities for the customer to change their
mind. Make it easy in your clubs for members and guests
to pay dues, make it easy to find the location of your
meeting, and make it easy for them to get out of
Toastmasters what they came for with a solid
educational and mentor program. Make things easy, and
they will come.
Find their need, and satisfy it. The majority of good customer service is a
matchmaking skill. It's identifying the needs of the customer, then matching the
service or product in such a way that it fits their needs. The same is true for
Toastmasters. Find what the guests and members need, and within the Toastmasters
educational program and club meetings, fill those needs. That takes getting to know
the members individually and making sure there is a point person for the educational
progress of the members (usually the VPE).
(Continued on page 10)
9
Build Customer Service Skills While
Building Your Toastmasters Club
By Tamala Takahashi, DTM
As I was reading this article about customer service, it became clear
that the Toastmasters clubs which have good customer service are very good at
bringing in guests and converting guests to members. The better we are at customer
service in our clubs, the better we will be at gaining and retaining members.
You might have heard of the "Moments of Truth", the Toastmasters International rubric
of best practices of a Toastmasters club.
Here are a few more to consider, from the perspective of building a client base and
building customer relationships in business.
Make an impression. Customers return to businesses and spend money at places
they feel comfortable and satisfied. Impressions are everything. What the customer
walks away from their experience with a business has a lasting effect. Make an
impression with your Toastmasters club with solid organization, genuine appreciation
for the members and guests, and something that makes your club unique.
Make it easy for customers to buy and to come back. People are busy. If something
is too hard to find or the process of buying something is too complicated, there are
too many opportunities for the customer to change their
mind. Make it easy in your clubs for members and guests
to pay dues, make it easy to find the location of your
meeting, and make it easy for them to get out of
Toastmasters what they came for with a solid
educational and mentor program. Make things easy, and
they will come.
Find their need, and satisfy it. The majority of good customer service is a
matchmaking skill. It's identifying the needs of the customer, then matching the
service or product in such a way that it fits their needs. The same is true for
Toastmasters. Find what the guests and members need, and within the Toastmasters
educational program and club meetings, fill those needs. That takes getting to know
the members individually and making sure there is a point person for the educational
progress of the members (usually the VPE).
(Continued on page 10)
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