Offering product repairs can be one of your most valuable services. For some retailers, such as bicycle shops, it can offset the downturn in sales during slower economic times. Each step of the repair process is an opportunity to build a closer relationship with your customers. To build great customer experiences, it takes a little up-front-planning and a seamless process.
Your Customer’s Point of View
Getting a better understanding of your repair process begins and ends with your customer’s point of view. You are striving for their complete satisfaction at every step, so it is essential to know their expectations. The following three factors determine how patient a customer will be while waiting for a repair to be completed:
1. Previous Interactions
Services rely more on relationships and your ability to deliver a great experience every time. Excellent customer service will reassure them that they can depend on your repair service when they need it. Your customer’s earliest impressions and experience with employees and the store have a lasting impression on their expectations.
2. Value of the Repair
Gifts, heirlooms, and personal treasures hold a great deal of value. Separation from them causes anxiety. Even though you can’t do anything about this, you can be more reassuring through communication.
3. Organization
From work order to job completion, the organization of your procedures has a significant influence on quality and satisfaction. Estimates, receipts, and payment processing should be located in one place that is easy to navigate.
Improving Your Process
Technology provides you with the ability to improve your procedures and the entire process. Your process should be automated and customizable. Each step should flow into the next. Manual tracking and procedures will cause more errors and lead to dissatisfied customers.
Advancements in point of sale and mobile marketing will improve your services only through better organization and increased communication. Try these tips to improve your product repair process.
Treat them like an individual, not a number.
Did you know that 66% of your customers will switch brands when treated like a number and not an individual? The success of your repair business depends on quality work and building relationships. You can start by treating them as individuals, referring to them by name in emails and texts, not just over the phone.
Take advantage of text messaging.
Frequent communications will help alleviate some of the anxiety people feel when they drop off something for repair. The easiest way to stay in contact is through text message. With consistent text updates, you’ll manage customer expectations and find great opportunities for marketing other products and services.
Train employees to give faster service.
Every employee should understand the repair process. They should also know what happens at each step in the process. This will allow them to describe it in detail to potential customers, as well as lookup work orders in the system.
Build your relationship.
Offering repairs is a major opportunity for you to build deeper relationships with your customers. Customers with an established relationship are more likely to forgive and forget mistakes that may occur. In order to build this relationship, you’ll need to be more engaged with them. Through mobile marketing, you can invite them to your loyalty club or to follow your social media pages. This strengthens the relationship through deeper engagement that builds a long-term relationship.
Stay Focused and Consistent
Your customers want to have the same great experience every time. They expect your services to be customer-centric, focusing on quality and consistency. Technology combined with open and honest communication will help you maintain that focus—every time.