Many business owners think that they don’t have to put much effort into providing great customer service. Providing great customer service is a part of customer satisfaction, customer retention & your business success.
Great customer service = Great business success. As a customer, many of us have come across business establishments where we have received good customer service and sometimes when that service is great it really stands out. Today even good customer service stands out, because we seldom get that very often.
Most companies & business people tend to think that they don’t have to worry much about building & maintaining great customer service. Some people seem to put providing “great customer service” on the back burner, sometimes they’re just in a hurry to make a sale.
You must not forget about providing great customer service. Sometimes you need more than a reminder, it’s helpful to have a system or steps in place when implementing great customer service. Most business owners believe if you want more business you must do more advertising, marketing and sometimes this is true, the truth is, if you treat your current customers with excellence and great customer service they are 10 times more likely to spend more money with you than a brand new customer. Ten times more likely; That’s right.
Implement These Steps To Improve Your Customer Serivce Efforts:
1. CONNECT WITH YOUR CUSTOMER
It is very important to establish rapport & build a relationship with your customers. When you are able to connect with your customer/ clients it shows that you’re building trust. Start by engaging your customers; with name exchange (get each others name), become interested in them & what they want, LISTEN to them, ask questions, respond appropriately, don’t talk over them, just have a conversation, be genuine.
Most of the time, people know when you are truly interested in them or not. If you are interested in them, they will more than likely respond positively to you and develop trust with you. If you aren’t interested in them, it’ll show, they’ll sense it then you’ll have a harder time getting them to trust you or they will take their business somewhere else.
2. YOU MUST DISCOVER WHAT THEY WANT
By having a genuine conversation with your customer, you’ll discover what they want. Most times they don’t know what they want, they just know that they need your services or some sort of business services. If they know what they want then they may have trouble expressing it or unsure how to get it.
By asking pertinent questions & paying attention to the answers, you will discover a lot about your customer. You can help guide them to what they want. That’s your role & how you keep clients coming back.
3. KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DO
Sometimes customers come to you & want what you can’t do. Other times you may choose not to do certain things. Every business has a niche to fill. Do what your company is best at doing for the customers that you can serve best. By knowing what you do best, you can choose the customers who fit what you do well.
4. GO AHEAD, DO IT
Many companies fail in this step, “DO IT”, because they don’t manage the process of planning, doing measuring and monitoring well. You need to be able to measure what’s important in order to execute the steps of planning, doing, measuring, & monitoring well. What gets measured gets done. Convert your customers wants into steps that you can measure. Then set up a system to measure the outcomes and the actions that produce them.
5. FOLLOW-UP
The follow-up step pays big in customer loyalty. In your execution phase, be sure to plan a follow-up contact. Follow-up by phone, email, visit, letter etc… The more direct & personal the better but make it work for your customer & your company. Customers like this because very few companies do this on a consistent basis.
6. THANK THEM
This step can be taken lightly sometimes or become forgotten. When you thank your customers, be genuine about it. Most of the time they can sense when you are not grateful for their business. Thank them in several ways, not just one way, make them know that you are thankful for their business.
Retaining customers is top priority & important for a successful business. If you implement these steps with every customer you‘ll find that your level of customer service will increase. Coach your employees or co-workers in these steps of great customer service then you‘ll see your customer loyalty & customer retention increase.
Renee Cloud- Virtual Assistant Email: info@clericalsolutionsinc.net
Clerical Business Solutions www.clericalsolutionsinc.net
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Great post! There is nothing more important than great customer service. In any business, it’s the repeat customers that can make your business a great one. If they don’t get a great experience the first time, they’re not as likely to come back. And you want them to come back. They are much less expensive than cultivating new customers! Thanks for this.