The digital age has certainly changed the shape of customers’ expectations. With everything from banks to big box retailers open for business online 24/7, customers have come to expect responsive, consistent service online from businesses both large and small.
Your small business may not have the manpower to staff an overnight customer support team, or the infrastructure to support “order online, pick up in store,” but by simply spending time looking at your business through the eyes of your customer, you can exceed their expectations just as well as the big guys.
Some Customer Service Do's and Don'ts
1. Train and Empower Your Team
As the old adage goes, people do business with people. No matter how virtual we may be, human interaction goes a long way to impact the customer experience – for better or worse. Create processes that empower employees to provide great service, and train them accordingly.
This includes the basics – greeting customers with a smile, having a standard way of answering the phone, and more advanced levels of service. This can include giving employees easy access to important information, like shipping statuses or invoices, and creating standard responses across the company to the top five customer inquiries.
2. Make Online Easy
Your business website should allow customers to help themselves – whether they want to order a product, look up a past invoice or simply find out what it is you sell, your site should be intuitive and designed with the customer experience in mind. Hair salons should add an online booking option, restaurants should have take-out/delivery ordering abilities, and boutiques should include a list of product brands in stock. Businesses of all stripes should put contact info at the bottom of every website page. Make it easy for your customer to do business with you.
3. Realize Looks Matter
Many small businesses (and heck, even some of the large ones) forget those elements of good customer service that are seen, not heard. Dirty, unkempt stores turn customers off. They suggest a lack of care that unconsciously translates to a lack of customer care. On the contrary, clean, updated, well-lit storefronts create the expectation for a customer that they're in very capable, caring hands.
4. Track Satisfaction
Whether you track customer retention or survey data, customer satisfaction is an important key performance indicator. Allowing customers the ability to provide ample opportunity for feedback, and correcting any misunderstandings or bad service, is important to help them keep coming back. Also, continue to track and review metrics regularly, especially online, to help solve any negative customer feedback that you might be missing.
We'd like to share our blueprint for success with you. Download our quick and easy do's and don'ts tip sheet to learn more.
