We often talk about how we should create a satisfactory customer service experience in order to impress first-time comers and regulars to any company. However, once you’ve established a good customer service, one that impresses anyone who comes across your business and manages to keep them hooked to your products and/or services, what’re you going to do then?
This is a question that baffles many business owners. No one wants their business to have a peak season, wherein the beginning you’re doing a lot of business because you’ve successfully created a good customer service, and then have no customers later because, well, there was a decline in your customer experience standards which drove customers elsewhere.
Everyone wants a stable business- one with a good number of customers coming in and using the services you have to offer, and all the while attracting a steady number of people as well. If this sounds like you- and it probably does because everyone wants a business plan like that- then you have come to the right place. In this blog post, we will talk about the maintenance of a satisfactory customer experience. But before we move on, let’s address the following:
Good vs. Satisfactory customer service
This is a key difference which may lead to customers coming into your business well after you’ve established the accommodating customer service you envisioned for your business. It’s actually not that hard to differentiate between these two terms. In a previous blog post, we’ve covered the key difference between Happy Customers vs. Satisfied Customers.
This is exactly what happens with customer service. If you’re providing your customers with satisfactory service, it means that they’re fine with it. They won’t necessarily complain about anything but they will not recommend your customer service (and by extension, your business) to anyone else. However, if you’re providing your customers with good customer service than that means that they’re happy with your service. In fact, you should try to have a good customer service so that more and more of your customers will be happy with your service and recommend you to their friends and family members. It is very important to remember that while advertising is great, the word of mouth is still a very powerful way of attracting new customers.
What Next- Guide to Maintaining your Customer Service
Now, after establishing a good customer service, the next step is quite obvious. How do you maintain it? There are many ways to do so but in this article, we’re aiming for the maintenance of a good customer experience so while there are plenty of tips out there, we’re going to focus on the ones that will not only maintain the bar but also makes sure that your customer experience is renowned for being great for everyone.
#1: Customer Trust
We’ve talked about consumer trust multiple times here but we cannot stress the importance of it enough. In order to maintain your customer service and make sure that it’s a good one, you need to have complete trust from your customers. This is particularly important in the event that you face some kind of emergency. Maybe a disaster or a fire burned down your warehouse or shop where you keep your goods, maybe your office is being moved- if your consumers trust that even though there’s been a delay, that you will deliver your services to them- that’s automatically great for your business. In such situations when you’re getting bad attention from some third party, your customers will come to your defense. Similarly, if your customers are going to be recommending you to someone then they must have complete faith in you that you will deliver a product or service as good as the one you’ve provided to them. This is extremely important. In past blogs, we’ve talked about how consumer trust is at an all-time low and one of the causes of this is poor customer service experience.
#2: Engage With Your Customers
You need to make sure that your customers are happy- not satisfied; happy- with your business each time they use your product. This can be something simple like a quick chat at the door (if you own a store), asking them about their day, or maybe a handwritten thank you note if you have an e-commerce store. This is particularly important in the retail business. You need to engage with your customer in such a way that they feel appreciated- which is important because the success of your business depends on your customers. Make sure that your staff does the same. Don’t leave customers hanging on the phone for too long, try to solve their problems as best as you can, make compromises- the list goes on. A good service brings an element of personalization to your customer’s experience with your company, and people love to support friends as opposed to strangers.
#3: Value Your Regulars
Any successful business owner will tell you that their business expanded because of their regular customers. These are the people who’ve been there for the business since the beginning. One way to maintain the standard of your customer service is by making sure that you value your old ones. It is easy to get scores of one-time customers by advertising or having a discount or mid-season sale. However, do remember that these customers might not come back; in fact, a large number of them will probably not come back to your business. Therefore, it is important that you value your regular customers. There are many strategies as to how you can do that but some great ideas include giving them special discounts or maybe create a loyalty card. This is also a great advertisement for your business itself as people will hear about these special cuts and will definitely be wanting to give your business a try.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a lot of tips available- online and offline- on how to maintain your customer experience. However, there’s a fine line that turns your customer service from satisfactory to good. In order to be known as the business with good customer experience, you need to make sure that your clients are happy and more than willing to support your business. There are many ways to do this but by establishing a trusting relationship, engaging with and providing your customers with a personalized experience where they feel valued for supporting you, you can definitely maintain your customer service and become known for being a great service!
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