Customer Service- The Key to Business Triumph

CSR


Neither the size, nor type of business will affect the importance of customer service on the success of a business.

In the world of business, there are generally two ways to positively increase your balance sheet. You can increase the amount of sales or reduce the costs. It is a big challenge to find ways to reduce your costs but by offering excellent customer care you can increase your sales without increasing your costs.

Why is good customer service vital?

1. You will retain more customers

Bad customer service is the cause of 86% of customers leaving a particular business according to research and this figure has continued to increase over the years. Retaining customers is crucial! There is no sense in spending more on acquiring new customers when you can keep the ones you have simply by looking after them. Faithful customers, on average, are worth 10 times more than their original purchase. These factors alone ought to be enough for any manager to start paying attention to retaining customers by having the best customer care. In time, this will increase profits.

2. It builds trust

Customers will only be faithful to a business if there are grounds to do so. By making a customer feel respected and being polite to them will not only build trust but it will also keep them coming back. Statistics show that you are 60-70% more likely to see to an existing customer than you are to a new one (a likelihood of 5%- 20%).

3. A marketing strategy to increase profits

The foremost type of advertising is word-of-mouth! It will not cost you but at the same time you cannot buy it. This depends solely on the opinions of your customers and whether or not they choose to recommend you. People would much rather listen to the verdicts of someone they know than reading online reviews or watching an advert. Watch out though! If your business has a bad reputation, it is going to cost you customers!

4. It reinforces public perception

Brilliant customer service is part of your brand. People associate good customer service with a business and its products. Whether fair or not, people tend to associate bad customer service with poor quality of goods and services. Additionally, people are more likely to remember a bad encounter than a good one. Every moment with each customer should be a pleasant one as you should constantly be aiming to improve your brand image.

5. Reduces employee turnover

When your staff see the level of care you show towards your customers they are able to see that some things mean more to you than just making a profit. They are proud to be a member of your staff and to be associated with your brand. As a result, they are more likely to remain a loyal member of your staff. This again leads back to building trust with customers, as people like to see a familiar face.

6. Saves you time and stress

Nobody wants to have to spend any amount of their valuable time dealing with complaints or controlling negative feedback, which remember, spreads faster than wildfire with today’s modern technology. As tough as you may think you are, receiving complaints or learning that your business has a negative reputation is not going to reduce your stress levels.

How to improve your customer service without spending a cent

Below are simple strategies that will improve your customer service. Bear in mind that good customer service should not only come from you. Teach your staff the strategies so that your whole team provides outstanding customer care.

Smile– in person and on the phone (people can tell)

Pay attention– listen to what your customers are actually saying

Comprehend– don’t pretend to understand what they are telling you

Use a ticketing platform – Make sure to store all tickets and all types of customer service requests on a specialized software such as the one from 24Stack

Always show respect– never argue with a customer

Problem solve– stay focused on looking for a solution that suits them

Say sorry– be big enough and brave enough to apologize

Have patience– allow the customer time, don’t make them feel like you can’t wait to get rid of them

Excellent customer service is something that can determine whether your business is a success or a failure. It should never be dismissed as unimportant. Make it part of your daily practice and brand image, and make sure your employees appreciate its importance.