A key factor when it comes to making the most out of your membership is communicating with a range of different stakeholders within your organisation. Â
This is why we have put together this handy toolkit to get you started. Below you can find some handy resources, guidelines, and assets to support both internal and external communications activities, as well as some templates and messaging you can use to communicate through various channels. Â
If you have any questions or require further support with communications, please get in touch via your CDD or CDM, or contact us via the button below.
The Institute of Customer Service is the professional body for customer service. We provide tools and services to support continuous customer service improvement and a framework for our members to share and learn from each other. We are independent – setting standards so that our customers can improve their customers’ experiences and their business performance. Â
At the Institute, we raise the profile of the impact of customer service on business performance, including with, and on behalf of our energy sector members. The Institute also administers accreditation schemes (ServiceMark) and produces the bi-annual UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) – the independent, objective benchmark of customer satisfaction on a consistent set of measures covering over 250 organisations and organisation types across 13 sectors.Â
Why did your organisation join – a one line response: Â
Our organisation joined The Institute of Customer Service as part of our commitment to continuously improve our service and put our customers at the heart of everything we do.Â
We have branding guidelines to ensure The Institute’s brand message is clear, coherent and consistent whenever we interact with our audiences. Check out our brand guidelines to gain access to:
Our downloadable template pack has specially been crafted to guide you through seamless communications across various channels – feel free to tailor the templates to suit your brand’s personality and communication style.
Please note: when communicating about The Institute of Customer Service, please share any draft communications with your CDD and CDM in advance to ensure consistency and clarity of messaging.
Please allow the following timelines for review of comms:Â Â
- Two working days for press release review, blog post review, or social media post reviewÂ
- Three working days for drafting a quote from our CEOÂ
- Five working days to review bulk content, e.g., a presentation or communications pack  Â
Once we’ve celebrated becoming members, and outside of key milestones, how do we keep our membership with The Institute top of mind for our organisation, and in particular our leadership team?Â
First and foremost, your CDD and CDM are your most important points of contact and will work with you to create a tailored engagement plan that works for you. Below are a couple of starting points:
Below are some quick shortcuts to the resources available to you as a member of the Institute of Customer Service. Â
The value of our resources lies in how bespoke and tailored they are to your business needs. Please reach out to your CDD here if you would like any further information on these products. Â
Â
From our Annual Conference and UK Customer Satisfaction Awards to regular thought-provoking webinars, The Institute offers a host of in-person and online events suitable for employees across your organisation. Â
We regularly publish Breakthrough Research reports on key topics as well as our twice-yearly UKCSI. Our Business Benchmarking allows you to benchmark your service levels based on UKCSI questions, and our Insight Consultancy provides tailored insights supporting your business objectives.
Access a wealth of resources and invaluable insights to stay ahead in the dynamic landscape of customer service – from cutting-edge ideas to innovative strategies and emerging trends in customer service, including our popular CEO Blogs & Statements.
Our Academy provides additional services to our members, including end-to-end delivery to support your recruitment, development and retention. Improve the service skills, confidence and capability of your people at all levels – from the frontline, to managers and team leaders.Â
The Institute’s rigorous accreditation programmes (ServiceMark and TrainingMark), are designed to recognise and validate an organisation’s achievement in customer service and commitment to upholding those standards. Demonstrate the high quality of your customer service today.
Alongside working with its member bodies to improve individual customer service, The Institute undertakes a significant amount of activity to promote great service as a force for good – from media and Government engagement, through to changing the law to better protect frontline staff.  Â
So you’ve taken the step to become a member of The Institute of Customer Service, and want to let everyone know the great news. What next? To best share the benefits of membership with your organisation, we recommend:
Your employees are busy, and won’t always be reading every communication in detail, so ensuring that you utilise every channel available to you to communicate key membership updates is vital.
Who is The Institute’s membership relevant to across your organisation? Who will this add value for? The answer is: everybody! Â
The benefits, products, and services available through your membership with The Institute can add value to every aspect of your organisation. Some examples of different areas of the business, and why membership is relevant, include: Â
Your customers
While not strictly internal communications, membership with the Institute demonstrates to your customers that you are committed to investing in service at all levels of your business – so they should not be left out when it comes to communications planning.
Sales
Whether it’s external sales or account management, membership with The Institute will help create opportunities for your sales team, making them a key stakeholder for internal communications.
Insights Team
The Institute undertakes frequent research around the state of service in the UK, including a twice yearly customer satisfaction index (UKCSI), and can work with your insights team to better understand the data we gather. We can also work with your teams to create bespoke research projects – talk to your CDD to find out more. Â
Communications and Marketing
This team will want to be shouting the benefits of membership from the rafters, whether that’s through media engagement, social media campaigns or advertising and digital marketing.
HR, Learning & Development
Membership with The Institute is an important addition to any employee engagement strategy – particularly with products like ServCheck that involve reviewing and assessing employee feedback. It is also an important addition to recruitment campaigns.
Your Customer Experience Team
This team should be getting regular updates on how you are utilising membership to improve customer experience. Their feedback and engagement will be invaluable, so make sure you are keeping them across the how, and more importantly, the why of membership activities.
Executive Leadership / C-Suite
Your organisation’s leadership team is one of the most important stakeholders to membership – they will want to hear about all the great value-adds from membership, and will be particularly interested in The Institute’s thought leadership and government engagement activities, and how they can get involved.
Your Client Development Director and Client Delivery Manager are your key contacts and can support with all queries. You can get in touch with them via your member dashboard.
Your member dashboard is a one-stop-shop for your membership with The Institute. On it, you have one-click access to your support team, portals for any ongoing survey activity such as Business Benchmarking, ServCheck and ServiceMark, and to all the other services and content accessible through your membership – such as research, insights and public relations support. Â
If you have any issues logging into your member dashboard, you can also reach out using our contact form and a member of our team will work with you to resolve this. Â
The below contact form is also a useful link to communicate with all staff in your business, as not everyone will have access to the member dashboard:
Get in touch with us today