What is Customer Service? - The Way To Beat Your Competition

It is not about offering promotions and slashing prices to bring in new customers. Rather, it is about organizations gearing themselves to serve the needs of their customers so that they do regular business with them.

Good customer service is about bringing customers back and sending them away happy so that they pass on positive feedback about your business to others. Unless customers come back, your business won’t be profitable for long. Acclaimed business trainer Kate Zabriskie says - ‘Although your customers won’t love you if you give bad service, your competitors will’

How do you provide great customer service?

Remember that actions speak louder than words. And books such as ‘Super Service: Seven Keys to Delivering Great Customer Service’ and ‘Best Practices in Customer Service’ available on www.amazon.com can guide your actions. Meanwhile, the following tips can help you get started on your drive to improve customer service.

Be Prompt: No one likes being put on hold, least of all a customer. Answer your customer service calls immediately, even when you anticipate that customers are calling about a problem. Make sure that someone from your staff is always around to take customer calls. If you don’t have a large set-up with a secretary, install call forwarding and answering services on your phone.

Don’t Over-Promise: Do not over-reach; promise only that which you can deliver. Trustworthiness is the key to any good customer service relationship. If you say, “Your lawn mower will be delivered on Saturday”, make sure it is so. Otherwise, don’t say it. Think before you commit because nothing annoys customers more than a broken promise.

Listen Patiently: There isn’t a better thing to do than to listen to someone who has come in to resolve an issue with you. Let your customers talk before giving them suitable suggestions. The customer must get the impression that you are genuinely concerned about his problem, only then will he come back. Even if you cannot resolve the issue right away, simply paying attention to the customer will put you in a better position to be heard later. But remember to take precautions so that you don’t repeat the same blunder.

Co-operate: This one’s a no-brainer. Try helping your customers as much as possible even if you do not foresee immediate profit. The customer will never forget an act of kindness and will repay you by coming back. Added to this, you will also enjoy free word of mouth which will certainly bring in more clients. Doing this one thing well will really show them; what is customer service!

Equip Your Staff: Train your staff to be helpful, courteous and informed at all times. Educate them on the benefits of good customer service. Most importantly, empower them to take small on-the-spot decisions so that they never have to say, “I don’t know, I need to ask my manager etc...”

Go That Extra Mile: Say you have an old customer who walks into your store and asks you to help him find something. Don’t just say, “It’s in Aisle 3.” Lead the customer to the item. Also wait and see if he has questions about it, or further needs. Customers will notice when you make an extra effort and will also tell other people. People love to get more than what they are paying for, even if it is just attention.

The answer to the question 'what is customer service?' is really all about finding common sense ways to make your customers life easier. Apply these simple rules and build your reputation for impeccable customer service. The best part is that over time it will bring in more customers than any promotion or price-off ever did!