No Customers, No Business

You’ve worked hard to build your business; you’ve thrown your heart and soul into turning your dream into a reality. But, is all your team on the same page when it comes to work ethic, attention to details and most important, customer service?

We live and work in a very fickle economy. The days of “cornering the market” are long gone, if your customers don’t feel valued, they will find what they want else where. It’s that simple. lots of businesses will tell you that they are the only ones that deliver “Blah, blah, blah” but the reality is when people are looking to spend their hard earned money, they are shopping around for not only the best deal, but the best service. Because they want to feel welcomed and valued. Don’t you?

When was the last time that you did a customer service assessment on your business? The last month, the last year? Please tell me it’s not been longer that 5 years. Ok, just do yourself and your business a favor and take the time to answer the following questions;

How long does it take to get back to a customer? People are used to getting information in a snap, if they can not get information fast, they will move their business elsewhere.

How easy is it for a customer to talk to a live person? People want to know that their specific needs are being looked after. Yes, you may have a website or a social media page that customers can look at to answer the most commonly asked questions, but it is imperative that they can reach one of your team members and have a conversation. People buy from people.

How easy is it for your customers to find information about what you do online? Although people buy from people, what if one of your customers does not have the time to call around or stop by to find out the answers to their initial questions. It’s necessary to have an online presence to provide quick, simple and easy ways to provide information to perspective clients. This helps people decide whether you can provide what they are looking for, it also saves you and your business time and money by your team focusing on answering more specific inquiries that have a higher probability of leading to sales.

How well do you keep your customers updated with any changes to the service your business is providing for them? Most people understand that a delay can happen. What the majority of people can’t stand is not being told delays are happening. All our live are like domino's, when one is out of place when they start tipping… you know the rest. So, it’s imperative that you keep your customers up to date with information about the service they are paying you for, so they can move their domino's around accordingly.

How empathetic is your team when dealing with customer concerns? Imagine being in a situation where you are talking to someone in customer service about your concerns or issues and you can tell they just don’t care. How would you feel about giving your money to that person? Not so happy? When people feel they are valued (this includes staff, but that’s a different story) they are less likely to move on to greener pastures.

How does your team act when you are not around? You can not be everywhere at one time, especially if you have more than one location, or a large team. Everyone is on there best behavior when the Boss is around, but how do they portray your brand when someone is not looking over their shoulder.

Does your team treat all customers the same? Do you ever feel out of place when dealing with certain businesses? We may not know much about the business so we don’t feel as comfortable or we may not be the “normal” customer. Does your team treat every customer the same? Do they take the time to make the customers feel comfortable and spend the extra effort to explain things, or do they treat them like a hindrance? I’m sure you can guess who the customer wants to stay with.

Do you have policies and procedure in place for dealing with customer inquiries and concerns? Does your business have a clear and easy to follow procedure for how your team should handle customer inquiries and concerns? It’s easier for your team to handle things the way you want, if you have laid it all out for them. Concise policy’s and procedures also help cover your butt if you need to talk to your team about problems.

These are just a few of the most basic questions that you always need to keep in mind when thinking about customer service. There are a more than a few factors that are hard to control when it comes to the success of your business, customer service is not one of them.

If you are left with more questions than answers after reading this, you should take the time to do a more in-depth assessment of how customer service plays a role in your business. Kaleidoscope Business Development has different services available to help you Assess, Resolve & Maintain your customer service goals.

The Bohemian Capitalist