Quality customer service is one of the major ingredients that make for the success of any business, regardless of its size. You could employ all the native advertising, traditional advertising or content marketing strategies you know. You could get loads of patronage, at least initially. But unless you know how to turn those customers into repeat customers, you may as well kiss your business goodbye.
Poor customer service, in fact, can be just plain detrimental: Dissatisfied customers, by word of mouth, may discourage new customers from trying your product or service. On the flip side, satisfied customers, using the same medium, may win you referrals.
That’s why your business needs to win at customer service. Below is a guide for succeeding at this important function.
1. Know your customers
Most customers love to be known personally. Get to know them, then. Remember their names, personal details and even previous contacts. Of course, this could be difficult if your business has grown and you have a lot of customers.
The solution, according to this article on Recruiterbox, is to create a database about your customers, to help you remember vital things about them so you can relate with them on a personal level. In the author’s words, “I’ve got a client who is crazy about her cat, whose name is Brutus. Her file in my database lists information on the cat, so that when she calls, I always remember to ask after her favorite feline; and this has helped me to develop a great rapport over the years.”
2. Quality customer service should be your priority.
Once you know your customers and their preferences, the next goal should be to prioritize their satisfaction. One company that does this particularly well is Nordstrom.
While answering a Quora question on why she thought Nordstrom has excellent customer service, Ambra Benjamin listed a couple of things the…