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In today’s competitive landscape, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd, especially when your business is small. The best tool available for you to stand out is through your customer service strategy. How you treat your customers will likely be shared on different internet boards and product rating sites. Have a customer service plan and stick to it. Here are some ideas to incorporate into your plan.
1. Be Knowledgable
If you don’t know the ins and outs of your business and its products, your customers aren’t going to be impressed. Even worse, they’re likely to share that information with people they know and people they don’t know on the internet. Being knowledgeable about your business and its products allows you to provide the most important information to assist your customers when they need help. If you don’t know a product, use it and learn about it. Know what people are saying about it. Know the best way to solve issues that might arise from it.
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Just as important as being knowledgeable is taking action when it’s required. If a customer needs an item shipped, do it quickly rather than putting it off each day until they call you wondering what happened to their product. If the issue is technical, stay on that problem until you have it solved. Keep communicating with the customer so they know you are still prioritizing their issue. This type of service will ease any stress the customer experiences due to the issue. Using an outsourced call center service is a great way to keep up with these issues without having to become too much of a burden on your business.
3. Virtual Phone System
A vital component of customer service is the customer’s ability to reach you. To make this process as simple as possible, provide a toll-free number for business. According to Ninja Number, the benefits of a toll-free number include the appearance of a larger company and the ability to take the number with you if you relocate to another state. These are good reasons, but another advantage is the virtual phone system can provide answers to basic questions your customers might have without taking time away from other pressing tasks.
4. Feedback
When you’re providing excellent customer service, feedback can contribute to your marketing goals at no cost to you. After assisting a customer with their needs, ask them to provide feedback on your social media page or e-commerce site where the transaction took place. If your customers are happy with the service they received, there’s a good chance they’ll be willing to help promote your business.
Feedback not only helps promote your business, but it also helps you improve your business. Be sure to read your feedback regularly. As an outsider looking in, sometimes a customer has the ability to see something you’ve missed, and you have the ability to improve upon it.
5. Attitude
As the old saying goes, “Attitude is everything.” In customer service, this couldn’t be more true. When you are assisting your customers, always be friendly and always thank them for their patronage. You’ll be surprised how quickly your customers actually enjoy getting to know you when you treat them with kindness and respect. They’ll know you by name and will be pleasantly pleased if you can do the same.
This type of customer service goes beyond just customers. You should have this type of relationship with your vendors and other businesses that provide products and services to your business as well. If your business is ever in a bind, such as needing the fast shipping of a product, these businesses will be more willing to help you if they like you and your
