There are many small ways to improve customer service. Try some of the following ideas in your business to provide better service to your customers.
• Respond quickly to customers. Leaving a customer waiting for a response is a good way to create some very frustrated customers. If they are calling about a time-sensitive order, you could even lose a sale. Make it a rule to always respond to customers within 24 hours. By responding quickly you will build their trust in your company and its reliability.
• Keep customers updated. Make sure your customers know or can quickly find out the status of their order at any time. If there is a problem that could delay an order, don’t wait until the last minute to let them know. Notify them as soon as possible to give them more time to deal with the problem.
• Be available through multiple channels. With the plethora of communication options now available, there is no reason that a customer should not be able to easily reach you. Whether it is by phone, email, text messaging, Facetime or in-person, make sure that customers have more than one way to contact you.
• Don’t make them talk to a machine. Automated phone answering systems can save a company a lot of time. But they can also be frustrating for customers if they feel like they cannot reach a real person. If you have an automated system, make sure that talking to a live person is one of the first options.
• Provide help even when it does not lead to a sale. Being willing to answer questions and provide support even when a customer is not looking to make a purchase is one of the best ways to build a customer’s trust and establish a long-term relationship with them.
• Regularly ask customers if there is any way that you can improve your service. By doing this on a frequent basis you can catch problems as they arise and make improving part of your regular practices.
• Track and analyze customer feedback. Whether it comes from a formal survey or as part of casual conversations, make sure you are getting feedback on a regular basis and keeping track of it. Based on the feedback, look for any recurring problems, find the underlying causes and correct them.
• Treat staff the way you want them to treat customers. If employees feel unappreciated and undervalued in their jobs, those feelings will trickle down to their interactions with customers. Workers who like their jobs, enjoy what they do and are proud of their company make much better ambassadors.
• Conduct customer service training. Knowing how to provide good customer service is a learned skill. Unless you take time to train your workers they won’t know how to provide it. This can be done by a senior staff member or you can bring in a customer service expert to conduct a workshop. Either way, make sure the training supports your company’s strategy and service standards.
• Reward loyal customers. Many companies offer first-time customer discounts or other incentives designed to bring in new customers. But by offering similar incentives to long-time customers, you can build a loyal customer base.
• Don’t make promises you can’t keep. If an order cannot be completed on time, it is better to be upfront and honest about that from the beginning. Never promise a customer to do something unless you know that you can follow through with it. Nothing makes a customer take their business somewhere else faster than unreliable service.
