The level of service
you provide to your customers is crucial to the success of your business. For
many customers, after-sales service is what makes one supplier stand out from
another, often more than product or price. Good customer service can attract new
business and can create a loyal customer base.
What is
customer service? There are many simple things you can do to improve the
service you provide. The starting point is to deliver what you promise, every
time. To make sure you keep customers satisfied, you must keep your word. If
you do more, you will impress your customers and ideally they recommend you to
their friends. Finally, you must listen and respond when they have complaints.
Exceptional Customer Service
Customer
service is all about expectation. A business that promises a reply
within 2 hours or a personal service is setting an expectation. If that company
does not fulfill its promise, its customers will be disappointed.
Make sure
your members of staff are delivering
the level of customer service you expect. Lead by
example and show your team exactly how you want them to deal with customers.
Encourage them to come to you with feedback and suggestions.
What are you
promising your customers? Go through all the aspects of your sales and
marketing and identify your selling points. Are your customers' expectations being met?
The best way
to wow your customers is to under-promise and over-deliver. If you think you
can deliver in two days, promise four and when you deliver it in your three –
due to the unexpected hiccup – your customer will be pleasantly surprised.
Remember to advertise your strengths. Whether they are fast delivery times, friendly service or top
quality products. But if you make promises realise that you are setting an
expectation. If the reality does not match your claims, then you will have
unhappy customers and lose business. However, if your service is first class
and your customers agree, they may become advocates and tell the world. And there is no
stronger marketing message.
Go the Extra Mile
But what is
customer care really about? First class customer service gets people talking.
If you go the extra mile for your customers, they will tell the people they
know and you will get word-of-mouth
recommendations.
For instance,
after you have made a sale, call your customer to check that everything is OK.
If it is, they'll be pleased you rang. If there is a problem, it gives you an
opportunity to address it immediately and then they will be delighted.
You have to pay
attention to details. Follow up calls or emails quickly. If the customer has a
problem, try and solve it for them. Keep records of customer service,
especially if you have new members of staff that need to get up to speed on
your customers.
Handling Customer Complaints
Inevitably,
things go wrong. However, it is how
you handle problems that can determine whether you
lose business or improve customer loyalty.
More and more
people are prepared to complain. Those that complain to you are doing you a
favour. They are giving you valuable
feedback for nothing and helping you to improve
your service. Many others complain but not to you – making resolving their
problem impossible and the negative word-of-mouth is detrimental. And many more
customers quietly take their business elsewhere. But, if you impress that
customer with the way you handle their problem, they can become the
greatest advocates for your business.
When a
customer complains, you must be respectful and sympathetic, even if you think
they are wrong. You should thank
them for complaining and apologise for the inconvenience. You must also act quickly. A prompt response shows that
you take the problem seriously and reduces the time the customer spends feeling
disgruntled.
When someone
complains, always ask him or her what they want. Many firms assume that
consumers are seeking a financial solution, such as a refund or compensation
when many people want a simple apology. Allow the customer to give you all the
facts so that they can get it off their chest (vent) and then you can provide
the most suitable solution.
Set up a
customer complaints procedure and ensure that members of staff know what they can
offer. Follow up the complaint with a phone call or a letter of apology.
Finally, ensure that you permanently fix the problem – after all you would
prefer not to handle the same complaint repeatedly - and let the customer know what
you have done.
I hope this helps your
business be outstanding.
Just one more thing
before you go ... I would like you to do one important thing for me - spread
the word about this article.
That is all -
David
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