The goal of almost every businessperson is to have as many customers as possible buying as many products or services as possible, and at the highest price possible.  Of course there are variations.  If you are a “discount” store and you are trying to offer the lowest price then it is upon you to be able to buy stuff cheaper to sell.

Once you get those customers in the door the first time, your next goal is to have as many of them come back again, and again, and again.  You need to create maximum customer satisfaction to achieve maximum customer loyalty.  While no business can perfectly please every customer, the primary need is to have as few angry customers as possible.  If a customer becomes P.O.’d they are most likely not to return to buy more of your products at whatever price you are selling.  Worse yet, they will now go on their social media platform or platforms of choice and tell everyone they can not to come buy your products or services.

So how can we avoid getting to the point of no return?

1.  Always Under Promise and Over Deliver – managing expectations is key.  If a customer gets a better deal than they expect, if they get more food on their plate than they expect, if they save more money than they expected, they will probably be happy and tell others.
2. Be Realistic.  –  There are three aspects to business:  Price, Quality, and Service.  In 95% of businesses, the customer can have any 2 but rarely can you have all 3.  If something is good quality and the business provides excellent service, it probably won’t be a low price, etc.
3. Finally, TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES HOW TO SERVE CUSTOMERS. – This is the most important aspect.  Do not assume your employees know how to handle customers (especially unhappy ones) or even how to deal with people.  I cannot say this enough. 

For more on how to improve your customer service, visit my website at https://coachmikenow.com.  There you can schedule a complimentary 30 minute session with me to discuss how we can help your business be the star with your customers.

            Think of your own experiences daily.  How many interactions do you have with or around other people where you are expecting someone to respond to you in some manner?

1. You ask someone to pass you the salt at the dinner table.
2. You make a phone call. 
3. You make a purchase at any store or business.
4. You honk your horn at someone in front of you stopped at a green light.
5. You ask a question in a class, seminar, a business, or to any individual.

I’m sure you can think of many other instances as well.  Think about how long it takes for someone to respond in each situation.  Obviously the phone call one can vary in a number of ways.  The urgency with which you expect someone to respond to you is directly related to how important the situation is to……. YOU.

Right?

Now keep that thought in mind when you are called to respond to someone else.  The urgency they expect is directly related to the importance of the situation to…. THEM!  How does this relate to your business and your customer service priorities?

You need to consider your customer’s concerns and values as important to you as you would your own concerns and values if you were expecting a response from someone else, even more so.  If a customer’s inquiry seems like it may not be as pressing (you may get a clue for example, if the customer says, “there’s no rush….” Or something similar) you might ask them what their expectation is time wise to solve their request.

The single most important thing is that YOU DO RESPOND.  DO NOT IGNORE THE CUSTOMER!  Even if you feel their question or need is not really that important, it may be to them.  Ignoring a customer will definitely not gain you good marks in gaining or keeping their loyalty.  Respond and respond in a timely manner, based upon the importance of the issue to THEM!

Here are a few more tips from Time to Reply, a company that helps businesses automate responses to improve their customer service.

• Set clear response time targets: Define specific response time targets for different channels (email, live chat, social media) to ensure a consistent and timely approach.
• Prioritize urgent inquiries: Implement a system to identify and prioritize urgent customer inquiries, allowing your team to address critical issues promptly.
• Automate routine responses: Utilize automation for routine queries by implementing canned responses or chatbots, freeing up time for your team to focus on more complex issues.
• Provide comprehensive training: Ensure your customer service team is well-trained to handle various inquiries efficiently, minimizing the need for constant escalations.
• Utilize customer feedback tools: Implement tools to gather and analyze customer feedback, enabling you to identify areas for improvement and respond promptly to customer concerns.
• Use response time tracking software: Optimize customer satisfaction and streamline operations with response time tracking software, ensuring you unlock fast email reply value at every touchpoint.

If you would like to discuss your customer service needs further, please schedule a meeting with me, Coach Mike, to see how we can improve your customer service.