Retain Your Customers – Watch your Customer Service!
We need to focus on the people aspect of our business. People make up our business. We need staff to front our business and customers to patronize. So our emphasis should be on the customer.
So how do you keep your customers coming back?
Don’t short change your employees. By paying your employees low salaries, giving them few benefits and no adequate training, you are not preparing them to meet the needs of your customers in a professional way.
Treat your employees well and they will do the same for your customers. Your employees will learn from you. If you treat them with respect, reward their hard work, show some appreciation, greet them or at least SMILE at them everyday, they will do the same for your customers. Your attitude towards them is the key. The last thing you would want is a disgruntled employee taking it out on your customers. Happy employees make for polite employees and in turn make for happy customers. A win-win situation!
Know your customers. Do you know your customers? Can you recognize them? It would certainly benefit you to know them by name and greet them the same. It helps them feel special and communicates the fact that you value their business.
I have been buying my groceries from the same supermarket (or minimart as some call it) for years. Why? Because I like the affectionate way the owner and his wife would address me politely and chat me up always interested to know how my day is going. They would even offer me a cup of coffee without fail. Of course I always declined their kind offer but they never stopped asking and that really made me feel special. So their politeness gave me good reasons to keep going back.
Let your customers get to know you. Don’t be aloof! Why should you be when you need your customers to keep your business going! Introduce yourself to them. Let them know who you are. They will feel more assured when there is a “face” to the business and more so when they know that they can approach you at any time.
Go the extra mile. It sounds clichéd but it works! Keep in touch with your customers, write “thank you” notes or give them something extra. Just do things to thank them and make them feel valued and important.
My father spent quite a sum of money doing up our home. The lucky builder who won the contract to carry out the work did it well. He was always in touch with my father, updating him on the progress of the renovations, solving most problems on his own with minimal disruptions. He even did some things out of the scope of work without extra charges. That certainly pleased my father and he was a happy customer. At Christmas, he sent a big hamper with the words “Thank You for your support. Merry Christmas!” It does not always have to be big but even the little things you do for your customers will not go unnoticed.
Acknowledge your customers. Greet your customers as soon as you see them. Whether or not they actually buy anything should always be secondary to the fact that you are greeting them out of courtesy and not because they have bought something. Customers can spot the difference!
Don’t fight with your customers. It’s not worth it! Don’t haggle with them over who is right and who is wrong. Remember that while your customer can say good things about your business, they can also say the negative. And the negative feedback is likely to circulate a lot faster than a positive feedback. So why risk it? Don’t make your customers regret patronizing your business. Give them the benefit of the doubt and look for a solution to the problem.
Train your employees. Make sure your employees are trained and well-equipped to handle customer complaints. They should be able to handle almost every type of scenario and turn the experience into a positive one for the customer.
Get feedback. The best way to find out how your business is doing is to ask your customers. Are they happy with the products, service etc? What can you do to improve them? Keep your questions short and place feedback card in strategic places. Get the cards pre-stamped to ensure the customer sends it back. Always acknowledge the feedback received whether it is positive or negative.
It is easier to get new customers than to keep existing ones. How well you do in your business depends on your customers perception of it. So don’t ever forget your customers!
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