Customer Service is a very important factor of your business and it cannot be overlooked or you’ll lose customers very quickly. In this Marketing Eggspert round-up I’ve included posts discussing online customer service, branding, customer service rules, video, remote service team, customer service strategy and more.
Nurturing relationships with customers is a fundamental part of any business. Regardless of field or domain, retention is the secret ingredient to boosting leads and keeping your business on the floating line. Social media can be your best ally for nurturing prospects, but it can also be your worst enemy. Negative comments affect your bottom line, and if you don’t take action the moment something happens, you risk losing your customer base once and for all.
To encourage customers to continue to buy from you or use your services, here are 4 core ways to keep them satisfied and coming back to do future business with you.
The failure to resolve problems with your customers in a timely manner is one of the top two reasons for customer loss. Of course your customers are going to have problems over time – we all know that is a given. However, it is not all that easy to deal with those problems efficiently and successfully enough as your company grows, thanks to the restraints on budget and time.
One of the greatest abilities of video marketing is its ability to reduce support queries. You will find that through the use of effective videos you will not only be able to resolve your customer problems, but also save time and increase customer satisfaction.
The thing is, most human beings are stubborn and don’t like asking for help. What’s even worse is when they have to wait for that help that they have so begrudgingly asked for.
The great thing about video is that it’s a powerful learning tool, which combines both audio and visual elements so that it can engage different learning types. Another great thing is that it’s very easily accessible online.
One of the great advantages of running a small business is that you are never too far removed from your customers. While the department heads of big corporations make big decisions based on second-hand insights and assumptions, the small business owner is uniquely placed to interact regularly with staff and clientele alike. Even if you don’t maintain a customer-facing role yourself, you’re probably no more than one degree removed from someone who does – and if you know what’s good for your business, you’ll make an effort to check in with the public face of your business each week. But are you making the most of this great opportunity?
Despite the growing scale of bigger businesses and the greater physical distances from which companies now operate, good customer service has become a more intimate affair than ever. The unique power of the internet is that everyone has a voice, while anonymity remains an option for all. In other words, your customers are free to speak openly and honestly about their experience with your business, whether it’s an online operation or based in bricks-and-mortar premises.
Your job as a small business owner in the 21st century is to ensure that when they use this voice, they talk to you first. Your reputation is at stake if you don’t create a rapport of loyalty, trust and accessibility with your customers. If they complain, you want them to complain to you – not publicly on Twitter. If they have praise, you want them to want to share it with the world. They will only do this if they are emotionally engaged with you and your team.
For some great tips on how to create this intimate atmosphere with your customers, check out Headway Capital’s new infographic below. It’s packed with insights and ideas on how to make the most of your B2C relationships from your vantage point as a small business. These small but meaningful changes can give your company the edge it needs over the slow-moving giants around you.
Starting a business has never been easier than today. As you read these lines, new startups are being launched with little more than a single click on the mouse. The ever-growing market creates fierce competition, and high-quality products are no longer enough to keep your business sustainable.
To grow a successful business, you need to market your product. One of the best marketing strategies is exceptional customer service delivery. When your customers spread the news of their good experience with your company by word of mouth, they become brand advocates that influence other people to buy. Similarly, disgruntled customers tend to share their negative reviews with others. Online complaints in particular can go viral and completely destroy your business.
When your company turns ten years old, it’s cause for celebration. And what’s a birthday celebration without a (cup)cake?
That was the thought process when Susan Guillory, the rockstar owner of Egg Marketing, ordered and sent Yummy Cupcakes to loop in team members like myself from afar into the festivities.
The problem? The United States Postal Service didn’t quite get the message that this party needed to be enjoyed in a timely manner or else (like any good party that goes on for far too long), it’d start to rot.
Excellent branding goes much deeper than a catchy logo, its use of typography, or even having an attractive color palette. In fact, it evolves from places we don’t always think of as branding.
When it comes to brand building or rebranding, customer service is often the last and most ignored piece of the puzzle. Neglecting customer care is a huge mistake and a missed opportunity to attract and retain customers, differentiate the business and strengthen brand loyalty.
As tireless as the line “customers are the lifeblood of a business” goes, not one company can avoid interaction with their clients. In fact, how a company handles this communication can make all the difference in its success. It can either increase the reputation of a brand or create a permanent damage on all levels.
I’m writing this post from the customer service lobby of a MINI dealership in my city. No, I don’t own a MINI. I own an Acura. But the Wi-Fi at the dealership (next door) that’s working on my vehicle isn’t working. And so they sent me here.
It’s a little thing. After all, I’m still using free Wi-Fi while waiting for my car. But simply having to walk across the parking lot and settling into another lounge area is enough to get me thinking: how hard did my dealership work to get its Wi-Fi fixed?
When running the show, an entrepreneur will have a hard time keeping up with some things. For example, when dealing with clients, some will have a difficult time keeping them satisfied. This is often a serious issue for people who run their own company as it is hard to make money with unhappy clients. However, this is not impossible if a hardworking entrepreneur follows these five tips to provide dynamite customer service to clients.
Reviews:
First and foremost, a company should have a lot of reviews and testimonials on its website. One way to get them is to go to OpenTell. With verified customer reviews by OpenTell, or similar company, an entrepreneur can impress potential customers with little effort. This is one of the most important things one should have on the website as most potential clients will go to the testimonial page to read about the firm. When discovering excellent reviews, a customer is likely to spend money and come back to the business.
If you’re like me, gaining new clients is one of your biggest challenges. I don’t have a sales team to go out and find new business, so the burden falls to me. And I’m often mired in my own work and don’t have time to focus on getting new business.
So rather than taking more time to constantly look for new customers, I put more energy into keeping existing, great customers happy.
We’ve all been on the receiving end of underdelivered expectations. Maybe your roofer said he’d be done in a week and it took three. But what happens when you as a business owner do the opposite and overdeliver? For me, as a writer, that might mean turning in an assignment a day or two before the client expects it.
One of the best ways to grow your business is to keep customers coming back for more. But how, exactly, are you supposed to do you do that?
Focus on delivering not just the best products but also the best customer experience possible.
Whether you’re involved in the daily interaction with customers or not, here are the easiest ways to ensure you offer the best customer service possible.
1. Listen to Your Customers. Read that again, please. I didn’t say make assumptions about what your customers want. I said ser listen to them. That means if they complain about your product, hear them out when they tell you what’s wrong with it (and act on it). If they tell you what they want from your product, make a note. The best way to serve your customers better is by really paying attention to what they’re telling you.
2. Act Quickly. There nothing more pet-peevish than a company that encourages you to email its customer service department, only to not respond or wait weeks to respond to your inquiry.