Offering exemplary customer service is the final determining factor in whether or not your business will be successful.  You can spend all day on social media promoting your business and offer every discount under the sun, but unless you and your product can deliver together, you’re success will be limited.

What exactly do we mean by needing both you and your product to deliver together to ensure success?  It means that not only does your service have to be top quality, but that you are able to get your customers to come back again and again.   Even if what you have to offer is of good quality, if your interactions with customers are less than stellar, chances are they won’t return again and again.  A good salesman can sell ice to an eskimo the first time, but unless that ice is extra special, the eskimo will go elsewhere the next time he’s in the market for ice.

A famous quote by the great Maya Angelou stated “People will always forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”  In essence, Angelou was supporting the hallmark of what a great customer service experience entails.    You need to make each customer feel as though his business is important to you as well as extend your gratitude for his selecting you over the other competitors.

Here are some tips that will contribute to a positive customer service experience and have your customers returning again and again:

1) Get a system in place that allows you to answer people quickly:  While it’s impossible to pick up every single phone call that comes your way, there is nothing more annoying to a potential customer than calling your phone only to receive a message that your voicemail is full. You can fix this by implementing strategies to give customers a quick turnaround on their inquiries.  If you work in an office, have a secretary take messages for you and send them to you regularly throughout the day.  If you’re out of the office, forward your calls to your cellphone.  Or better yet, set up an email inquiry on your website and notifications to come to your phone so you can respond in a quick and timely manner.  Do the same with any inquiries you might receive via your social media.

2) Listen to your customers – This can be difficult when you have an irate or dissatisfied customer on the line who is ranting about the fact that they are unhappy with your service.  Let a customer express themselves before you start to offer solutions.  Similarly, by paying attention to your customer from the beginning, you’ll lessen your chances for making errors the first time around.

3) Deal with complaints in a professional manner – While it’s definitely true that no matter, you’ll always find some customer that will never be happy no matter what you do, most complaints that are handled professionally will impress your customer, even if you’ve made an error.  Think about it.  If you go to a restaurant and they mess up your order then grumble when you return it, how likely are you to return to that restaurant again?  Alternatively, if they apologize profusely and bring out a free appetizer while your correct order is being made,chances are you will consider this to be great customer service and you’ll remember that part of your visit rather than the error.  Showing your customer that you are genuinely sorry for your error shows them that you care about their satisfaction.

4)  Don’t make promises that you won’t be able to follow through on – Your customer values honesty.   That’s why we here at Mr. Pipeline would never promise an SEO client that we will get their business to be the number 1 ranking on Google.  It’s just not a promise that we can keep (although we will promise to rank you higher!)   If you know that it’s unrealistic that you’ll be able to do what your customer is asking for in the time he needs it done, tell them.    It’s a lot easier to calmly compromise than it is to calm down someone you’ve promised something to and then didn’t follow through on.

5) Give each customer your time and advice – For instance, if a customer calls and asks your catering business what types of services you have available and how much they cost, rather than rambling off price points and what you offer, ask them a bit about their event.   Ask them if they’ve ever used a catering company before and what they particularly liked or disliked about their experience.  The customer will appreciate that you want to tailor their event to their needs.

6) Focus on teamwork among your employees – This goes without saying for any type of business, but the team that works together achieves results together.   Each employee within your company should play an integral role to your business’ overall success.  Everyone should have the same end result in common- providing exemplary customer service and being number one in your industry.    Provide your employees with a great company culture, lots of feedback, an open door policy for ideas, and lots of training opportunities.

What other customer service practices do you use within your business to keep customers coming back time and time again?  We always value your comments and suggestions, and we may use them for future blogs.  If you have tips or comments to contribute, please email them to our Marketing Director Erin Ernest at info@mrpipeline.com