If you are a business owner, customer service is one of the most critical aspects of your job. Unfortunately, the truth is that many businesses do not take the time to find out what their customers really want or need and this can lead to major problems down the road. In order to provide the best customer service possible, you need to focus on these six ideas.
1) Take the time to listen to your customers.
One of the best ways to provide good customer service is by actually listening to what your customers have to say. This means paying attention to their needs and taking the time to understand their complaints. If you can solve a problem for a customer while they are still on the phone, you will likely make them happy.
In order to really listen to your customers, you need to put away your distractions and focus all of your attention on them. This includes not checking email or Facebook while you are talking to them. It may also be helpful to take notes so that you can remember what the customer said later on.
2) Do not make promises you cannot keep.
If a customer has an issue, it is important to let them know that their concerns will be addressed and fixed as soon as possible. However, if you have no way of actually fixing the problem or getting in touch with the person who can fix do not promise something that you cannot deliver on. Instead, take responsibility for your mistakes and apologise for what happened instead of trying to cover up the mistake or blame someone else for it.
In many cases, telling customers about how things should work going forward is enough to help them feel better about what happened. It may also be helpful to provide compensation or a discount where necessary so that they do not feel like they have been taken advantage of by a business.
3) Monitor the social media pages of your business.
In today’s day and age, many customers use sites like Facebook to leave reviews for businesses they have patronised in the past. In order to provide good customer service, you must monitor these comments and respond to them when necessary.
If a customer has left a negative comment about your company on one of these platforms, others will likely see this post as well.
This means that if you can address their concerns in a timely manner and let everyone know what changes were made going forward (if any), you will be more likely to turn unhappy customers into happy ones who keep coming back for future purchases or services rendered by your company!
4) Keep your employees up to date on the latest policies and procedures.
If you want your employees to provide good customer service, they must be aware of the company’s policies and procedures. This means that everyone from the receptionist to the person who answers the phone should be familiar with what needs to be done in order to help a customer out.
In some cases, it may also be helpful for them to have scripts that they can use when speaking with customers. This will ensure that everyone provides a consistent level of service no matter who takes care of the customer in question.
5) Train your employees on the proper way to deal with difficult customers.
Even the best of businesses will occasionally have to deal with difficult customers. In order to provide good customer service in these cases, your employees must be trained on how to handle them.
Visit what is learning and development courses to get your employees enrolled. This includes knowing when to walk away from a situation and when it is appropriate to argue with the customer. It is also helpful for employees to be familiar with common complaints that customers tend to make so that they can address them head-on as soon as possible.
The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service.
The Cult of the Customer: Create an Amazing Customer Experience that Turns Satisfied Customers into Customer Evangelists.
Powerful Phrases for Effective Customer Service: Over 700 Ready-to-Use Phrases and Scripts That Really Get Results.
6) Invest in a help desk ticketing system.
Having a simple way to track customer problems and complaints can be beneficial for your business, no matter what industry you are working within or how large the company is. This type of software allows employees to create tickets when they have been contacted about an issue by a customer so that this problem does not go unnoticed. In addition, having access to these records usually makes it easier to get back on track with whatever project was being worked on at the time too!
In conclusion, providing good customer service is more than just answering the phone and letting customers know about your company’s policies. It requires action on a consistent basis in order to make sure that all concerns are addressed as quickly as possible, and every person has an enjoyable experience when they visit your business or call you for help!
