Tips for better customer service

After toiling for years, you have set up your dream business, albeit on a small scale. You have even come up with an excellent marketing strategy and it is rewarding you with patronage, causing you to show up at ‘work’ every day with a smile on your face. But how long will the good times last? Will the customers come back? Will they multiply? These are questions experts say an entrepreneur needs to keep in mind. Doing that, they explain, will help them to avoid suffering the same fate as small businesses that succeed in attracting huge patronage only to realise that they are ill-prepared to cope with the pressure of a huge clientele.

 For a business to succeed and to keep customers coming back while attracting more patronage, experts say it requires an excellent customer service. They add that, no matter how good the service is, there is the need for it to be improved upon regularly. Doing so will prevent them from inadvertently causing their customers to patronise their competitors, thereby reducing their chances of survival and growth.

Amanda McCormick, of About.com explains that delivering excellent customer service can be achieved easily.

She recommends the following steps:

Target a niche

According to her, occupying a niche means you won’t be competing with a lot of similar businesses solely on price.

“And because you will be selling products and services that are customised to the specific needs and predispositions of a select group of people, you can often charge more. Your products and services serve a market that can’t easily find alternatives,” she says.

Connect with your community

This is another step McCormick says an entrepreneur can take to deliver excellent customer care. According to her, this involves offering freebies on special occasions.

Citing ice cream makers Ben & Jerry as an example, she explains that while quality products helps to attract customers, keeping them may require more than that.

She recalls, “The original scoop shop became a community favourite thanks to its rich ice cream and creative flavours. Ben and Jerry also made it a point to connect with the community, hosting a free film festival and giving away free scoops on the first anniversary of the store, a tradition that still continues. In 1980, the duo began making pints to sell to local grocers. In 1981, they expanded this operation.”

She also recommended the following steps in her article on customer care.

Create a “Red Velvet Rope” policy

According to her, the book, ‘Book Yourself Solid,’ argues that it’s essential for freelancers and consultants to create a “Red Velvet Rope” and be very selective about working with clients.

She adds that author Michael Port believes that having only “star clients” that inspire and energise your work will help you to do the calibre of work that will help you to attract more star clients.

“The solution is to separate your clients into three groups – duds, mid-range and stars. Cut loose your dud clients, and decide if you can develop your mid-range clients into stars. Within the book is a series of exercises on deciding what exactly constitutes a ‘star’ client for you,” she explains.

Get digital

While stressing the need for you to be tech savvy, she quotes Columbia Business School’s David Rogers, as writing, “From smartphones to social networks, today’s digital tools are helping your customers connect, create, and interact with one another on a global scale.

“This is changing your customers’ relationships with one another, and with every business, no matter the size or industry. In the past, businesses relied on a broadcast model to influence customers with mass marketing, projected out one-way, to as many consumers as possible. To succeed today, businesses need a network model, one that takes advantage of customers’ ability to engage, interact, and even collaborate with your organisation and one another.”

Check the customer’s pulse

Neil Newcomb of IMC, a magazine for customer service professionals, says it is important to determine how happy a customer is. He writes, “Every time you interact with a customer, in person or over the phone, initiate a quick discussion to gauge how they are feeling. And as you begin to build a relationship with a customer (and get a feel for their perception of your business), consider doing a quick survey or comment card. This will easily demonstrate to customers, employees and competitors alike, that you intend to continually improve on your service.”

Newcomb says it is also important to:

Understand obstacles customers face

According to him, many managers forget (or don’t know) what it is like to be a customer of their own business.

To do this, he stresses that observation is important.

“Watch your customers’ movements and behaviour when they are in your organisation. Are they visibly annoyed? Do they stand in line, looking at their watch? Can you tell by their body language that they would rather be somewhere else? Do your frontline staff seem attentive to their needs? Gather this information as you go about your daily tasks,” he explains.

The following tips were among five recommended by Forbes Magazine Contributor, Sunday Steinkirchner, in an article published in 2012:

Be available

If a customer can’t get hold of you when they need to, you could lose them forever. We recently changed both our insurance provider and web developer, and the decisions were based on availability and accountability. With the new companies, we get the owner on the phone every time, and they’re there day or night if a catastrophe happens. In our own business, we value face-to-face interaction with customers, which is often a rarity these days. Whether it’s travelling across the country for trade shows or taking time for a quick coffee or Skype session, our strongest relationships are with the customers we know personally and keep in contact with regularly.

 Offer knowledge

Building strong relationships with our customers is great, but we also get to offer and trade knowledge with them. In our trade, a customer can compare several competing copies of a book online, but they won’t get a conversation about the title’s complicated printing history. When we’re speaking with customers, we spend the majority of time talking about the merchandise itself, trends in the market, and the customer’s own collecting habits. Afterward, we negotiate a deal. A customer can even know more than you do on a particular topic! Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more.

Trade shows are another great way you can offer knowledge to your customers. Organise seminars with expert speakers to draw potential customers interested in your product or services.

culled from Punch