The easiest way to build your business is through consistently delivering great customer service. Inconsistent or bad customer service is the easiest way to destroy your business.
We all know that lead generation or winning new customers, is essential for business growth. It’s also the most expensive and time-consuming part of growing your business. So, once we win a new customer our job is to wow them with such good customer service that they will want to keep coming back to us whenever they need our service or product again. And once your customer knows how good you are, it’s easier to sell your other products or services to them.
On the other hand, bad customer service can have a devastating effect on a business. Not only will you have the expense of forever having to generate new leads, because your customers will never come back to you, they will be sharing their bad experiences with others, either when speaking with friends and relatives, or posting bad reviews on social media.
Here are 9 easy ways to build a business through great customer service
(1) Be consistent
Your customers want consistently good service. They don’t want erratic brilliance in that one time they buy from you the service is outstanding and the next it’s rubbish. They want to know that they’ll get a good experience every time.
(2) Communication
One of the key areas where customer service fails is in communication. Make it easy for your customers to speak with you.
This is especially crucial as a business grows. We see this in customer experience with banks, energy suppliers, and other call centres in the service sector where customers are required to wait on hold for hours or are made to communicate via email or an online FAQ page. This is not good service. Don’t get “too big for your boots”!
(3) Set expectations – and then exceed them
Always do what you say you’re going to do – and then more.
If you say you’re going to get back to them by the end of the day, make sure you do, but sooner. If you say you’re going to send them something through the post, make sure you do, but make it get to them the same day. Customers are blown away when you exceed their expectations, and they will tell others about it.
(4) Keep in touch
If you sell something that your customers don’t buy very often, be sure to nurture the relationship with those customers by keeping in touch in some way. Great customer service doesn’t end with the sale.
American car salesman Joe Girard was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records for selling the most cars in a year. He did this by keeping in touch with his customers. Knowing that people don’t buy cars that often, he would keep in touch with anyone who bought a car from him by sending them a card through the post every month, for whatever reason he could make up. His customers were delighted and looked forward to receiving his cards. And when the time came to buy a new car, obviously they went back to Joe.
Be sure to find a way to build and nurture your relationship with your customers.
(5) Delighted customers turn into your raving fans
Not only will great customer service ensure your customers keep coming back to you, but they will happily recommend you to others. Some will even become your raving fans, telling everyone about you and encouraging them to buy from you for no other reason than that they want other people to share their wonderful experiences of buying from you. They effectively become your sales team.
(6) Never take your customers for granted
Always be polite and never argue with your customers. Don’t make excuses for poor customer service; apologise and put it right. In some sectors, such as supermarkets, where the only differentiating factor is the experience a customer has in the shop, sloppy customer service will drive them off to alternatives.
(7) Don’t fear complaints – ask for them
Complaints and other feedback from your customers are a valuable source of information you can use to get even better at customer service.
If a customer complains, this is not only your opportunity to wow them with your way of making it up to them, but it’s information you can use to improve. Actively ask for feedback.
Most people won’t bother to complain – they just won’t come back to you. So be grateful for any complaints you receive and act on them: incorporate the problems and how to make sure they don’t happen again in your team training material.
(8) Train your team
Be sure you have people in your team who share your passion for your product or service and share your values. This will increase your confidence that your team will deliver the same consistently great customer service as you do. Disengaged employees will not deliver great customer service!
(9) Sack bad customers
Occasionally you may get a customer who is never happy however great your customer service is. They will always complain. Their energy is not good for your business so the kindest thing for you and your business – and for the customer – is to suggest that they go to one of your competitors instead.
I hope you found this blog useful. If I can help at all, I’d be delighted to hear from you.
