Good customer service is required for every customer every time. Customer service is that assistance and advice you provide to those who buy or use your products or services. It is a critical piece of your successful business. Satisfied customers are repeat customers and repeat customers can save you 6-7 times the cost of acquiring a new customer. In today’s virtual world a negative review can go viral and severely damage or even break a company. A bad reputation is easy to get and almost impossible to fix.
Customer service as well as web site interface are the front-line doorway to your business for customers. The same amount of time, energy and resources you spend on your online presence needs to be spent on good customer service.
What are customers looking for in good customer service:
- Knowledgeable staff
- The staff must be familiar with the products offered. Strong product knowledge promotes confidence, and saves customer and staff time
- Efficient time management
- Customer service must be efficient to always be respectful of customers time.
- Be ready for appointments before they happen
- Thorough follow ups
- Contact customers in a timely manner
- Thoroughly follow up with issues and questions.
- Professional atmosphere
- Professionalism looks different. No longer are customers looking for blue suits and ties
- Customer want to know you take your products and what you are selling seriously and that you care about your business
- They also want to know that you are professional and handle things in a professional timely manner
- Friendly personnel
- Customers don’t want to go into an office or call an office where the staff is stressed or grumpy
- Staff should be treated well and enjoy their work. That will come through to customers
- Customers must feel as though your staff cares. Staff morale is a vital key to great customer servic
Interacting with customers in today’s world takes many forms; in person, on the phone, email, video conferencing, phone conferences, texting, chat services, social media and many other ways. Each interaction may entail different nuances. For example, a friendly personal demeanor may come across in person or on the phone but those nuances will be missed in the virtual world. Body language is as important in face to face interactions as what is said, in an email it is nonexistent. When communicating with customers in the virtual realm it is key to be straight and to the point. Jokes, sarcasm, and funny little statements should never be used in the virtual world. They can easily be misread and misunderstood.
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