Customer Service the heart of any business Good customer service is key to business success, explains K aren Woolley , development manager at the Federation of Small Businesses CuStoMer SerViCe TOP TIPS fOR GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE Bill gates once said: your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Customer service is not a department, it is the lifeblood of your business. get it right, and referrals and repeat business will be plentiful. get it wrong, and bad news travels fast. acompanys most vital asset is its customers. Without them, a business would not, and could not, survive. When you satisfy your customers, they not only help you to grow by continuing to do business with you, but recommend you to friends and associates. Who could have predicted that the less than perfect service at a Blackpool hotel would have made the national press? the problem started when a budget hotel failed to meet theexpectations of its guests. However, instead of dealing with the problem during their stay, or responding directly to their online review, the management team invoked a clause in their policy, fining them 100 for making thereview! every owner and employee is part of the customer care team and every visitor to your business including clients, suppliers and maintenance staff is a customer who has an expectation of the business. the on rs lick be Cm nu When you truly listen to your customers, they let you know what they want and how you can provide good service it is often said that the customer is always right. this can often be difficult to accept, especially when faced with ratherchallenging people. However, you are in business to service customer needs and this can only be done if you know what it is they want. When you truly listen to your customers, they let you know what they want and how you can provide good service. Credits: karen Woolley ll.B (Hons) images: avatar_023 / Shutterstock being a good listener enables you to take time to identify your customers needs. listening to theirwords, toneof voice and observing theirbody language can help youidentify exactly what it is they want Making customers feel important and appreciated is a great help. If possible, using their name and finding ways to compliment them sincerely can add an air of individuality to their experience. Ensuring your body language conveys sincerity can be a great help, too help customers understand your systems. your company could have the best processes available, but if customers dont understand them, they can get confused, impatient and angry have a good complaints mechanism in place. Value peoples complaints as much as we dislike them, they give us an opportunity to improve Ensure customer service training is provided for all employees, whether customerfacing or not Saying sorry when something goes wrong can be invaluable for a customer. Attempting to rectify the problem without delay, and confirming the action you have taken, offers reassurance that you are taking a complaint seriously Prevention is better than cure. Putyour customer care to the test by inviting a colleague or friend to visit your premises and website to report on any obvious gaps in good customer service Ask for feedback, analyse it and act on it. Encourage and welcome suggestions about how you could improve. we may not like criticism, but it can provide an invaluable mechanism to improve the business Use the services of a mystery shopper who knows what tolook for and is not familiar with your staff. The aim is to identify areas that needimprovement and rectify them before itstoolate
