One of the most important parts of every business – no matter the type – is customer service; actually, the business-to-customer relationship. This can both build you up and tear you down. Hence, paying attention to how your customers feel and keeping them happy should be one of your top priorities. To successfully do this, you should offer a high-quality customer service, or improve the one you already have.
Customer experience is a reflection of your business, so it could be either good or bad. This is what you would be known for. For example, if a customer is satisfied with the service you offered, they would leave a positive feedback and spread the same information via word of mouth.
Unfortunately, not every businessperson has this in them. Some have a natural instinct for good customer service, while others have to learn it step by step, through trial and error. What you have to realise is that customers are like you. Treat them how you would like to be treated. Give them the option to speak up, share their opinion. This, and some other things are key to great customer service. Here are some more tips and tricks on how you could provide the best one possible.
1. Give them a Chance to Speak
Ignoring your customers is the worst thing you could possibly do. Not giving them a chance to share their thoughts, and not acknowledging their existence, is a sure way to kill your business. Therefore, make sure you put away time to listen to them. Also, provide a platform where they could leave feedback. Perhaps a comment section, or social media profiles; actually, they could be great for this.
Moreover, you should have a special customer contact form via which they could contact you. Having a live chat box would be a great idea. It offers a chance for them to get immediate help and a response from you, which is much appreciated. In any way, the point is to be open to the outside world, not hide from it.
2. Respond Quickly
If you do get regular feedback, make sure you respond to it. Plus, if you constantly receive questions, make an effort to practice quick response time. For instance, if your business has a Facebook or Twitter profile, customers would be able to send you messages or mentions that include questions about some aspect of your business.
Once they send it, they expect an answer in a few hours or less. Do not take a whole day, or worse – days, to answer. This would generate bad publicity with your audience. Being quick is essential, particularly if the customer’s request is time-sensitive.
3. Award the Best Customers
Generating a vast number of followers can be a difficult task. They could come and go as they please. That is why you should treat them nicely and award the ones who are the most loyal. For instance, you could create a loyalty program that would provide awards and special offers to those loyal customers. Maybe you should give out discounts, or give away free stuff if they buy more expensive items from you. Just think about how airlines have their frequent flier programs – the more you travel with one airline, the better your experience will be because of the amenities that come later.
4. Get Familiar with your Customers
The better you know the people you work with, the better your service will be. For instance, remember your customers’ names, their preferences, etc. From their feedback, you could garner information on what type of products they would like to see and why. Maybe you could fulfil some of their wishes and give them what they asked for. Surely, this would score you a lot of points with the customers.
In order to get familiar, you should read their comments, emails and messages. Moreover, you could organise events where they could gather and get to socialise with the people who run the business. Plus, learning from behavioural data analysis would be more than beneficial.
Obviously, it is not that hard to build a relationship with your customers. All you need is a bit of time and good planning. Make an effort to talk with them, plan their experience and offer rewards. Giving your customers the full package is what would make them more than happy, as well as build a good reputation for you.
The author is highly qualified and writes blog posts weekly.
