Is Customer Service Driving Your Business?

You've heard probably thousands of times from business people. Customer service is key! As “trite” as that is, anybody who recommends customer service as a key element in business success is 100% on target. If you don't believe them, you can always go to sites like the BBB and read reviews from companies who don't practice good customer service, and you'll notice the difference.

Lets break things down for example. Your customers and clients are your livelihood, your income flow, your insurance, and the list goes on. So keeping them happy should be your #1 priority of a business owner. If not, you may find that your customers don't view your service as one that provides continual support, etc.

It's all about relationships:

From the minute you sell your product or service, you have established some type of business connection and/or relationship with your customer. Whether they bought a product off of your e-commerce website and received your “thank you” email/order confirmation that displayed further available discounts or sales, or they hired you for your services, you are constantly maintaining a business relationship. Here are a few ways that you can casually keep these business relationships strong in order to harbor excellent customer service:

1. Stay in contact with your customers and follow-up

Maintaining a quality business relationship requires you checking up once in awhile to make sure you're customer was/is satisfied with their recent purchase, or recent partnership with your business that delivered a service. This can be done in many ways including sending an email, phone call, or in the form of a newsletter, survey, etc. The bottom line is that you want your customer to feel like they are still important to you, far after the sale.

2. Deliver on what you promised

If you advertise a service, sell a service, it's probably important that you stick to your promises and include everything that your product entails. If your customers feel that whatever they bought from you or hired to you perform isn't up to par, there will be issues and fires to put out later.

3. Be willing to compromise and let your customer be right. (The old saying, “the customer is always right)

Let's face it, as business owners, we very well know that there are certain customers who will just have issues with your product or service and there will be nothing you can do to keep their business. In times like this, it is very important to keep your head on straight and never let your emotions get in the way of being rational. In other words, accept your customer's decision and let it be. If you escalate things, this may prompt your customer to get angry and act in ways that could hurt future business, including writing negative reviews about their experience, etc.

As a whole, regardless of which industry or line of work you find yourself in, sticking to the raw principles of good customer service will go a long way for you and your establishment. Customer service is a lost art, so when it's actually practiced, it makes a huge impact on customers and clients alike.