Treating your customers right can be a matter of opinion. What you think is a good idea to bestow respect and fairness on your customers might be an idea someone else immediately shoots down – and that’s fine! Not all customer service strategies work at all times, and there’s no one size fits all answer here.
However, you do have to strike the right balance between protecting your own interests and finding a customer service scheme that works for you. How can you do that? We’ve collected some points below that just might set you on the right path. Treat your customers right and watch as your profits grow exponentially in return.
Be More Personable Than Your Competitors
If you’ve got quite a few competitors in your sector, whether you’re a small crafts store or a medium-sized enterprise with a large customer base, it’s time to construct your customer service to be better than theirs. And the best way to do that is to simply be more personable than they are!
You’ve got to go the extra mile here, and you can do that in all kinds of little ways. For example, if a customer has consented to letting you know their personal details, you can send them money off discounts on their birthday. Not only will they be sure to use the coupon, meaning repeat business comes your way, but they’re far more likely to talk about your birthday gift to other people. This can interest them in signing up, and on and on the cycle can go.
Respect Their Privacy
One of the best things to do, in order to treat your customers right, is to ensure you go the extra mile in respecting their privacy. Privacy is something we’re all far more concerned about now we’re living in the digital era, and when it comes to your website, you’ve got to be honest and open with how you use customer and/or visitor data.
First off, it’s best to have a cookie consent banner listed somewhere on your homepage. Allowing people to opt in and out in regards to certain tracking options will always put you in someone’s good books. On the other hand, making this easy to do so, in regards to making information obvious and easy to access, is another great way to ensure someone comes back to shop with you again. Indeed, a lot of your sales tactics are in the little things!
Streamline Your Customer Service
Making your customer service simple to get through, say if someone wants to return an item or put in a complaint, will help you get back into their good books. If they’re dissatisfied with your service for any reason, they don’t want to then hit a brick wall time and time again when trying to let you know about it!
So take your time to streamline your customer service. When someone gets through to the desk, make sure there’s always someone there to answer. When they need to speak to someone higher up, once again you just need to make sure someone is available to take the call. And when you’re not online and someone needs to get in touch with you, it’s a good idea to use some kind of automated response program to either let them leave a message or pass on working hours in which they can call back.
Train Employees in Being Respectful
Finally, it’s time to think about how often you train your employees. And not only that, but what kind of training you provide for them. Sure, they know how to outfit the stockroom or update the website, but have you ever put together a customer service training program for anyone on your payroll?
If not, now’s your chance to invest into your business a little more. Make sure anyone who works in person with a customer knows how to be courteous and respectful, as well as be able to de-escalate situations if need be. Train employees on the kind of language they use, as well as what they offer, and make sure that any and all employees who are assigned to the customer service desk should actually be there. Never force the new guy to hold down the fort!
Treating your customers right is all about giving back. Be respectful, be personable, and make sure you’re easy to get in touch with. With just a few little tweaks, you can make people want to come back!
