Six principles for treating customers fairly

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Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) is a UK sourced regulatory and supervisory approach, enforced by Financial Services Board in South Africa (SA), to ensure fair outcomes for financial services consumers from regulated financial firms. The approach is modelled around six fairness outcomes that serve as a guideline for financial institutions in SA however these outcomes are generally very basic and rational that they can be applied by entrepreneurs and businesses involved in other sectors not only the financial sector.

Even though the initial idea is based on regulating the financial industry, if one unpacks these outcomes, one realises that any business that can take these principles to heart and apply them accordingly in one's area of business will flourish because ultimately they are based on how to treat customers.

Application to non-financial businesses

Non-financial firms can apply these six fairness outcomes.

1. Customers can be confident they are dealing with firms where TCF is central to the corporate culture. Everyone looks out for several things before agreeing to any kind of deal as customers and the above principle remains to be the central compass of that decision. No one would go ahead with any kind of a deal that does not seem to be above board or if one noticed that the firms/institution/person one is dealing with is not credible and does not regard its customers highly. It has to be drilled into the company culture that everything the company does is customer focused and to ensure that, all employee training related programmes have a strong customer focus and the customer experience element is emphasised as part of the key performance indicators.

2. Products and services marketed and sold in the retail market are designed to meet the needs of identified customer groups and are targeted accordingly. It does not matter if it is a financial product or any other type of product or service provided, it has to meet the needs of the customers. The benefits and added features must not be difficult to understand for staff, especially the sales personnel, because they are the ones to take it to the market and if that is correctly done, it will be easy for the customers to get the concept of the product or service tabled before them. The product or service should be sold only on the basis that it addresses the needs of the customer and that extends to plain language used in all the material and correspondence.

3. Customers are provided with clear information and kept appropriately informed before, during and after point of sale. Avoid jargon usage because, even though everyone else in one's line of business understands it, it always confuses the customer. Be clear and precise to the customers regarding their contractual obligations and rights. Create an easy way for customers to get hold of one or any other company representative at all times. After the point of sale, one tends to slack off, just when one should stay interested in the customer and be accessible. Even though the first impressions might have sealed the deal, the last impression has a bearing on the retention of the business and the duration thereof.

4. Where advice is given, it must be suitable and takes account of customer circumstances. If one's line of business thrives on having a sales team, as with the financial industry and many other sectors, they must be properly trained and licensed (if this is a requirement) to sell the product and most importantly stay knowledgeable. If the business does not have a dedicated sales team, it is still very important that whoever engages with the customers at any level must have a clear and proper understanding of the business product and service offerings, including all the features and additional benefits. This will instil confidence in the customer, both current and potential. When one appreciates the needs, priorities and expectations of the customer, one will be at an advantage to match it with the product or service offering thus creating a 'win-win' situation. It is important for a business, especially the ones that are not regulated by any form of licensing, to set a particular standard to which employees can benchmark against. One can have an internal training programme that guarantees that the employee gets all the supports and knowledge needed to go about doing their business. In addition, continuous refresher sessions will keep them on their toes ensuring that they stay in touch with internal changes and encourage them to wear the company culture on their sleeves with audacity.

5. Products perform as firms have led customers to expect and service is of an acceptable standard, as they have been led to expect. Having a product or service that meets and holds up to the expected standards put one in favour with customers because they generally would buy into a product or service they can rely on. It also helps a great deal when one is transparent about the actual capabilities, durability and mileage if it is a tangible product. With intangible services, make sure that the outcomes are clear, straightforward and easily understood.

6. Customers do not face unreasonable post-sale barriers imposed by firms to change product, switch providers, submit a claim or make a complaint. When formulating an end-to-end customer process flow of an organisation one must make sure it works for the business but most importantly it does the same for customers. Post-sale interactions with the customers are a determining factor of where the business is going because right there one can kiss the customer good-bye. Dealing promptly with internal mistakes or complaints from the customer is very essential. If employees are empowered to make calls without too much of a red tape delay it will certainly set the company apart from most, as this is a serious corporate problem. Furthermore, ensure that the focus is always solution orientated rather than tilting towards excuses. Allow a little bit of flexibility because often customers' circumstances are different and the moment one hears them out and makes adjustments, according to their requests, one will win them over.
   

Make sure that the business stays accountable to the industry regulators and, when this kind of information is made transparent to customers, they will feel as if they are part of the company's journey and gain confidence.