Customer service is without a doubt the lifeblood of any business. Without customers you have no business, so ensuring that you invest in excellent customer service and also customer retention is what will keep your business going even during challenging times. Here are a few things that you can invest in, very easily, to elevate your customer service levels and build positive customer relationships.
Learn what the customer wants and needs
Customer service is all about what the customer wants and not about what you think they want. There is a big difference between the two. In order to find out what exactly the customer expects from you there is just one foolproof strategy – simply ask them. Ask for customer feedback online, give them a call, post a survey or a poll, or send around a Google form in the form of a newsletter (through email marketing) and get a clear idea of the pain points and challenges that a customer has. Then work to address those.
Your service should not stop at sales
A lot of the businesses out there offer great service until a sale is done and then, they simply cease. After sales service is a big differentiator for you from your competition. Not many businesses offer this option and we are thinking that you definitely should. While it may seem like a lot, all you will really need to do is keep tabs and follow up with the customer and attend to their queries if they have any after the sale has been completed.
Invest in training and development
Your staff and even you as the business owner or a leader, should invest in training and development in customer service. There are a whole bunch of free courses and certification programs out there which are easily accessible online, and if you allocate perhaps one hour each week for employees to invest in their own training and development, the return of investment on that for your business will come in the form of business improvement and customer retention.
Generally you have to induce a service mindset throughout your company and if you live by it, your employees will follow suit.
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Image by Nazly Ahamed
