Happy customers are the best resource a business has. They are a recurring source of income, the best marketing and their positive feedback lifts enthusiasm & generates positivity throughout the company. It’s also much easier to keep existing customers happy than having to continually find new clients.
Ask them what they want, like, need or whatever it is you want to know. Just make it easy for them. Give the opportunity to give feedback but don’t make it compulsory and don’t be pushy. The more input people have, the more empowered they feel
Promise only what you can deliver. I prefer to under promise & over deliver, but at the very least don’t promise more than you can deliver. 14% of customers leave a company because they’re dissatisfied with products & services, 68% because of the treatment they receive. Don’t kid yourself that perception &
managing expectations isn’t important.
Put yourself first sometimes. If you don’t have work life balance, if you’re continually putting your customers first to the detriment of your personal life, eventually you’ll start to resent it and the relationship with your customers will suffer.
You are the best point of difference your business offers. Make sure that customers see the best version of you at all times. One my twitter friends is a guru who sets herself up as a “go-to” person. Yet she often tweets rude complaints at companies or individuals who send her unsolicited marketing. Recently, she
tweeted “Do not send me a stupid eCard via LinkedIn loser”. While it may have been a social media no-no,
there’s a lot to be said for being gracious.
Never leave a question unanswered. If you don’t know the answer, say I don’t know, but never leave it at that, say I don’t know, but let me look into it and get back to you in XX (hours/days/weeks). Then make a point of following up and following through.
Everybody has a bad day every now and then. Sometimes, your customers are going to have one and take it out on you. If the customer walks away feeling better, they’ll remember that. If the customer walks away feeling worse, they’ll remember that too. Listen, empathise and do what you can to help, don’t get
defensive and don’t ignore the problem.
Whenever you talk to a customer, whether it’s on the phone or in person – make sure you’re smiling. It lifts your mood, it’s obvious to the client and it makes your tone more open and friendly.
Yes, the provision of customer service can be time consuming, but customer retention is far more valuable to you than acquisition. 68% of customers stop doing business with a company because of poor service, yet 95% of them would continue to do business with a company if their problem was solved quickly and
satisfactorily. Plus, it’s 6-7 times more expensive to gain a new customer than it is to retain an existing
customer. If you look at it that way, customer service improvements and an excellent retention program
could be considered part of your marketing program.
Examine your customer service processes regularly. Ideally, you should be continually reviewing your customer service processes, but two or three times a year at the minimum you need to look at how you provide customer service, what are the issues your customers are having, is there any way you can provide
a better experience, create processes to overcome a weakness or is there something you’re doing that you
just shouldn’t be?
Actions speak louder than words. So make sure that whatever you say you will do, is exactly what you do. If you fail to meet your advertised standards, have a process in place that will allow you to be the one who notices it first, fixes it, apologises for it, or at the very least takes steps to ensure it never happens again.
Recognising your strengths & weaknesses in customer service and making a commitment to working on the areas that need improvement will help you to be conscious of the customer service you’re providing on a day to day basis. It’s very easy to slip into a rut and not notice what you’re doing and how well it’s received
