By Justin Osborne
For businesses of all sizes, today’s dynamic business environment has made things competitive. And that makes it difficult to survive if you don’t deliver great service quality.
It’s essential for every business is to retain customers and that happens with a highly customer-oriented approach. One of the most effective ways of retaining customers is offering outstanding customer services that will make customers feel welcome, respected and well served.
Small businesses find it hard to compete with relatively bigger businesses and, at times, face the risk of closure due to competition and lack of customers. To avoid such from happening, here are various ways to use customer service to drive loyalty in your business.
Be There for Your Customers
A business will succeed if it wins the trust and confidence of its customers. What every business owner should understand is that a business is the economic home of its customers and since there are many other such homes, customers have the option to settle where they feel most comfortable.
For this reason, you should always be there to handle all the concerns raised by your customers, whether negative or positive. When you are personally there for your customers, they feel more satisfied and well taken care of, which adds to their confidence and trust in your business.
Be Sincere
Sincerity is one of the virtues that customers uphold highly in business. Every business must serve its customers with absolute honesty and undoubted sincerity. The results of such values may not be immediate, but with time, the results reaped will be high and permanent.
It is, therefore, important to clearly let your customers know what you offer, how you offer it, and the benefits your customers will have from it.
There are times that customers feel dissatisfied with a certain product or the quality of services offered and often opt to enquire about the same. No matter the circumstances, it is always best to handle such cases with sincerity. Though slightly disappointed, your customers will feel respected and, as a result, have more trust in what your business has to offer despite the circumstances.
Help Your Customers Reach Your Business
Communication is an important factor when it comes to handling customers. In the course of doing business, your customers have requests, queries, and suggestions. For your business to have a close link with its customers, you should have a direct way of communication either by email, hotline, or any other way that customers can reach your business at any time.
When your customers have a direct way to reach your business, they feel taken care of and they are certain that their issues will be attended to directly and within the least time.
Enhance Courtesy
Every business has a history of that annoying customer who was all-abusive, loud, and disrespectful. Of course, nobody likes this sort of behavior and it is often tempting to retort back to such people or even ignore them.
However, this should not apply to business. Customers have the right to be treated with courtesy and every business that follows this simple rule will thrive. When an arrogant customer is handled with courtesy, they often calm down, become apologetic, and could be future loyal customers.
Handling customers gently and in the friendliest way gives them an inward connection to your business, which makes them look up to the services offered by your business. Simple words like we are sorry, we appreciate, we thank you, and we apologize will go a long way in making customers feel well attended and the results will be heightened customer loyalty.
Offer What Others Do Not
Customers highly appreciate simple services like timely deliveries, fast service provision, and discounts. Such services will go a long way in enhancing customer loyalty if you make good use of them.
Making it a habit to have the goods delivered to customers at the required time will put your business in a better position as compared to your competitors. Besides, various discounts and fast service provision makes customers appreciate the fact that you value their budget while at the same time, maintaining the quality that they need.
It may surprise you that the reduction of prices by a small percentage could go a long way in pulling customers to your business. This, when combined with efficiency in service delivery, will keep your customers always to your business.
Always Deliver on Time
Timely delivery is highly respected and appreciated by customers. As a business, it is important to know that it’s not only individuals who depend on your services but other businesses as well. By delivering quality goods and services at the right time, you add to the productivity of other businesses, depending on your business.
Obviously, it is annoying to customers when goods requested are delivered late as it causes inconvenience to your customers. Customers don’t take delays kindly and by the time the delayed goods reach their destination, customers often will have found a better replacement.
On the other hand, timely deliveries keep your customers happy, satisfied and always looking forward to doing business with you.
Offer Money-Back Guarantees and Product Warranties
Though these requirements may make some business owners shudder, they are important aspects that enhance confidence in customers. By offering warranties and money-back guarantees, you make your customers have the trust that what you offer them is quality.
Since you have the confidence that whatever you offer is quality, chances of you refunding money or having goods returned are close to none. Besides, when you accept defaulted goods because of transportation or manufacturer defaulted goods, you create an image to your customers that whatever you offer them is of the highest quality.
Conclusion
A business has two environments: the internal and external environments. The internal environment is often well taken care of. However, the external environment, which comprises of the customers of the business, is the most crucial and is the determinant of the failure or success of your business. Good customer service is the central pillar to your business’s external environment, which compromises those who truly keep your business in motion.
