Today’s marketing segment is on customer service.
You’re probably thinking marketing and customer service are two totally different things, but they are not. Market your product and business with good old-fashioned customer service. The only difference is that previous customers are working for you and its great, because you’re not even paying them!
When I was younger, I constantly heard my Grandma talk about the art of customer service and how it has got lost along the way. Saturday was always her day to come into Sioux City and spend the day. She went to the same two places to get her haircut and eat every week for twenty some years. All because of a good product and outstanding service.
That stuck with me and when I go to any business it really makes a difference to me how I am treated. It’s so crucial with so many different places for the consumer to take their almighty dollar.
Use these tips and hopefully you and your business can master this art and get people to work for you without paying them…
1. Give the customer the benefit of the doubt. Proving who is right and who is wrong is not worth losing a customer.
2. If a customer wants something out of the ordinary, go an extra mile to make it happen for them. I know it’s hard, but if you can go out of the way for one customer and make them happy it will be worth it. Imagine all the people they know who are going to hear about your effort.
3. Realize the people that work for you will treat people the way they are treated. Good customer satisfaction comes with good employee satisfaction.
4. Do you know who your customers are? Build relationships with customers and get to know them. If you have a regular customer, call them by name and they are more likely to come back and spend their money with you again.
5. Are your customers greeted when they walk in the door? Obviously, we don’t want to bombard people, but a simple “Hello, how are you doing today,” will really go a long way.
Hopefully, this has been helpful and will aid you in providing excellent customer satisfaction for your customers. More importantly, it’s the right thing to do. Helping people and becoming the best servant-leader you can be is one of the most rewarding things we can do in this life.
Have a great Monday Siouxland!
-Ian