Small and established businesses can agree on one thing— there is increased competition in the market. Startups pop up here and there almost everyday, making it hard for customers to choose.
This is why small businesses keep on asking the million-dollar question: how can they attract and retain customers even with all the competition present?
It’s simple— improve your customer service. Why?
It’s because exceptional customer service means satisfied customers, resulting in retention of existing clients and grabbing the attention of potential ones.
Image Credit: Blake Wisz | Unsplash.com
So how can you improve your customer service? Here are some key strategies you can implement to your business to drive value.
Understood customers equal happy customers
Did you ever experience a customer service representative failing to understand your concern? It’s frustrating, right? Not only because the issue isn’t resolved, but you also feel like there’s no connection between you and the representative.
This is exactly why you need to understand your customers. It allows you to see the world from their perspectives, allowing you to better meet their needs and exceed their expectations
To do this, you can conduct surveys that can gather customer feedback. It will help you create detailed customer profiles which you can use to tailor services that can meet their expectations. This is why many customer service teams use CSAT and NPS surveys to exactly know how the customers feel during their interaction.
Train your team
Employees are the first line of interaction and communication between you and the customers. If you aim to boost business growth and drive value, then having untrained employees is a definite no-no.
Why? It’s because untrained employees are unable to efficiently handle customer inquiries and issues. And you know what that means— unsatisfied customers.
So when training employees, make sure to effectively train them even after the onboarding process. You have to regularly update your team on what’s new in your business, from products to services to even customer service techniques. You can also have them share their experiences and insights with each other to foster continuous improvement among employees.
Use technology to your advantage
As technology advances, businesses are introduced to many software that can help them improve customer service. One such software is CRM.
CRM systems help in keeping track of customer interactions, preferences, and purchase history. It basically provides you with data that can help you personalize interactions and offer customers with targeted promotions.
It can also help you identify trends and patterns in customer behavior. This allows you to make informed decisions about product offerings and marketing strategies.
CRM systems have various features, and one of them is the integration of communication channels. Many CRM systems allow you to interact with customers via email and phones, while some can also cater website chat services. You can use this to engage with customers directly on your website, enhancing your ability to provide an improved customer service experience.
Provide consistency to the table
As with any other business, consistency is key to building trust and loyalty. When you can provide consistent products and services, you can easily meet customer expectations and satisfy them. Consistency will also help you in building your brand’s reputation.
You can be consistent by ensuring every customer receives the same level of service, regardless of communication channels.
However, it’s important to remember that consistency doesn’t mean rigidity. Consistency simply means you have clear standards and processes in place to ensure a reliable and predictable experience for customers every time they engage with you.
Be accessible
Imagine reaching out to a business because of an issue with their product and finding them unavailable at the time. It’s inconvenient and frustrating, right? Not only is your concern unresolved, but you also have to wait and contact them again just to resolve the issue. No wonder why many customers become irate when a representative gets a hold of them!
This is why accessibility is essential in providing excellent customer service. When customers can easily reach your business, issues are immediately resolved and customers are satisfied.
Your business can be more accessible by offering multiple channels for communication. After all, customers are everywhere, and they use various methods to reach out. For example, you can use emails and live chats in addition to phones for your communication channels. And in this day and age, you can also use social media!
You can also be more accessible by being available when your customers need you. You can consider extending business hours or offer support during weekends and holidays. However, if your limited resources aren’t allowing you to do these strategies, you can always resort to technology. Many businesses have AI-powered chatbots that customers can reach out to 24/7.
Gather and act on feedback
Let’s face it, no matter how great we think our products and services are, customers will always have feedback for it. This can be positive or negative, and it’s invaluable to your business if you want to drive growth.
We know, negative feedback can bring you down, but you should always use it to drive positive results. You can use negative feedback as a tool for improvement. In fact, this type of feedback can be your road to enlightenment as it highlights where your business is falling short, allowing you to improve as necessary. Address and resolve issues effectively so that you can turn dissatisfied customers into loyal ones.
But how about customers giving positive reviews? How can you respond to them? Simple— acknowledge and thank them. By doing this, you can make them feel that they’re important to your business and encourage them to use more of your products and services for them to review.
In short, responding to customer feedback shows that you value your customers’ input. It also shows that you’re committed to making changes to your products and services as necessary to improve customer experience.
Personalize customer experience
Each customer is different from one another, and acknowledging their individuality perfectly shows that you value each one of them.
You can personalize customer experience in a lot of ways, such as the following.
- Use their names when interacting with them
- Remember their preferences
- Offer recommendations specifically catered for them
By personalizing their experiences, customers can feel that they are valued and understood. For example, you can address customers by their names when reaching out to them. You can see this in many email promotions and social media interactions. You can also use the data you’ve gathered about their purchase history in creating promotions that specifically target your customers.
Give loyal customers a treat
Getting more new customers is a great way to drive business growth, but you shouldn’t leave your existing customers out of the picture. After all, they’re the first ones to notice your business!
Customer retention is vital if you want to grow your business. Existing customers can be great contributors to expanding your customer base and can bring new customers in with their feedback.
One strategy to retain existing customers is through implementing loyalty programs. These basically reward repeat customers with discounts, exclusive offers, or redeemable points on future purchases. By implementing loyalty programs, you can encourage customers to continue doing business with you and incentivize them to spend more.
A great example of loyalty programs is Krispy Kreme’s OG card program. Customers who avail the card are entitled to freebies and perks for every purchase. This definitely encourages customers to buy their donuts from the chain!
Never stop improving
One important thing to remember if you want to see growth for your business in the long run is that customer service is an ongoing process. You should never stop at just seeing your customers satisfied, and continuously look for ways to improve.
But how can you do that?
You should regularly assess and evaluate your strategies by gathering feedback from customers. Customers never run out of things to say, and you can use this to your advantage. Every feedback you gather lets you gain insight on how your customers feel about your business. It also helps you determine any changes in market trends and customer needs.
Continuous improvement doesn’t only take customers into account but also your team. You can regularly conduct training sessions for your employees. Let them share their success stories and discuss challenges that they’ve experienced in handling customer concerns. This way, you can brainstorm innovative ways to efficiently resolve issues, leading to a more enhanced customer experience.
In short, continuously improving your customer services ensures your business remains competitive.
Every business aims to thrive and grow in a competitive market. This is a fact that we can’t deny. The challenge lies in how you can drive value and growth for your business despite the growing number of competitors.
But one thing’s for sure, improving customer service is a powerful way you can achieve business growth. Providing excellent customer service allows you to create a customer-centric culture that fosters loyalty to drive growth. It’s a win-win situation for you and your customers— they are satisfied with doing business with you and you can increase your numbers, securing your long-term success.
