By Joseph Jaffe, author of Flip the Funnel

It’s a customer-driven economy, and the importance of keeping and nurturing your current customers is vital to survival. Here are 10 tips from social media expert Joseph Jaffe for how to improve your customer service so you can keep ‘em happy:

1.   Customer service doesn’t end at 5pm on a Friday

Customer service must be always on, 24 x 7 x 365, addressing any problems or calls for help.

2.   Move from “everything communicates” to “everyone communicates”

Every customer’s opinion counts.

3.   All customers are equal, but some are more equal than others

Every single customer deserves to be treated well, respected, with appropriate attention, effort.

4.   Customer service is not only about solving problems

We need to be more proactive, productive and efficient with the precious time spent with our customers.

5.   Customer service lives “in the now”

The ability to solve problems in real time is the consummate difference maker.

6.   Customer service can be a revenue generator

Service can actually become a source of revenue for companies—directly and indirectly.

7.   Customer service lives in the public domain

Bottom line: they more time elapses, the more likely a customer is to move a problem from the private to the public domain.

8.   Customer service needs a memory

Our customers have long memories. Now we need to show them that we do too.

9.   Customer service needs to be proactive and anticipatory

Anticipate requirements, listen attentively for needs, and proactively fix problems.

10. Customer service is alive

Feedback loops must be active, direct and effective at evolving and moving business forward.

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Joseph Jaffe is the author of FLIP THE FUNNEL: How to Use Your Current Customers to Gain New Ones. He is also Chief Interruptor of Powered, a full-service social media agency that plans, builds and activates measurable and enduring experiences between brands, their customers and their online communities. Jaffe blogs and podcasts at “Jaffe Juice” (www.jaffejuice.com) and has his own video show called “Jaffe Juice TV” (www.youtube.com/jaffejuice).   He has been interviewed on ABC-TV, CBS-TV and Bloomberg TV. Visit www.flipthefunnelnow.com to join the conversation.

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Friday, March 19th, 2010, 8:15 am   |   customer service, General Marketing  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback