Practicing excellent customer service is a very important factor in effectively running a business. It is vital as it is all about the people who help your business to function… your customers! They are the backbone of any organisation as they provide stability and are the main resource the business depends on to be able to operate. Without them your business simply won’t survive.
Great customer service is very beneficial and rewarding for any business. It can be the one thing that sets your business apart from the rest and the reason why customers come to you over other businesses.
Basic things to remember to optimise your customer service:
Answering phone calls: You don’t want to miss out on potential customers and you don’t want to lose existing ones just because you were not able to be contacted. Ensure that someone is always available to answer phone calls and when that’s not possible, record a message so that customers understand why you can’t receive their call.
Install multiple phone lines so more incoming and outgoing calls can be made, this is especially effective in larger organisations but will also benefit smaller ones if the phone is constantly being used for long conversations.
Warm greeting: Always greet your customers with a smile and say “how may I help?” or “how are you today?” Ignoring or rudely greeting customers will make them feel unimportant and will immediately give them a reason to dislike your business.
Train staff to greet customers professionally and personably to make them feel special. Existing clients should be greeted by name and new customers should be greeted by introducing yourself followed by asking their names.
Keeping promises: If you fail to keep a promise to your customers they will see you as unreliable, which can result in them being frustrated and annoyed with your service and could potentially leave.