Keys to Customer Service Success for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
No company can thrive without good customer service. If you’re a business owner, keep reading for tips on how to make your company thrive in this area.
Personalize Your Service
Have you ever struggled to make heads or tails of a company’s automated phone-answering service, only to eventually hang up in frustration? That’s what it can feel like to a customer when service isn’t personalized for them. The good news is, now that companies are more automated than ever, taking the time to find out what a person needs can make your business’s customer service stand out. For example, a roofing company that takes the time to find out what exactly a homeowner wants from their new roof will likely spark a better review than one that simply overwhelms the homeowner with an aggressive pitch.
Build Trust
A good product or service is critical to making an initial sale, but trust is a way to gain customers for life. Moreover, Forbes.com reports that 83 percent of customers who trust a company will recommend it to others. To build trust through customer service, follow these guidelines:
- Treat customers how you would want to be treated.
- Keep your promises. (This also means not making promises you’re not sure you can keep.)
- Equip your employees with whatever they need to keep customers happy.
Solve Problems
Even highly successful companies sometimes fall short of a customer’s expectations. In cases like this, it can be helpful to get ahead of the problem: If you know there will be an issue with a customer’s order delivery, for instance, give the customer a heads up rather than leaving them waiting around for a delayed package. Whenever a problem arises, be empathetic with the customer, highlight what you will do to fix it, and then follow through. And if it feels draining to deal with an unhappy customer, remember this: The customer can survive without your company, but your company can’t survive without its customers.
Take a look at the rest of Approved Business Lending’s blog posts for more ways to help your company succeed.
