If you have recently started up a new business, you probably already know how important your customers are to the operation. The customer is truly the backbone of the business. After all, without them, there is no business. From the outset, your goal should be to make life as easy as possible for your customer. If you achieve that early on, then you will soon notice that you have loyal customers. Chances are, they will even recommend you to their friends and family. Once you are in that position, you are really good to go.
So how does a new company go about impressing the customer in this way? How, exactly, are you supposed to make your customer’s life so much easier? Here are some of the best things you can do to keep them happy – and keep them coming back for more.
Front-Line Staff
One of the best things you can do is hire excellent front-line staff. These employees are the people who will be talking to your customers every day. For that reason, it is really important that their customer service skills are second to none. Whether they are on the phone, online or in person, your frontline need to be smiling, helpful agents. If your customer wants or needs anything at all, it should be no trouble for your staff. One way to achieve this is to train your staff well from the beginning. And when you’re hiring, remember quality over quantity. You need a certain number of staff, sure, but you also don’t want anyone bringing the team down!
Tailor Your Interactions
These days, not all your customers will want to talk to you face-to-face. There are even lots of people who don’t want to talk to you over the phone. It’s all about tailoring to your clients’ needs. If you have noticed that the majority of your customers contact you via Twitter, then use Twitter to respond. As long as you are interacting with your customer in the way that suits them, you are making their lives that little bit easier. And there is nobody who will not appreciate that!
Choices, Choices, Choices
Today, people are used to being a little…well, spoilt. So you need to fall in line with the trend and spoil them. This means always giving the customer the first say in everything. This should be your golden rule at every stage of the interaction with a customer. When it comes to payment, it is particularly important. Nobody appreciates it when their preferred method of payment is not accepted. For that reason, it is important that you have Payline Data up and running. There are fewer things that turn a customer off quicker than not being able to use their credit card. They are giving you their custom, so you should be making it easy for them!
Ask Them
You should always ask your customer for feedback – good or bad, it all helps your business to grow. At the end of each interaction, ask if they are satisfied. If they are not, get onto fixing the problem straight away. At some point further down the line, contact them again asking for feedback. But don’t badger them. If they refuse, don’t go asking them again later on!
