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How To Raise The Bar Of Your Small Business Customer Service?

Guest post by: Gourab Nanda

Article Overview: Profitable companies are raised on the backdrop of excellence in customer service. Irrespective of the size of your business or customers, you have to develop and deliver high quality customer service, which more often is the differentiator between a good business and a great business. As small businesses you can too deliver superior quality customer service by considering these simple and effective points.

How To Raise The Bar Of Your Small Business Customer Service?

Profitable companies are raised on the backdrop of excellence in customer service. Irrespective of the size of your business or customers, you have to develop and deliver high quality customer service, which more often is the differentiator between a good business and a great business. As small businesses you can too deliver superior quality customer service by considering these simple and effective points. 24x7 Phone Service

This has sort of become the de-facto standard in customer service. So if you are yet to provide this facility then you may be a little late on this, but if you already have it in place, you are better-off, however the key is to become more efficient and proactive with your support and not just merely exist to barely justify the 24x7 support tag. Bringing more effectiveness implies, you engaging time to design the call flow, responses for anticipated queries, follow-ups, turn-around time and monitoring the call quality regularly. All this brings you more business than merely delivering the post-sale support. Even small businesses can offer 24x7 online and phone support with the use of virtual receptionist services.

Online Customer Care

More people are evidently hooked up to the internet and there is also a growing section of customers who prefer it online than phone. They buy online, get information online and obviously expect support online. This group can at times become more particular with using the internet for everything, that they get annoyed if a business fails to deliver an online medium of exchange. This is where 24x7 online support gets things in your favor. Imagine the customer sending an email at midnight and you responding immediately, I bet he will surely be impressed and more likely even get you more referrals. Online chat support is an easy way to engage a prospect and help him find the relevant information about your services.

According to Forrester's North American Technographics Customer Experience Online Survey, 69% of online consumers used the telephone to speak with a customer service agent (followed by 55% who emailed customer service).

Relationship Management

Real marketing starts after the sale and not before it. Once you have established a relation with your customer, consider that as a point of income source, it can be up-selling or references, the key is to hold on to that relationship and ensure that you make the relation count, make the customer trust you. This is where customer support is at its best, so the mantra is to invest in relationship management and see that you become your customer's best friend.

Under Promise And Over Deliver

A great rule in business which is often forgotten. Competition makes businesses throw offers and promises and later struggle to keep the word or just do it for the sake of doing. In reality you are ruining yourselves and doing least to get any mileage out of your promises and offers. So always keep it simple, promise what is required for the sale to happen and then over deliver and surprise your customer, I'm sure, he would love to buy from you again and again. When customers face problems with your product or service, or have complaints, they wish for them to get resolved ASAP and not a moment later, or you might end up having some bad online reviews.

Simple Things Make The Difference

It's not high prizes but surprises that makes the customer stick to you. Simple thing like a phone call on the customer's birthday is more impactful than calling him and announcing a surprise gift on every purchase of $250 at your store. Always think of what you can do to make the day for your customer and do those simple things and look at the world of good that it does for your business. So always keep your bag of surprises, full.

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Article Tags: small business growth, small business management, small business outsourcing, small business tips



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