What are the best customer service tips that every business should know?
As business owners quickly realize, the key to success is not just about them, their product or service — it’s about the customer. There are six ways you can make sure both your team and your customers enjoy a productive, positive relationship.
1. Listen Closely
Too often, many business owners and employees think they know what the customer is saying the moment they hear the first few words. After all, you’ve heard it all before … or have you?
It’s important not to assume you have a complete idea of the scope of their problem before they tell you what it is. This makes the customer feel ignored and unimportant. Instead, listen to what they say. Ask as many questions as you need to. The more you listen, the more the customer feels understood and the more their frustration dissipates, even before you’ve started trying to solve their problem.
2. Work on Clear Communication
Say what you mean and mean what you say, especially when responding to a customer complaint. But this is important even before the customer complains.
In your marketing materials and in person, make sure you don’t use jargon or euphemisms — use clear, concise language that has only one possible translation. You want to make sure you are as upfront as possible. This will not only set client expectations and ward off customer problems, it will establish a business track record of transparency and trust.
3. Always Say Thank You
In person or online, make sure you always say thank you to your customers. It might seem obvious and simple, but one of the most powerful customer service tips is to realize that the customer has a choice to go elsewhere, but chose your company instead. Recognize this and say thank you.
Your customer will appreciate your gratitude, because plenty of businesses forget to mention it.
4. Invest in Employee Engagement
Not only are you asking your employees to serve your future customers, you’re expecting them to be your brand ambassadors. If you treat your employees badly, you might as well be treating your customers badly, because that is the effect it will have.
Invest in the training and programs needed to keep your team on board and excited — it will provide a tangible return.
5. Give Your Time
As a busy business owner, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to expedite everything. You have learned that efficiency is what separates good from great, so you are on a mission to save time and maximize your energy.
That is a good plan for everything in your business but customer service. Sometimes, you need to slow down to understand, appreciate and build relationships. If your customers feel like you’re rushing, or doing just enough to check the task off your list, that can sink you.
6. Make it Easy for Them to Give Feedback
Above all else, you need to be in tune with your customers. There is no way to apply customer service tips if you are sending your customers on their merry way without checking to make sure they’re satisfied. And if they aren’t, they may post a negative online review.
One of the best proactive customer service tips is to follow up with a request for feedback. This is where Accrue Reviews can help. If the feedback is positive, you get a high rating on public sites and some insight into what you do best. If it’s negative, you get the chance to respond to the customer’s complaint before it goes public.
Talk to Accrue Reviews today about how we can help you implement a feedback and review-generation program for your business, and start applying our customer service tips today.