By Dania Mahmoud
If you read last week’s blog, you know that one of the major advantages small businesses have over their corporate competition is customer service. While bigger businesses usually don’t have the resources to build sustainable relationships with their customers, your personable environment can be much more inviting to customers who want to know that they are a priority.
This week, we are going more in-depth to the tools you can use to make your relationship with your customers something that can’t be imitated. By applying an open and honest attitude to your service, your customers will come to trust you to get the job done right.
Here are 5 tips for improving your customer service:
1. Build relationships based on mutual benefits.
University of Houston Professional Sales professor Amy Vandaveer says when it comes to business, “You can win at all costs once.” That means customers will be one-time buyers if you exploit their needs to meet your own.
Instead, create a relationship based on mutual trust that leaves you both satisfied-- this method may not win you the most immediate cash, but it will keep you customers coming back. If you are aware that a deal your customer is about to make with you is not in her best interest, don’t make that deal! Suggesting an alternative will not just leave your customer more impressed with your business; she’ll build a genuine trust in your service, which makes her that much more likely to choose you again and even recommend you to friends.
2. Keep an open ear and an open mind.
You can’t meet your customers’ needs if you’re not listening to them. You might have strategies already in place to help your customers, but remember that one size rarely fits all. Keep your customers engaged by asking them if they have any concerns throughout the buying process. You can also gather opinions more formally by periodically surveying past customers.
The listening process doesn’t stop at having an open ear. You need to have an open mind, as well. Be willing and ready to customize the processes you have in place to meet your customers’ expectations. While you shouldn’t be changing the structure of your business for any one individual, you can build a certain amount of flexibility into your service-- whether it’s in the delivery of a product, the bundling (or unbundling) of purchases, or the length of a guarantee, chances are that you can find a way to meet your customers happily in the middle. Remember that big businesses rarely have that same flexibility, so use this to your advantage!
3. Make good on promises.
We’ve all been taught to keep the promises we make. But when business gets tough, honesty and accountability have a tendency to take a backseat.
Don’t let your business fall into this trap. Prioritize your promises to your customers so that they know their patronage is important to you. And if it turns out you really can’t meet a promise, come clean. We all make mistakes from time to time, and your customers would rather you admit to yours rather than ignore their requests. Back up your apology with an outline describing how you’re going to resolve the problem your mistake created. Your customers will appreciate your transparency, and when you come through on your resolving the issue, their satisfaction will not decline.
4. Have a plan for conflict resolution.
Transparency is especially important to remember when dealing with conflict. In business, conflict is bound to arise. Mistakes are made or miscommunications occur; it happens, and it’s inevitable when you’re interacting with customers. But if you want to be able to bounce back from conflict, you need to have a plan in place before things go wrong.
Have a process for resolving conflict that takes attention away from emotions or personal dislike by focusing on the problem at hand. This keeps things professional and, if conflict resolution is going really well, positive. If you use affirmative language by telling customers what they can have rather than what they can’t, customers will be more likely to respond just as positively. Showing your customers you’re committed to resolving an issue will allow them to build their confidence in you once more.
However, while it’s important to demonstrate your commitment to your customer, sometimes conflict resolution is beyond your power as a small business owner. In those cases, you’ll be glad to have had your bases covered early on. Make sure to have a solid connection with a lawyer so that any legal disputes that happen to come your way can be resolved as painlessly as possible.
5. Build a strong work team.
Customer service cannot flourish without a workplace that has a strong sense of team. If your employees know that they can rely on each other to get the job done, your customers will trust that they can, too.
You can establish a strong team of trustworthy employees when you lead by example. Demonstrate your positive interactions with customers and willingness to meet individual needs. Your employees will see that customers should be a priority, and will work that much harder to keep them happy.
Bloomberg Business
Forbes
The Guadrian
If you read last week’s blog, you know that one of the major advantages small businesses have over their corporate competition is customer service. While bigger businesses usually don’t have the resources to build sustainable relationships with their customers, your personable environment can be much more inviting to customers who want to know that they are a priority.
This week, we are going more in-depth to the tools you can use to make your relationship with your customers something that can’t be imitated. By applying an open and honest attitude to your service, your customers will come to trust you to get the job done right.
Here are 5 tips for improving your customer service:
1. Build relationships based on mutual benefits.
University of Houston Professional Sales professor Amy Vandaveer says when it comes to business, “You can win at all costs once.” That means customers will be one-time buyers if you exploit their needs to meet your own.
Instead, create a relationship based on mutual trust that leaves you both satisfied-- this method may not win you the most immediate cash, but it will keep you customers coming back. If you are aware that a deal your customer is about to make with you is not in her best interest, don’t make that deal! Suggesting an alternative will not just leave your customer more impressed with your business; she’ll build a genuine trust in your service, which makes her that much more likely to choose you again and even recommend you to friends.
2. Keep an open ear and an open mind.
You can’t meet your customers’ needs if you’re not listening to them. You might have strategies already in place to help your customers, but remember that one size rarely fits all. Keep your customers engaged by asking them if they have any concerns throughout the buying process. You can also gather opinions more formally by periodically surveying past customers.
The listening process doesn’t stop at having an open ear. You need to have an open mind, as well. Be willing and ready to customize the processes you have in place to meet your customers’ expectations. While you shouldn’t be changing the structure of your business for any one individual, you can build a certain amount of flexibility into your service-- whether it’s in the delivery of a product, the bundling (or unbundling) of purchases, or the length of a guarantee, chances are that you can find a way to meet your customers happily in the middle. Remember that big businesses rarely have that same flexibility, so use this to your advantage!
3. Make good on promises.
We’ve all been taught to keep the promises we make. But when business gets tough, honesty and accountability have a tendency to take a backseat.
Don’t let your business fall into this trap. Prioritize your promises to your customers so that they know their patronage is important to you. And if it turns out you really can’t meet a promise, come clean. We all make mistakes from time to time, and your customers would rather you admit to yours rather than ignore their requests. Back up your apology with an outline describing how you’re going to resolve the problem your mistake created. Your customers will appreciate your transparency, and when you come through on your resolving the issue, their satisfaction will not decline.
4. Have a plan for conflict resolution.
Transparency is especially important to remember when dealing with conflict. In business, conflict is bound to arise. Mistakes are made or miscommunications occur; it happens, and it’s inevitable when you’re interacting with customers. But if you want to be able to bounce back from conflict, you need to have a plan in place before things go wrong.
Have a process for resolving conflict that takes attention away from emotions or personal dislike by focusing on the problem at hand. This keeps things professional and, if conflict resolution is going really well, positive. If you use affirmative language by telling customers what they can have rather than what they can’t, customers will be more likely to respond just as positively. Showing your customers you’re committed to resolving an issue will allow them to build their confidence in you once more.
However, while it’s important to demonstrate your commitment to your customer, sometimes conflict resolution is beyond your power as a small business owner. In those cases, you’ll be glad to have had your bases covered early on. Make sure to have a solid connection with a lawyer so that any legal disputes that happen to come your way can be resolved as painlessly as possible.
5. Build a strong work team.
Customer service cannot flourish without a workplace that has a strong sense of team. If your employees know that they can rely on each other to get the job done, your customers will trust that they can, too.
You can establish a strong team of trustworthy employees when you lead by example. Demonstrate your positive interactions with customers and willingness to meet individual needs. Your employees will see that customers should be a priority, and will work that much harder to keep them happy.
Bloomberg Business
Forbes
The Guadrian
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