Have you ever bought a product or used a service and then had something go wrong? I bet you then tried to call their customer service or walk in to this company to interface with their customer service. This is where good customer service can save the day if done well. Also, it can be a defining moment in whether you’ll return or not return in using the service or buying another product from this company or brand.
The quality of your customer service, how it’s presented to your customers either potential or existing can in many cases make all the difference in whether a said person or company will be loyal and come back to use your product or service again. Having a negative customer service experience can kill off clients faster than you can say– success.
Customer service is part of just about any business large or small, online or off no matter if run by a single person or a large corporation. You can’t succeed in business without customers. Happy customers are more loyal and tend to spend more per visit / per purchase and rave when they are treated well.
If you run an online business, I suggest a method that customers can contact you at any time and day, and in a way, which is convenient for them. A simple form on your website that is sent to your email might be a convenient method. Sending an auto-response thanking them via email after their submission that is successfully inputted into your system isn’t a bad idea either.
If you purchase into a franchise or business opportunity for example, it is imperative to understand prior to purchase what the customer service arrangements involve and who’ll be responsible for any issues that arise.
If you decide to go with an outsourced service it might be constructive to call them as a potential very unhappy customer so see how they handle the call. You can also run down a list of questions or concerns that someone might use with a real world problem faced using your product or service. This can be a truly valuable training exercise. Aside from obvious language barriers faced by using some outsourced customer services make sure that they have knowledge of the product or service, or access to relevant information about your product or service via your web site.
As you can see, I’ve only scratched the surface of issues faced with providing top-notch customer service. Think about how you can provide better customer service and you just might make someone become a more loyal customer for life!
Carpe Diem My Friends!
