Have you ever been completely turned off by a company’s customer service? It probably left a bad taste in your mouth and made you reconsider doing business with that company again.
If you can feel off-put by doing customer service with a huge well-known company like Walmart or Comcast, imagine how people may feel if your small business isn’t providing quality customer service.
For small businesses that have a specific niche and audience, lack of customer service can be extremely harmful when it comes to measuring success and growth. Here are a few ways to provide better customer service with your business and create an exceptional experience for those who are working with or buying from you.
Respond to Questions Quickly
Nothing can be more frustrating than asking a question about a product or service and not getting a reply. When some entrepreneurs launch products, they seem willing and eager to answer all questions before a sale is made. Then, crickets.
It’s important to continue to answer questions and provide support even after a purchase has been made. If you want repeat customers or clients, you’ll respond quickly to questions, comments, and concerns from start to finish.
You can even hire an assistant to provide customer service if you don’t want to be glued to email or the phone all day. Or, you can create a detailed FAQ page on your site to direct people to if their question has already been answered.
Become Great at Problem Solving
Customer service may involve doing some troubleshooting on your end, so you’ll want to get good at this. Issues pop up all the time, especially if you’re running an online business and there are some issues with tech.
The issue itself may or may not send customers or clients into a panic, but it’s all about how you handle it. If you go into silent mode and don’t respond or address what’s going on, people will start to have an even bigger problem with your business.
Whatever the issue is, it’s best to just communicate clearly with people so they know what’s going on, confront the issue head-on, then work to develop a timely solution.
Send Customer Satisfaction Surveys and Actually Read Through the Responses
If you haven’t been sending customer satisfaction surveys, you need to start doing this ASAP. It’s important to know what people think about your business and their experience as a customer or client. You may even want to offer incentives to take the survey like a freebie or coupon on a future purchase.
Aside from sending out brief feedback surveys, you actually want to read through the responses and see if you can implement any changes to improve your process.
The feedback and data customers send is gold and can help you set your business apart with exceptional customer service.
Summary
Obtaining better customer service is a must if you want longevity for your business. Take the time to make sure you’re serving customers well, responding to questions quickly, and troubleshooting any issues that may arise. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when customers can tell you exactly what they like and want via feedback surveys.
