Why do businesses have trouble getting and keeping loyal customers?
Owners and employees forget the cardinal rule: it’s not about you—it’s about your customers. If you treat your customers as treasured partners instead of dollar signs, you’ll have the competitive edge every time.
While there are a thousand and one ways to deliver stellar customer service, the following 7 tips create a win-win for your customer and your business, whether your business is online or offline.
1. Hire the right people.
If you don’t have the right people, you can’t fully serve your customers. Period. Take your time hiring, and pay employees well for their expertise. Better yet, give them a piece of the pie for excellent performance. Invest them in your business, and they’ll represent you well.
Listen to your employees, especially those on the frontlines with customers. They’re the eyes and ears of your business, and you ignore them at your peril.
2. Do what you say you’re going to do.
If you tell Mrs. Brown you’re going to call her about her leaky faucet tomorrow at 10, you’d better be on that phone at 9:59 dialing her number. Or better yet, go to her house, and look at the faucet yourself. Go above and beyond, and you’ll be remembered.
Customers talk. Make sure they’re saying good things when they mention your name.
3. Pay attention.
Learn who your customers are. Greet them immediately by name when you see them, and ask how their families are. If you have an online business, drop them an occasional email to see how they are and how your product or service is working out for them.
Connect on a personal level, and you’ll have more loyal customers than you’ll know what to do with.
4. Help your customers with all their needs.
Mr. James loves your mechanic Tim but really needs someone to detail his car next week. Put him in touch with a good detailer, and you’ve just solved another problem for him. You’re the hero.
Make sure your referrals are top-notch, and that you’re paid a commission every time your referrals buy. In turn, give anyone who refers business to you a commission. This type of joint venture is a win-win-win.
5. Know how to handle complaints and upset customers.
Your front-line staff plays the most visible and critical role in the customer’s experience. Be sure they know what to say and do . . . and what not to say and do. Create written guidelines for handling every type of complaint and get staff involved. Properly handling complaints separates successful businesses from failures.
6. Stay in contact.
Collect email addresses, and start a monthly newsletter to keep customers informed. Create a short, simple “What do you think of our company?” questionnaire using Survey Monkey. Questionnaires and newsletters give you the opportunity to anticipate and identify customer needs.
Customers don’t buy products and services—they buy solutions to their problems. Buying decisions are made emotionally and justified logically, so appeal to both sides of the equation.
7. When in doubt, err on the customer’s side.
This is not to say the customer is always correct, but the customer’s perception needs to be that he or she is treated fairly. If you have a conflict, do what you can to resolve it.
Often the customer just wants to be heard and wants to know that you understand. Sometimes a small tweak, like changing a due date, is all the customer needs. It’s always a good idea to use The 10 Words of Great Customer Service: “what can we do to make it work for you?”
If you have a customer that just won’t work with you—and it will happen—consider refunding his money and letting him go. If you argue or refuse to refund his money, he will tell everyone he knows about it. If you part on friendly terms, he might tell everyone he knows, but there’s a chance you won’t look like a greedy, bad person if you treat him fairly.
Having good customer service is crucial for every business to stay alive, but having great customer service will make your business thrive. Customer service is everyone’s job, no matter where he or she works. Your business will not and cannot exist without happy customers.
Melody Brooks is Sumer’s head copywriter and can be reached at melody@writtenbysumer.com.
