Given we are coming up to the peak holiday season I thought it would be a good idea to address what is probably the most important aspect of marketing your business – and that is customer service.
If you don't give your customer's service then who will sustain your business?. Never mind if you're doing well at getting new customers, how will you stay profitable if none of them are retained? It's all about the action and service that you give a customer that counts. You'll only be remembered by what you have or not done.
Don't forget, consumers' expectations are higher than ever now and competition is increasingly stiff. So to stand our in a customer's mind and leaving an impression that you care about them is imperative.
1) Treat the customer like they really are a somebody. Because regular customers expect (and deserve) to be remembered. As someone recently summed it up, “You don't need to remember my name, or what I order, but do acknowledge that I've been there and possibly been there before.”
A good example of this is remembering how often your customer visits you. For instance, if you run a coffee shop, you should be able to take note of regulars, what their preferences are and how often they come. And acknowledging such, e.g. “See you next Tuesday”, or “Black coffee as usual sir?” This will make them feel like a somebody.
2) There's nothing quite like good old fashioned manners. All too often reception staff, or those on the end of the phone never use the word please or thank you. Be polite! A survey conducted by Schulich School of Business suggests that basic rudeness exists in over 30% of companies, and costs them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost customers (and revenues) each and every year. Don't let your company end up as one of these statistics.
3) Show your gratitude. When someone in your business finishes a transaction, they should thank the customer with a smile and a sincere “thank you for … completed by whatever is appropriate for your business”. With large purchases, the verbal greeting should be followed up with a hand-written card – not just because it leads to increased referrals (which is does), but because it is the correct thing to do.
4) Nearly 90% of customers form an impression about how competent and reputable your company is based on what they see when they walk through your doors. Appearances do count! And that doesn't stop at how smartly dressed your reception staff are. Is the surrounding desk, shop floor etc neat, dust free, gleaming? People can glean a huge amount of information about your company based on the first few minutes of entering your premises.
