Businesses live and die by customer service. I’ve known people who will destroy their relationship with a brand if they have one negative experience. Consumers hold all the power in the business world, so you better learn how to keep them happy.
Today’s article will explore some actionable ways in which you can upgrade your customer service. This includes a few simple tips, along with a change in thinking. So, here’s what you need to do:
Treat your business like a library
After speaking to some business professionals the other day, they came up with an intriguing analogy. Think of your business as a library. People enter the library because they need a book. It’s the owner’s responsibility to cater to these demands and keep the clientele happy. Fail to do this, and your library will shut down.
The same concept applies to business; think about things from the perspective of your customers. There’s a blog post by the University of Southern California that talks about the idea of collection management for librarians. Essentially, it’s the librarian’s job to predict the demands of readers and keep the collection updated to meet these needs. From a business perspective, you have to do the same.
Analyze your customers and predict their behavioral patterns. As a result, you can provide things that appeal to their interests and keep them happy. This encourages more customers to stay loyal to you as you clearly show a talent for understanding their needs and ensuring they have everything they desire.
Always make yourself available
Short and sweet; customers must be able to contact you at any time. Even if your business is closed, there has to be a contact point somewhere. During operating hours, this can be through telephone, email, social media, and so on. Outside of business hours, you may use AI technology to provide automated customer service for you.
Something like a chatbot on your website gives consumers the ability to contact you instantly. If they have a query, the bot can handle it. People hate it when they need to talk to a business but have no way of getting in touch.
Give back to the customer
So far, we’ve looked at the idea of meeting customer demands and ensuring you’re easy to contact. But, if you want to take your customer service from good to excellent, then you need to go above and beyond. To do this, you have to give back to the customer. Aside from providing your core service, you should give them something extra as a way of showing your appreciation.
I’m not saying you should give them free products and services! But, a little discount here and there won’t hurt. It shows you care about the people who support your business – and customers lap this up.
The bottom line is that customer service is one of the key pillars of a successful business. If anything, it’s the main pillar that holds the structure together. If this breaks, then the ceiling will fall down. So, improve your customer service and keep consumers happy.