Amazing customer service keeps your customers happy and sharing their experiences with family and friends, and most importantly, coming back to patronize your business! Let’s dive into what you can do to immediately improve your customer service:
Listen To Your Customers
Each person wants to be heard and appreciates someone truly listening to their opinion. In this fast-paced and often isolating electronic world we live in, people really appreciate real interaction!
Listening to your customers can happen in many ways. It can be as simple as being genuinely interested in who they are as a person and asking about their day and life, and remembering who they are the next time they’re in. Interacting with your customers and improving their day goes a long way!
Another way is to actively solicit feedback by directly asking your customer how they would improve the experience they have at your business. Listen closely to suggestions they make and any negative experiences they have encountered. Ask what you could do to make their experience a more positive one. Take notes and ask for more information.
Offer a discount in exchange for a survey about the quality of your customer service. Ask for honest feedback and any input your customer feels would make them want to continue to use your services or buy your product. What ideas does your customer have for a more enjoyable shopping experience?
Critically Review and Improve Your Sales Process
Now, review how you are running your business and go through an entire sale as a customer, from start to finish. Search for your website and place an order online and have it shipped to you, if you sell online. How easy is your sales process, such as choosing a product, paying for it online, and selecting a shipping option? How easy is it to contact your business if there is a question and how quickly does someone answer the call?
Next, call your business and ask for help or ask questions about your product or service as a “customer” and see what kind of interaction your employees are having with your customers. Are they extremely helpful and friendly and willing to go the “extra mile” to ensure an amazing customer experience? Do your employees got out of their way to help the customer and increase the likelihood of a sale or repeat business?
Where else are areas of improvement? Critically examine all sales areas from the viewpoint of your customer and improve them to be as simple and helpful as possible.
Train Your Employees
If you have employees, it is extremely important that every employee is trained according to your company’s values and on all products or services the employee is selling to customers. A discrepancy between employee and business values dilutes your company’s brand and weakens the integrity of your product or service. Employees must be on board with company values and fully support them.
Employees also must be extremely knowledgeable about company products and services to be an asset to your business. Lack of accurate product or service information from an employee makes a business look unprofessional and a customer is less likely to buy due to being weary of the product or service’s quality or concerns of future customer service for that product. In short, knowledgeable employees foster confidence in both your product or service and your company and preparing your employees through training does just that!
To improve your small business’ customer service remember these three tips:
To Immediately Improve Customer Service:
- Listen to your customers
- Critically review and improve your sales process
- Train your employees
We know you’re busy running your business, but encourage you to try small steps towards improving your customer service by first starting with listening to your customers. Listening will get you far!
Tell us below how you took the time to listen to your customers and one thing you learned that really “Wowed” you about the feedback, whether it was positive or negative. Please ensure you include your website address, thanks!
Have other questions about improving your business customer service? Contact us today, we’re happy to help!
Christine Urban Media is located in the Seattle, Washington area.