Customer service can seem very complicated once you start looking at the use of specific customer service software, having various teams to take care of customer service via email, phone, chat, social media and face-to-face. So as a small business or soloist it’s no wonder you might get discouraged before you even start. However customer service smaller businesses is not that difficult as long as you know your customers well.
To provide great service to your perfect clients, you really just need to keep in mind a few customer service basics. The reason for this is that your ideal clients will want what you offer. So you don’t need to go overboard with bells and whistles, just do what you do very well. This works because when you have a clear idea of who your customers are, you’ll be able to provide the products and services they want, and use the customer service channels that they respond to.
It doesn’t matter how many different products and services you offer. You only need to provide what your customers want to buy. That’s why it’s so important to know your customers, and to figure out who are the customers you want to attract. You don’t need to change yourself, your products or your services to attract clients, you need to know who wants what you’re selling. That way it’s much easier to delight them with your offerings.
In the same way, it’s important to know how your clients want to contact you. If they want to call you, you don’t need to set up social media helpdesks, or have chat boxes on your website. You do need to make sure that when they ring, they can get the help they’re looking for, otherwise they’ll call someone who will answer. So a virtual receptionist will be worth their weight in gold.
Likewise, if your customers prefer to email – you need to make sure you (or someone else) monitors your email accounts closely. However you’d be wasting your money if you hire a virtual receptionist for the occasional phone call.
Other than that, the other customer service basics pretty much come down to manners. Treat your customers with kindness and respect, be friendly and polite and happy to hear from them. A lot of the way you act towards customers will come back to you, if you’re happy to deal with them, they’ll be happy to deal with you. If you remain calm when they have a problem, they’re more likely to remain calm. At the very least they’re much less likely to pitch a full on fit. It’s not difficult and I’m sure you do it naturally most of the time, it’s only when things become difficult that a reminder comes in handy.
