Gone are the days when the success of a business rested solely on the quality of its products. Savvy consumers nowadays want far more from the companies they choose to do business with, and one thing many of them will be looking for is high-quality customer service. If you’re running a small business and think this might require sizeable investment, it’s time to think again! Providing good customer services doesn’t mean you need an endless budget, and it’s not going to take hours of your time. Here are some strategies you might want to try.
Make Your Business Customer-Centered
There are lots of companies talking about this approach, but not so many doing it, so you’re bound to stand out from the crowd. It costs far more to acquire new customers than it does to keep hold of the ones you’ve already hooked in. With the loss of a customer costing on average nearly three hundred dollars, it makes sense to retain them at all costs. If you want to achieve this, there are a number of things you can do. The first step is to know your target audience because then you will have a better idea of their expectations and what you can do to meet them. Appreciating the value of word-of-mouth marketing is important. Never make promises to your customers that you can’t keep. When communicating with your customers, you need to listen to what they’ve got to say and try to follow through with any suggestions. Your customers are vital to your business because, without them, you wouldn’t be able to grow and evolve. You need to make them feel special and treat them like royalty.
Pay Attention to the Details
If you pay attention to the details, it will show your customers you are listening. It is also about going above and beyond what is expected. Any business can provide a service or sell a product, but what will make that brand stand out from all the others is the attention paid to the details. For example, a hotel business that provides tea and coffee facilities, cigar brands for special occasions and a basket of fruit for guests will be remembered and recommended to others. On a similar vein, the restaurant staff who pays attention to customers and provides extra facilities when needed, such as hot water for heating a baby’s bottle, will always stand out as being different.
It’s all about making your customers feel special and providing them with a personal service. Offering a returning customer the drink you know they prefer is one example. Walking clients to the door after appointments is another. Using their names in any communication is also a recognized sweetener.
How to Encourage Repeat Business
Try and thank customers for their purchase or for signing a service agreement and get back in touch again a few weeks later to find out how things are working out. Encourage them to write a review or testimonial, and when they do, make sure you say thank you. If you’re running a large business, personal contact may not always be possible. In which case, a personalized email will be acceptable. If your products or services include a money back guarantee, then be certain to honor them. Doing so will show customers you are interested in a long-term relationship.
Introducing a loyalty rewards program is another way of encouraging customers to stick around. Part of the program could be a weekly newsletter in which you can keep them informed of products or services that will interest them.
