Tips for building a great customer service experience for your small business.
I was at a store recently when a woman walked in to buy a gift. She decided on a box of wine, took it to the counter and asked that it was wrapped up. Each of the service agents at the counter gave each other that ‘definitely not me’ look. One was too busy, one said she couldn’t wrap gifts, one just wouldn’t be bothered. The exchange was both funny and irksome to watch.
In our last post, we mentioned that one of the metrics to track growth in your growing business is how loyal customers are to your business. Here, we discuss hacks to help you keep your customers coming back because at Triift Africa, we understand that people are at the heart of every business, serving them beautifully is the only route to decent profits and business sustainability.
“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all” — Michael LeBoeuf
Know Thy Customers
This is the first rule to doing business, I hate to sound overtly petty, but your customers are your business, obsess about them, understand them, what do they do? How does what they do affect what you do?. As a business person, it is important that you genuinely and meticulously care about the people you serve. The leverage your growing business has over bigger brands is that personal touch, use it. Learn about them - their preferences, their needs. Keep a database of your customers. Follow them on social media. Know what’s going on in their lives. Just for jokes, draw the line between creep and care.
Each new customer got his or her own index card, and each index card contained that customer’s personal information, shoe size, and shoe preferences. This database enabled Johnson to keep in touch with all his customers, at all times, and to keep them all feeling special. He sent them Christmas cards. He sent them birthday cards. He sent them notes of congratulations after they completed a big race or marathon.-Philip Knight about Jeff Johnson in Shoe Dog.
Business is human to human and human relationships are emotional rather than intellectual.
Remember that time you made a call to a customer service line and they kept you on the phone for 30 minutes listening to tunes? Can you remember how happy it made you? No? Exactly! Your small business can beat that glitch because you don’t have 1000 people trying to reach you at the same time. Create avenues to always be available to your customers. Take advantage of social media. For instance, WhatsApp for Business means your customers can reach you via text anytime. Our good friends at @paystack created this material for building your business using WhatsApp and we thought we should share with you.
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Like Glass
Be transparent, Customers want to see through you and be a part of this amazing thing that you are building. Honesty is good but go a step further, be open and transparent to your clients and customers. Give them the information they need before they have to ask for it. You can't keep up with a deadline or delivery? Give them a heads up. Ask them questions and use their feedback to make your products or services better. Free Feedback is what you get when customers feel like a part of your product, nobody wants to see something they love die.
Go Over and Beyond
Everybody loves a great service. How would you feel if you ordered for a pair of shoes and they arrived earlier than expected? That feeling, give it to your customers. The key is to “under promise and over-deliver.” Also, don't make promises you cannot fulfill.
Good manners can save your business
Be polite in dealing with your customers, train your staff to do same. Keep your emotions in check even if they are wrong. When you have made a mistake, apologies are good but making efforts to redress the problem is even better. People appreciate the effort and how far you are going to make sure it’s all smiles and warm hearts.
Most importantly, Add Value.
People pay for your products not your smiles. Customers will always come back when they get value for money spent.
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What other tips do you engage in your business to keep your customers happy? Let’s keep the conversation going. Follow Triift Africa on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
