“Providing the Kind of Customer Service That Keeps Customers Coming Back is the mission”
Any company’s lifeblood is good customer service. You can run specials and lower prices to attract as many new clients as you want, but your firm won’t be profitable for long unless you can convince some of those consumers to return.
The main goal behind customer retention is to help businesses to retain customers 7 provide better customer service. And about sending them away satisfied – satisfied enough to spread the word about your company to others, who may then try your product or service for themselves and become repeat customers.
You can sell anything to anyone once if you’re a competent salesperson. But it will be your customer service strategy that determines whether you can ever offer that person anything else. Forming a relationship with consumers — a relationship that the individual client thinks he wants to develop – is at the heart of successful customer service.
How do you go about starting a relationship like this? By remembering and acting on the one true secret of excellent customer support service: “You will be assessed by what you do, not what you say.”
I realize this sounds like something you’d see on a sampler, but giving good customer service IS an easy thing. If you actually want to provide excellent customer service, all you have to do is make sure that your company follows the eight rules listed below:
What are the Best Strategies to Gain Good Customer Service?
1. Don’t Make Promises if You cannot Keep Them
This is, without a doubt, the most crucial of these eight customer service guidelines. We must not make false promises to make them happy. They’ll be kept. Customer service is no exception. Reliability is one of the most important aspects of any good connection. If you tell a consumer that “your new bedroom furniture will be delivered on Tuesday,” make sure it happens. If you don’t want to say it, don’t say it. The same logic applies to client meetings, deadlines, and other obligations. Think carefully before making any promises, because nothing irritates customers more than a violated promise.
2. Listen to Your Customers
Is there anything more aggravating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is, only to find out that they weren’t paying attention and need to be told again? From the perspective of a customer, no. Can the sales presentations and products speak for themselves? If you actually want to provide the best customer service, let your customer speak and demonstrate that you are listening by summarizing what the client has said and giving a solution.
3. Respond
Your business phone must be answered as the first rule of good customer service. Get a call forwarding service? Alternatively, you might use an answering service. If necessary, hire help. However, if someone contacts your company, make sure someone answers the phone. (Notice how I used the word “someone”. Callers want to speak with a real person, not a false “recorded robot.”)
4. Deal With queries and provide resolutions
People complain because something is wrong. None likes hearing complaints, and many of us have acquired a reflex shrug that goes something like this: “You can’t satisfy everyone all of the time.” Maybe not, but if you pay attention to the issue, you might be able to please this one person this one time – and position your company to gain from good customer service in the future. Complaints can be turned into opportunities if they are handled properly. They allow you to identify and correct problems, thereby enhancing your customer service skills. According to market research, clients who have complained about a product or service and had their issue resolved effectively are 70% more inclined to shop from that vendor again.
5. Train Your Staff
If you have employees, teach them to be helpful, kind, and informed at all times.
Hire someone to train them or do it yourself. Regularly discuss good customer service and what it is (and isn’t) with your team.
Most crucially, provide enough information and authority to each member of your staff to make those little customer-pleasing decisions, so he never has to say, “I’m not sure, but so-and-so will be back at…”
6. Take the Extra Step
If someone comes into your business and asks for assistance in finding anything, don’t merely say, “It’s in Aisle 3.” Add a step to the process by saying, “Let me show you,” and guiding the customer to the item. Better still, wait to see if he has any questions or additional requirements. Take whatever extra step is required if you want to deliver excellent customer service. People notice when people go above and above and will tell others about it, even if they don’t say it to you. And positive word of mouth will bring you additional business.
7. Give Something Extra
People love getting more than they expected, whether it’s a voucher for a future discount, additional information on how to utilize the goods, or a genuine grin. Also, don’t believe that a gesture must be grand to be effective. Every picture included in every hanging kit by a local art framer comes with a package of picture hangers. It’s a tiny gesture, but it’s greatly appreciated. Consider what you can add to your product or service to make it more appealing to customers.
If you follow these eight easy guidelines regularly, your company will gain a reputation for excellent customer service. What’s even better? Customer service will bring in more new consumers in the long run than promotions and price cuts ever did!
8. Be productive
I went to a local watch shop the other day because I had misplaced the little component that holds the pieces of my watch band together. When I explained the situation to the proprietor, he suggested that he might have one on hand. He discovered it, fastened it to my watch band, and didn’t charge me a dime! When I need a new watch band or even a new watch, where do you suppose I’ll go? And do you suppose I’ve told this story to a lot of people?
During our conversation in his shop, the shopkeeper made no money. But I’ll definitely be giving him my business in the future, and who knows how many additional customers will come to him because of how well he treated me? Keep your focus on the consumer, not the profit, when providing excellent customer service.
Conclusion
If you follow these eight easy guidelines regularly, your company will gain a reputation for excellent customer service. What’s even better? Customer service will bring in more new consumers in the long run than promotions and price cuts ever did!
