Customers are the lifeblood of any business; without them, companies would cease to exist! However, it always amazes me to discover how many companies treat their customers with disdain and contempt.
The problem for a number of companies is that they don’t know how badly they treat their customers.
There are often a number of levels in the employee and departmental hierarchy before “the boss” gets to hear about any issues.
Usually, bosses fail to learn about customer satisfaction issues because people further down the chain are either hiding their poor level of service, or because there is no efficient way for customers to provide feedback to companies.
If you run a business and aren’t satisfied with the level of service your organization provides to its customers, here are some handy hints and tips that you can use to go that extra mile!
Under-promise and over-deliver
Whilst I appreciate that you might want to promise all sorts of things to your customers, you need to be realistic about what your company can achieve.
It is always better to over-deliver on something rather than stalling your customers because you don’t have the resources available to complete the work.
Attention to detail
Some folks get carried away with the big picture and, unfortunately, forget about all of the “little” things that help to keep customers satisfied, and ensure a growing and steady revenue stream for their companies.
One of the biggest failings of many businesses, regardless of size, is not doing something they promised to do. For example, if you have a query on your account and someone says that they will investigate and call you back, this is what you expect.
However, with increasing workloads, many employees are struggling to manage their growing to-do lists and will often forget about people they were supposed to call back. These busy bees will even forget to follow up any internal queries, resulting in frustrated and angry customers.
Sweeten the deal
If you have a customer that places a large order with you, it is important for you to sweeten the deal so that you make them feel valued.
It’s a bit like going out on a date; if you don’t offer to pay for your meal (or at least half of it if you are both “going Dutch”), the other person won’t feel valued or flattered that you want to ensure they have an awesome time without worrying about the bill.
Whilst I am not suggesting you date your customers, I recommend that you perhaps offer them some complimentary value added services. For example, if they buy some machinery from you, offer them a year’s worth of servicing and maintenance for free.
Be polite
The last thing any customer wants to do is speak to someone at your company that blatantly doesn’t want to talk to them!
If your employees don’t feel that being polite and courteous to your customers is a requirement, I strongly urge you to replace them with employees that understand the importance of customer satisfaction.
