The Sales Process and Customer Service
The sale does not end at the till. Learn the five parts of the sales process, from product knowledge to post-sales service, and why good customer service turns one-off buyers into loyal, repeat customers.
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The sale is only the start
A customer can buy from you once, but a business wants them to come back. A smooth sales process and good customer service turn a one-off buyer into a loyal customer who returns and recommends you to others.
The sales process
The sales process is how a business helps a customer from first interest to after the sale. Edexcel names five key elements:
Two kinds of service
How a customer is treated shapes whether they come back.
After the sale
Which of these is an example of post-sales service?
- Repairing a product under warranty after it is sold
- Advertising the product before it is sold
- Setting the price of the product
- Ordering stock from a supplier
Match the element
- Product knowledge
- Speed and efficiency
- Customer engagement
- Responses to feedback
- Post-sales service
- Staff understand the product and answer questions well
- Customers are served quickly and without mistakes
- Staff build a friendly relationship with the customer
- The business listens to complaints and acts on them
- Support continues after the sale, like repairs or returns
Why it pays off
Good customer service pays off. A well-served customer is satisfied, becomes loyal and buys again, and recommends the business to friends. That builds a strong reputation and brings in more sales. Poor service does the opposite: customers leave for rivals and warn others.
The benefits
Which THREE are benefits to a business of good customer service?
- Customer loyalty and repeat business
- A better reputation and word of mouth
- More sales over time
- Higher costs with no return
- More faulty products
The loyalty chain
Put the chain from good service to a strong reputation in the right order.
- A customer gets friendly, efficient service
- The customer is satisfied with the experience
- The customer returns and buys again
- The customer recommends the business to others
- The business builds a strong reputation
Measuring loyalty
A shop surveys 200 customers after their purchase. 170 say they would buy from the shop again. What percentage of customers would return?
The importance of service
Good customer service keeps customers _____, so they stay _____ and buy again. Happy customers spread good _____ of mouth, which builds the reputation of the _____. A business that ignores _____ risks losing customers to rivals.
True or not?
Tap the TWO statements that are true about the sales process and customer service.
- Good product knowledge helps staff answer customer questions.
- Post-sales service means helping the customer after the sale.
- Good customer service only matters for the very first sale.
- Ignoring complaints has no effect on a business.
- Speed of service is not part of the sales process.
Which element?
- A sales assistant explains exactly how a laptop works
- A firm offers a free repair three months after purchase
- Staff greet customers warmly and remember regulars
- A company changes its returns policy after complaints
- Product knowledge
- Post-sales service
- Customer engagement
- Responses to customer feedback
Serve the customer
A customer has a problem at each stage. Choose the best response.
- A customer asks a detailed question about a product. The best response is to...
- A product breaks a week after purchase. Good customer service means...
- Several customers complain that service is too slow. The business should...
Explain the benefits
Explain how good customer service and an effective sales process benefit a business.
- Describe two elements of the sales process
- Explain how good service affects customer loyalty
- Explain how it affects the reputation of the business
- Give one risk of poor customer service