Providing
excellent customer service should be a major priority for any business owner because happy customers are repeat customers. Here are a few basic tips that will help improve your customers' experiences with your business.
- Listen to your customers. This may seem like an obvious suggestion but so many business owners and managers get caught up in the day-to-day tasks of business management that they forget to pay attention to what their clients are saying. In most instances, an unhappy customer will let you know that he or she is unhappy and a client that wants a product or service that you don't offer will say just that. Take these suggestions to heart. Can you implement changes that meet your clients' needs?
- Do what you say you are going to do and do it on-time. This is another obvious point. Set your customers' expectations correctly and then deliver. It doesn't matter if you sell widgets or repair cars, there is no easier way to upset clients then to not meet your commitments in a timely manner. If you disappoint your clients, the only way they'll continue to use your services or products is if there are no alternative sources and, that's pretty unlikely in this day and age. Honor your commitments on-time.
- Empower your employees. Whether your employees have contact with your customers via phone or in-person, attitude makes a huge difference. Disgruntled employees can make any customer service experience a complete disaster. Make sure your employees are happy and give them the authority to make decisions on the fly. Set-up customer service guidelines and praise your employees when they make the right choices within the guidelines. Happy employees will make sure that your customers are happy, too.
- Surprise your customers! Free gifts like a roll of Lifesaver candies in a shipment, "Thank You" cards, loyalty coupons or Holiday Cards help strengthen your relationships with your clients. Invest some time and effort into making your clients feel appreciated.
- Get an answering service. Okay, you knew we had to lead into a shameless self-promotion at some point. Seriously, though... an answering service can provide your clients excellent customer service when you or your employees aren't available to answer your phones. You pay only when we answer your calls and know that when your phones are forwarded to us, your clients are getting the best customer service available.
