How Does Your Brand Rate in Customer Service?
Now more than ever businesses face extreme competition. With a simple internet search, the consumer is able to find mountains of potential brands that offer solutions to their problems.
So what makes the consumer choose between your business and another that offers similar services? The customer service you provide.
You see it in meticulously designed window displays. Smell it in the scent of popcorn in a movie theater lobby. Feel it in the warmth of the employee who greets you at the door. And taste it in the free samples of bread at the bakery.
Every instance contributes to your customer’s experience. These are the details that make your business stand out among the rest. As a business owner, it’s vital that your brand is committed to understanding what quality customer service looks like and how to maintain it.
What is quality customer service?
As more brands are catching on to the monetary power of a customer’s experience, a “satisfied” consumer isn’t going to cut it, the 21st-century purchaser needs more. They make purchases at the touch of a button. Just like you, a consumer is aware there are other brands that offer similar services and can take their business elsewhere. Quality customer service delights, spoils and surpasses the consumer’s expectations. If you make every effort to deliver genuine value, the customer will catch on to your authentic desire to help and trust you for future needs.
Additionally, when you’re committed to providing top-notch customer service, you put your customer’s best interest first. In turn, you will meet their needs and supersede their expectations. This will help differentiates you from your competition. At the end of the day, a consumer wants to know that you care more about finding the best possible solution that suits their needs over anything else.
When you master customer service, you retain your current customer base and have the power to grow your base through word-of-mouth advertising.
How do I implement excellent customer service?
Your client should feel like family. Take a car dealership for example. Almost everyone has experienced excellent AND teeth-gritting customer service when looking for a car.
When considering the purchase of a new car, what type of salesperson are you most likely to buy from:
Every business, depending on the goods and services it offers, will have a different method for implementing an excellent client experience. It is vital that you know the demographics in which the majority of your customers live. What their needs are. Where they come from. What brought them to you. What makes them leave or stay.
To determine the best methods of customer service, you need to do your homework and really analyze who the people are that you are serving. Send out surveys, organize focus groups, conduct interviews, and establish a method of collecting feedback. Don’t be the salesperson that doesn’t close the deal, think about what type of salesperson you trusted enough to make such a large purchase and be that salesperson.
How do you maintain superior customer service?
Once you’ve wowed a consumer, you’ve made it past the most difficult part. You’ll find that a truly delighted customer will be loyal to your business and advertise it by word of mouth to others, the kind of advertising you cannot pay for. Dynamite customer service leads to organic advertising, loyal clients, and a strong brand reputation.
Your next challenge? Maintaining superior customer service. It’s important to take note of the positive feedback you’ve received from your new customers and remember everything you promised to provide at the beginning of the relationship. Then, take your service to the next level by challenging the standards you’ve set in place and create new ways to impress and serve them. In so doing, you will continue to meet and exceed your customers’ expectations and provide excellent customer service.
For more tips on marketing, growing your business and serving your customers, check back for more articles often!
