As your business starts to accelerate, maybe it’s time for you to pause and slow down for a minute. Ask yourself one question – Are my customers happy?
Offering an excellent customer service calls for an open mind – and a lot of patience. While we all understand that it’s easy to judge customers based on their attitude, appearance, age or even just the way they talk, you should always refrain from making assumptions about your potential customers. Delivering a great customer service means that all your customers must be treated with respect. Customers who feel that they have been treated with respect and had their concerns met, will turn them from cranky customers into your number one cheerleaders!
How do get your customers to become your cheerleaders?
Below are 4 tips for making your customers happy
Effective Communication
Be attentive; Listen to feedback and take notes to make sure you understand what your customer wants. Effective communication skills are rarely found in businesses yet communication is the most important factor in providing excellent service. It prevents misunderstandings and miscommunications, which are the most common problems in most customer service settings.
For example; a client visits a hairstylist and tells her that she wants her hair styled with soft curls.
When the hairstylist finished doing her hair, the customer had a wild perm. The hairstylist did not pay attention to the customer’s needs, choosing a style she thought was best for the client. There is almost no chance the client will return to this stylist; both parties lose.
Take Responsibility
A successful entrepreneur ensures that every job is done the right
way. Customers are tired of businesses that make excuses. What are some of the most common excuses customers
get from companies, when calling in for support?
“That’s not my department… My computer is down/we are experiencing technical difficulties… I just started here…” and so on. These excuses are likely to make your customers upset, even cranky. It’s your responsibility, as the employer, to hire, train and equip your employees with all the tools necessary to provide answers for your customers. In addition, always ensure that your ‘support’ works efficiently, making the wait time as short as possible.
Be Kind
Being kind to your customers has lasting effects. Kind employees satisfy your customers’ needs and create the foundation for a long term relationship. How do you ‘Be Kind’?
Listen and be understanding of your customers’ needs, never raise your voice and smile when serving them. As a business owner you need to know which of your staff members are “kind;” Reward them.
Be Consistent
To keep customers happy, you need to be consistent in providing quality services. Let your customers know that their satisfaction is your main business goal. Improve the channels of communication with your employees by asking for feedback. As an entrepreneur you need to have regularly scheduled meetings with your support staff in order to get any new ideas that might help to increase
customer satisfaction.
Learning how to make – and keep – customers happy is critical to ensuring the success of your business. I have listed 4 tips to help you get there; let me know what you think or if you have any additional advice!
