Product ratings are tied to the level of customer service as much as the product’s performance. Best of all, great customer service techniques generate word of mouth marketing—growing your business organically. The reputation of your company depends upon the customer experience.
Understand the Customer Experience
It’s widely-known that availability of products and speed of service are essential in capturing the attention of your market. Your customer’s experience with your company depends upon how quickly they can step through a transaction and complete a delivery. This means examining the individual moments when customers interact with your employees.
In order to have a more complete picture, you need to look at your marketing, advertising, and word of mouth campaigns. These are the first impressions you make with your customer and need to be positive and memorable experiences. The more you understand what caught your customers’ attention, the more return you will get on your advertising.
Another way to enhance the customer experience is through follow up marketing. Use a customer relationship management software to organize and follow up with them through email or direct mail. Offer your customers a survey regarding their experience with your store, or update them on the latest deals and newest products. This allows you to stay front-of-mind and ensures that they will never forget about you.
Staff Engagement
Research has shown that an engaged employee is enthusiastic about their job and brings a positive attitude to work every day, especially when interacting with customers. Here are some research backed ways to increase employee engagement:
- Train your employees on specific customer service techniques.
- Receive employee feedback.
- Implement changes.
- Be a better communicator.
Competition is high, so having more positive interactions (see the resources section for information on why positive interactions are important) will increase sales. The best part of having engaged employees is that they want to put your products into customers’ hands.
Always Improving
Catering to your customers means giving them a level of service worth their return business. Your best customers deserve the best service coming from your company, and your employees will want to give it to them. Improve your service in simple ways, for example, taking constructive input from employees who have daily contact with customers, then find areas of concern and fix them. Employees may express concerns about time constraints or lack of resources.
Be Honest and Accountable
Mistakes are inevitable, so handle them quickly. Focus on the customer’s experience and how they feel. Keep your interactions positive and authentic. Your honesty can build trust. Remember, you want to make the sale, but ideally you want them coming back and bringing their friends.
Your Vision for the Company
Embrace social media as another way to expand your business through networks with high traffic. These are places where you can show your personality, your vision for your company and your customers.
Steve Jobs, former CEO and founder of Apple, said, “If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” Do your employees know and feel the company vision? If they do, they will become more engaged with their work, leading to positive interactions with customers—a recipe for great customer service.