How To Implement Quality Customer Service To Stay Competitive

Retain customers small business

There is a long list of things that are very important to entrepreneurs and small business owners, at the top of the list is getting and keeping customers. After all, you are not a business unless you have paying customers to buy the products and services you are selling. Although quality customer service should be automatic, there are some businesses and entrepreneurs that take the “You can spend your money somewhere else” approach.

Times are changing the idea of the business being a big entity and the customer being a small element. The competition is becoming far too thick for small business owners and entrepreneurs to handle clients recklessly. That, as well as having to make sure your business doesn’t have a negative social media presence, can be a huge task for entrepreneurs. Just a few unhappy customers now can possibly cost you a handful to hundreds of would-be customers in the future. It is time to get your customer service mojo on!

Also Related: How Panera Bread Made Me Swoon And 4 Brilliant Tips Brands Can Learn

Here are 5 valuable customer service tips that will be rewarding for your business and your customers. Remember customer service is verbal and non-verbal, all of it makes a difference.

  1. Smile – Whether you are on the phone or face to face with your customer maintain a sincere smile. It helps you keep a positive attitude and a pleasant tone, which can change how the customer feels.
  2. Empathize – Put yourself in their shoes. Try to feel what they feel and know what they know. Empathy is necessary for quality customer service if you want to satisfy, engage and keep your customers.
  3. Accountability – Do not make excuses, do not try to justify, just take responsibility. The customer will appreciate you more if you can take ownership of the issue, not play the blame game and resolve the problem.
  4. Create Cheerleaders – Taking a negative customer experience is the perfect opportunity to turn a complaint into a compliment. Going above and beyond to fix a bad customer experience the right way can convert a griper into a groupie.
  5. Tone – Communication is said to be only 7% verbal the rest is body language and tone of voice. With digital communication, the tone of voice is much harder to convey, especially if there is a limit on characters. Take the time to find a response that recreates a positive experience for the customer and avoid hashing out a customer complaint publicly.

It is not always easy to provide stellar customer service, but making an attempt to go above and beyond every time will set your business apart from your competition. When dealing with customers think of them as investors, fellow business owners, parents, and friends. Remember your customers are human too and how you interact with them is the key to great customer service.

Do you face challenges in your business with providing quality verbal and non-verbal customer service?

You Might Also Like

5 Comments

  • Christine St.Vil
    February 25, 2016 at 8:46 AM

    These are great tips and so critical to maintaining a great customer base. Thanks so much for sharing Marta!

  • Marcia Shannon52
    February 25, 2016 at 9:28 AM

    Awesome post! Great tip on “Accountability” and to not make excuses. Recently I had a problem with my orders going out very late so I gave each customer a free gift with their order to make up for the delay.

  • Shantae Pelt
    February 25, 2016 at 9:06 PM

    This is such a great article . You provided some great insight in customer service . I wasn’t aware of the numbers around tone . Customer Service is indeed integral to success and customer retention. Thanks for sharing .

  • Tamara McCarthy
    February 28, 2016 at 5:25 PM

    There are so many companies small and big that really don’t put any emphasis on Customer Service. Like you said they have that attitude of “you can go elsewhere and spend your money” and that is so wrong on so many levels. Having went to school for Human Resources this goes a little deeper for me because companies that don’t value customer service don’t value their employees. Thank you for shedding some light on a subject that should be the center of meetings in board rooms big and small.

  • Moms 'N Charge 3 Tips to Attract Customers for a Thriving Business - Moms 'N Charge
    August 10, 2016 at 12:01 AM

    […] Repellents repel or drive  things away. I purchased some all natural bug repellent from Naturally Me And You. It is made with the Essential Oils that bugs and mosquitos do not like, so the bugs stay away from you. They don’t linger around you at all, they flee and flee quickly. Well, sometimes the tone that we use when we speak to our customers or potential customers can be a repellent. We may not be conscious that we are doing it but we are doing it all the same. It is important to check our tone of voice because we need customers to have a successful business… and lots of them. Also Related: How to Implement Quality Customer Service to Stay Competitive […]

  • Leave a Reply to Shantae Pelt Cancel Reply