“We pride ourselves on our customer service.”
“What does customer service mean to you?”
“Customer service is what sets us apart from the rest.”
We hear these phrases almost everywhere, whether you are an online service, in-store service, or a little bit of something in between. Businesses rely on customer service to set them apart from the rest. It keeps customers coming back to you and not the other guy down the street or the next link down the search results list. Providing exceptional customer service is the backbone of a happy, loyal clientele base that returns and recommends you. This means cultivating a level of trust and confidence that makes them want to come back to your business the next time they need your service.
Increase Customer Loyalty
- The best way to increase customer loyalty is through your team. A happy, motivated, productive team will keep clients long after promotions and sales pass. The customer’s first point of contact will set the tone for the rest of the business interaction. Will that contact be a smiling, attentive, knowledgeable employee with a can-do attitude or a bored, apathetic, warm body in the building?
- Some people seem to be born with the smile and conversational skills to make any customer feel confident. Other people need some guidance about how to create an experience that makes the customer say, “wow” when they think of your business. Providing this guidance can sometimes be the “one more thing” that you, as a small business owner, just don’t have the time to do. Especially because every customer is different; every problem is different; every solution is different.
- It takes precious time to help an employee develop the necessary skills it takes to handle every issue and keep on moving. What are some ways that we can address this issue, without piling more onto your already full plate of work? There is no easy solution to this problem; no one, grand answer that fixes all, but the humble beginnings of answering that question, boil down to your employees, the resources they have access to, and the culture that exists within your business
- Fundamental Building Blocks
Happy Employees. Valued Employees. Informed Employees.
Employees are the most fundamental building blocks needed to create an amazing customer service experience and will lead to success for your business.
- As a small business owner, one of the most important parts of your job is to take the time to talk to your team.
- Take the time to listen to employees, learn about them, and encourage them.
- Celebrate the small victories and remind your people that you recognize their strengths and contributions.
- Follow up with your team. When you have a conversation with someone, come back to it. Following up keeps your team focused and shows that you’re investing in them. Let’s face it, you have a lot going on and remembering to follow-up is not always easy. Using tools to help you keep track is imperative. It will make your life easier, and when you hit every dead line and every follow up without missing a beat, it will build confidence in you as a leader.
- As the boss, you set the tone in your business. Culture begins and ends with you. When you create a positive work environment, you create an atmosphere in your business that people want to return to, employees and clients alike. In order to build any business, there is an initial investment. Don’t forget that your team is an investment that is equally as important. When you invest your time in your team, you invest back into your business.
- Ensure your team is informed of all the tools at their disposal. One of the most productive ways to invest in your employees is to provide them with the right tools. Do your employees have everything that they need to not only meet expectations, but exceed them? If you’re not in the building or unreachable, can they figure out the answers? In order to set people up for success, you must provide them with the knowledge and tools to problem-solve and grow.
Technology Helps
There is an incredible amount of technology at our fingertips that give us ways to organize, communicate, prioritize, automate, follow-up, and keep-up. Investing in the right technology for your business is investing in your team. Request Tracker Pro (RTP) is an intuitive, easy to use help desk communication platform.
Whether your preferred mode of communication is phone, email, social media, or SMS, RTP keeps all your information on one simple dashboard. Organization is effortless with queues that help keep you up to date with your team and their results. RTP’s superior support ticketing prioritizes tickets in a queue, instead of dumping all the requests together. No longer will any customer requests fall through the cracks or get overlooked in a full mailbox.
We all need reminders to do things like follow-up. Request Tracker Pro takes away all the hassle with follow-up reminders. Task management is simplified with the ability to track completion, prioritize, and set due dates. The ability to add custom statuses to tickets facilitates efficient communication so your team can maintain their momentum and stay informed. Ensure your team has the tools they need to provide the best customer care possible.
A team that is competent, cohesive, and efficient in the face of a challenge is the best customer service you could possibly provide for clients. As a business owner, simplifying all the craziness that is a business allows every member of your team to give the exceptional customer service. By providing the technology and tools that allow your team to win together, you allow your business to win.
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