"Customer Service That Keeps the Cashing Coming In" | AliBrown.com

"Customer Service That Keeps the Cashing Coming In" AliBrown.com

Even if you have a sound business plan, smart, dedicated employees, and an awardwinning product, all those positive points can be nebated by bad custome service. Compnaies work hard to bring in customers, but once they have them, not all businesses do everything they can to keep their customers. Sometimes customers leave because they feel ignored or assume that the company doesn't really care about their issue.

Customer service isn't just about making people happy. It's also about dealing with complaints, which are almost inevitable. In order to build (and keep) your customer base: it's critical that companies follow the three C's: communication, courtesy, and criticism.

Communication

In order to keep your existing customers, you need to offer extra value and communicate that value clearly so your customers understand why they should choose you over the competition. You might write a blog post or newspaper article about how you're adding value or include a promotion in an email newsletter to your customers. (You do have customer's emails, right?) Maintaining an up-to-date and accurate database of customer's contact information is invaluable. Make sure that their names are spelled correctly, because there's nothing more insulting (and impersonal) than getting an email or postcard addressed to the wrong name. Lastly, be sure to follow through on any promises and thank your customers on a regular basis.

Courtesy

Courtesy costs you nothing, but it pays off far more than an expensive marketing or advertising campaign. When a customer calls, they want to feel that their questions or concerns are being addressed and that you value them as much as (and hopefully more than) their credit cards. Make sure that whoever is answering the phone is polite and friendly. Remind them to smile, because that will naturally make their voice sound more cheerful. Also, be sure your customer service reps call customers by their names (no one likes being treated like a number). If they don't know how to pronounce someone's name, make sure they ask.


Next time I will talk about Criticism and how it can improve your customer service.