Customer service is all about making sure your customer is happy before a purchase, during a purchase, and after a purchase. From the moment they discover your business until they have received their product or service. Making this experience more pleasant than your competitors can be difficult, but it’s important that you’re going the extra mile to make sure your customers are happy. Smaller businesses often have to try harder than bigger businesses, but it will make a significant impact on your sales and reputation.
Make payment easy
When you’re trying to make things more enjoyable for your customer, you shouldn’t just be thinking about the product or service that you’re selling or the way your employees act in front of customers. You should also consider anything else that could make an impact on their buyer’s journey. Was it easy for them to find the product or service? When they found it, were they able to pay for it conveniently? For example, it might be a good idea to accept payments using a credit card on file or to start accepting other payment options. Your customers may have different preferences, so it’s a good idea to be flexible when it comes to accepting payment methods.
Take customer feedback
As a small business, it can take time to adapt to what your audience wants and needs, but there are ways to make it faster. Listening to what your customers want, and the complaints and criticisms they have about your business is a good way to learn what you’re doing wrong, what they might be getting from your competitors, and what could help your business. Of course, you can’t listen to every complaint and make a change, but taking feedback and making changes based on common issues is a step in the right direction.
Learn how to deal with difficult customers
There are going to be times, that you’re going to need to deal with customers who can be difficult. Some customers who you interact with may be in a bad mood, they may be unhappy with the product or service, and they might not be as cooperative or pleasant as the rest of your customers. In times like these, it’s important that you and your employees are prepared and professional. Understanding how to de-escalate these confrontations, and handle them in the most efficient way possible can help to improve the reputation of your business among other members of your audience.
Communicate with customers
It’s important to your customers that you’re communicating with them clearly. If they have questions about your products or services, you need to be ready to answer. If they’ve got a problem with what they received from their purchase, it’s important that someone is ready to respond to them. Being ready to communicate and respond to criticism can help your customers to feel safer with their purchases, and you’re a lot more trustworthy if you show that you’re going to be ready to fix any mistakes you make.