It’s time to improve customer service, or your competition will. And that won’t end well for you.
The economy may finally be slowing down. When that happens your customers will remember to look for more value in everything they do. Money isn’t as easy to come by. And they’re all so used to finding everything for free online. So companies like yours can only actually charge for your products and services if the customer is overwhelmed by service that they can’t get anywhere else. So where should you start?
Improve Customer Service one step at a time
“Perfect is the enemy of good.” That’s as true today as when a French philosopher said it in the 1700’s. So start improving your customer service one step at a time, investing your efforts where they’ll have the most impact. Some simple examples are:
- How you greeting your customers when they step into your place of business. If you have a retail store a customer who is ignored is usually an opportunity that is lost. How do you “connect” with them?
- Engage with your customers: we’re all more “social” these days, so find new ways to engage with your customer every time you come into contact: when they walk in the front door, when they call you, when they email or text you, when they post on your social media platforms.
- Understand your customer: Boomers want face-to-face contact. They’re also the generation that invented telephone quality that was “the next best thing to being there.” Their grand-kids all have phones…but talk on them less and less. Have you ever noticed that millennials’ voice mails are always full? That’s probably because they never check voicemail. They’d rather text. It’s less direct, less pushy, and less threatening.
- Follow up with your customers: once is not enough. Keep in contact with your customer throughout the sales process, and continue while deliver your product or service. Good restaurant servers always check with customers a few minutes after serving their meal, so why not do the same thing: contact your customer (there are so many ways: in person, by phone, email, text…) a few days after your deliver. They’ll be impressed with the attention you give them.
- What language do your customers speak? In our increasingly multi-language economy, it makes sense to “speak their language.”
- When engaging with your customers, actually listen. Echo their sentiments. Try to understand what they really mean. “Empathy” is so powerful it’s gotten Presidents elected. Think about what it can do for your business
- You’ll make mistakes. We all do. So admit them, tell your customer what you’ll do to fix them, and do it. They’ll appreciate it.
- Help your employees understand the value of great service. Listen to their interactions with customers and coach them to improve. The customer is the reason we’re here.
- Solve problems: avoid being negative. Keep everything positive and focused on helping the customer. If you can’t help them right away, be positive and let them know when you will.
- And a related idea: respond to every complaint. View complaints as great ideas about how to help every customer better. After working in your business for years, it’s easy to be “set in your ways” and not recognize needed improvements. What complaints have you heard recently? Use them as challenges to overcome.
Improve your customer service every day
This is just a few ideas. Try reading “Raving Fans” by Ken Blanchard. When your customers love you, they become your most valuable sales force. Or search more ideas online.
Take one step
Take one step and put it into action. Then try another. They’ll all add up faster that you can imagine.
Here’s another way to improve
Do customers call you for information, ideas, or to find out if you can help them? AT&T Research shows that 69% of business calls are placed on hold. So when you put your caller on hold, do they like it? Why not turn it into a unique customer service experience with Informer Messages on hold? They’re custom written marketing message that give your callers information that they want, and that you want them to have. Call us for more information at (800) 862-8896, or click here to find out more.
