Customer service - key to success

Sep 21 2009 by Carole White, The Journal

GOOD customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer discounts and special offers to bring in new customers, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won’t be profitable for long. It sounds obvious, but getting the basics right really can give you the competitive edge.

As the first organisation in the North East to receive the Customer First accreditation, we understand the need for excellent customer service to be at the heart of everything you deliver.

Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. Sending them away happy – happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.

So how do you go about forming a relationship with your customers? You need to ensure that your business consistently does these things:

Answering your phone: Ensure you have an answering service, make sure someone is picking up the phone when someone calls your business.

Don’t make promises unless you keep them – reliability is key to any good relationship. If you say, “Your product will be delivered on Tuesday”, make sure it is delivered on Tuesday. The same rule applies to client appointments, and deadlines. Think before you give any promise.

Listen to your customers: Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that person hasn’t been paying attention and needs to have it explained again?

Let your customer talk and show them that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem.

Deal with complaints: No one likes hearing complaints, and many of us have developed a “You can’t please all the people all the time”.

But if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time.

Train your staff to be helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable.

If you apply small changes consistently, your business will become known for its good customer service. Good customer service will bring in more new customers than promotions or discounts ever did.

If you need help with your customer service, TEDCO’s MintFresh service can help you.

:: For support or advice, tel: (0191) 428-3535, e-mail starting@tedco.org  or go to www.tedco.org

Carole White is business support manager, TEDCO