Whether you have just dived into the world of business or are part of a renowned organization that has been running for years, the common baseline you must agree on is ‘striving for customer satisfaction’. Your mantra is to turn a potential or a new customer into your regular clients. And your little gestures can do wonders for your objective of expanding your client base. You should ideally focus on your customers, their needs and their pain points, and think how your offerings can make their lives better. In other words, as Disney once said, you should strive to make your customer’s day 1% better.
If you are thinking about wowing your customers and driving a customer success culture throughout your organization, here are some tips that would work -
- Learn your customer’s name – In any language in the world, one word that appears sweetest to one is his or her name. It’s really nice to walk into a store and have someone say ‘Hi’ to you followed by your name! This builds a personal rapport with your customer, and s/he will be encouraged to come back to your store, time and again. Such a small effort on your part will also make your customers feel more at ease when they talk to you or express their needs.
- Make your customer feel they are interacting with humans, not machines - Even when you are mailing them, make it sound like a mail to a friend. Forget about all the business jargons. Make them feel like you are real people trying to help them. Customers do appreciate this one-on-one service and are often encouraged to build relationship with you or your employees. You can’t ask for more if your customers appreciate you by name in their testimonial!
- Listen to the customer – Even when a customer is upset and comes to you in a really angry mood, let him/her vent. Remember – s/he is actually venting to a person and unfortunately that is you; so, don’t let the harsh words bog your down. Note down the critical points and reconfirm them from the customer. Share with them how you plan to approach these problems and find a solution.
- Apologize for your mistake – There is nothing wrong in accepting your own mistake. Don’t reply to your angry customer with words like ‘I am sorry for what you have faced’ or ‘there was a mistake’. Own your mistakes, tell them ‘we screwed it up, should fix it soon’. And fix it before they revisit! This will build trust.
- Follow up with your customers, be in touch – If someone came to you with some complaints, get back to them after you have provided some solutions. Try to know if your solutions have fixed it or you need to do more. Make them feel you care. Send hand written greetings to your valued customers. This works like a charm!
Customers are hard to be won, and even harder to retain. Therefore, ensure top-notch customer service on a consistent basis, which will inevitably take you and your business to the next level.