As the busy holiday season wraps up, we’re reminded of the importance of creating superior customer service experiences. Customers are vital to small businesses, and you really only get one chance to make a good first impression. Our customers aim to create an experience that results in positive feedback, repeat business, and – most importantly – happy, satisfied customers that create referrals for their business.
Fleetmatics helps our customer base maintain great customer service through our GPS tracking system, which has proven to help them respond to customer needs faster and more effectively. From improving dispatch to ensuring the right technician is on the scene, our technology helps them improve customer satisfaction.
We take great pride in the role we play in aiding positive customer service experiences for our small business customers. Over the years, we’ve learned from them exactly what it takes to make a positive and successful customer service experience. Now, we are passing this insight on to you with these six tips to help you evaluate areas for improvement within your own customer service practices:
- Proper training. Each and every employee – from entry-level to company leaders – must understand what customer service is all about. One of the easiest ways to do this is to create a thorough customer service training guide. It’s about learning how to handle the problem while making customers feel that you understand the importance of the issue and are giving it the attention it deserves.
- Listening. It’s essential to take the time to listen to customers’ questions and concerns. This will help build the customer relationship and minimize frustration. By showing customers you’re interested in and value their opinions, you will uncover pertinent information to satisfy their needs.
- Set Expectations. While the goal is to exceed expectations, it’s always crucial to remember that setting expectations is imperative. There’s nothing worse than making promises that can’t be kept. Educating the customer, being transparent, and keeping the customer informed are some ways to help manage expectations and honor your commitments.
- Be Social. Take advantage of your social networks. Proactively engaging with your customers will help humanize your business. From tweets to Facebook postings, opening up communication with your customers is a powerful way to build customer loyalty.
- Reward. Every customer wants to feel appreciated and respected. Kind and generous gestures— both large and small—go a long way with customers. By offering a coupon, future discount, or another creative incentive—customers will continue to feel appreciated.
- Feedback. This is an opportunity for you to improve your services. Inviting customers to provide comments and suggestions will not only improve your overall customer service process, it will make your customers feel their opinions are respected and valued.
While these tips have proven useful for us, we’re always looking for innovative ways to conduct our business and grow our loyal customer base. What are some of your favorite customer service techniques? Do you have a favorite customer service experience you want to share? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
