A team that has a shared goal of providing superior service and that talks about how to continue achieving this goal is more likely to deliver higher levels of customer service.

Communicating this goal to all members of your organization serves to focus all team efforts on the same expectations and standards for customer service.

To effectively communicate your commitment to customer service?:

- Create a statement that encompasses your service commitment. Define it in terms of both employee and customer expectations. Make it a snappy catchphrase that is easy to remember. For example, Target Stores' "Fast, Fun and Friendly."

- Put your service motto on posters and place them strategically throughout the halls and open areas frequented by employees.

- Integrate your motto into email signatures, your websites and all electronic media that you use.

- Show employees how each job is a link in the chain of meeting customer needs.

- Stress the benefit of team efforts. For example, better service means better business means better job security.

- Continually update what you know about your customers. Share this information with everyone, especially those with a lot of customer contact.

- Make certain that employees at all levels view customer focus as their priority, not just the job of customer service people.