Small businesses face many challenges every day. They must compete with larger businesses, run their operations smoothly, and deal with their customers’ needs. Customer service is one of the top considerations for businesses of all sizes.
Without proper customer service, businesses suffer. Revenues may slip, a company’s public reputation could be damaged, and customers may choose to take their business elsewhere. Perry Adam Lieber, a fitness professional, and entrepreneur from Santa Barbara, CA, explains why customer service is important for small businesses and how your company can enhance customer relationships.
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Great Customer Service Increases Revenue
It makes sense that an improved customer experience leads to higher revenues. Word spreads quickly when customers are well taken care of, and they become repeat customers, recommending your company to friends and family. This means that your revenues will increase in tandem with your dedication to customer service.
Satisfied Customers Mean a Better Reputation
Many companies have found out the hard way that they cannot neglect customer service. Notorious companies lose their positive reputation, and their customer base drifts away.
Customer service can also be a vital part of your company’s branding. Taking care of the customer in the right way should be one of your company’s central values, which can make your brand positively received.
Customer Churn is Reduced and Customer Loyalty Increases
Customer churn happens when a customer makes one purchase from your company and then stops patronizing it. Customers can be driven away due to poor customer service, poor selection, high prices, a poorly operating store or website, and any number of other reasons.
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Having quality customer service decreases the likelihood that your customers will leave and start doing business with one of your competitors instead.
Happy and Unhappy Customers Spread the Word
If a customer has an exceptionally positive or negative experience with your business, you may be sure that their friends and family will find out about it. They may post on social media, tagging your company if they want you to see their comments. For this reason, it is a good idea to monitor your mentions on all social networks. You may be able to nip customer service problems in the bud and make unhappy customers smile.
How to Make Your Customer Service Better
One of the top tactics for optimizing customer service is keeping your employees happy. Gallup found that well-engaged employees are correlated with a 10 percent higher customer rating.
Disgruntled employees are more likely to give subpar customer service, leading to a chain of events that makes your company less effective over time. Poor morale among employees also leads to a loss of reputation for your company, causing people to expect poor customer service.
Listening to customers is vital for proper customer service. If your employees do not listen, they will frustrate your customers to the point where they no longer want to do business with your company. Employees can be retrained to have better listening skills. They should be taught to approach all customer interactions in a positive light.
Positive company culture can also lead to better customer service. Make sure that your company is living up to the values that you set forth. Encourage healthy interactions with employees and customers. Reward those who are productive and kind and find ways to correct those who are not.
Another useful tip from Perry Adam Lieber is that employees need to have excellent communication skills. Sometimes, reading between the lines is necessary to determine exactly what is going wrong in a customer service interaction. Try to hire customer service personnel with empathy and sincere care for customers’ needs. If you hire too brusque people and try to rush through their interactions with customers, customers will be turned off even if they receive their desired outcome.
Customer service representatives need to have thick skin to survive the job. Some unhappy customers can be abusive, but it is necessary to stay diplomatic even under difficult conditions. Do not hire overly sensitive people to work in customer service. A balance between empathy and self-confidence needs to be found.
Encouraging the Best Customer Service
Without customers, no company could function. Taking proper care of customers should be one of the top considerations for running a small business. Unhappy customers can quickly damage a company’s reputation, and it may take years to compensate for these problems. It is far better to keep customer service at the forefront of your considerations and avoid letting it slip.
Perry Adam Lieber understands that it may be challenging for some businesses to live up to their ideals regarding customer service, but he underscores its importance. If your company does not pay proper attention to customer service, you will open yourself up to various serious problems. Following the advice in this article can help you overcome the difficulties that you may encounter while running your small business.
Interesting related article: “What is Customer Loyalty?”