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If you are wanting to know why good customer service makes you stand out, here is the reasoning behind all the fun stuff we do with customer service. Providing excellent customer service has such a positive impact on our businesses and here is why.
This post is all about why good customer service makes you stand out.
Customer Service Best Practices
If you want your business to stand out, I am going to teach you some super easy tricks to stand out from the crowd and provide excellent customer service. So why on earth does customer service help you stand out?
If you are wanting a super in-depth post into how to provide great customer service, check out this too.
Now back to the reason why… the reason is because there are so many businesses that don’t take customer services seriously. So it is actually a super easy way to win over the customers, especially from your competition. Having good customer service also increases your positive word of mouth, customer loyalty and positive feedback. If you are wondering what these are, don’t worry I’ll explain.
Now, I’d love to know your ideas and thoughts on how to stand out as a business too. So let me know in the comments below and we can learn from each other as a community.
Everything You Need to Improve Your Customer Services:
- Download Customer Service Strategy Workbook
- Download Customer Avatar Template – To get to know your customer better.
Ways to Improve Customer Services
Active Listening – How do we actually make our businesses stand out? Firstly, use active listening, don’t just listen. Actively listen and take in whats being said! A lot of people attempt to fix the customer’s issue before actually fully listening to the issue at hand. So listen. By listening first, you gain clear communication which is key, whether it is written or verbal communication.
Be Empathetic – You must be empathetic even if you don’t agree with what they’re saying. The reason is that you must understand the feelings your customers are feeling to provide a valuable solution to the issue that they’re presenting to you.
Have Patience – Now, you’ve got to be patient with each situation that you approach with each customer. This will help you gain your customer’s loyalty.
Flexibility and Adaptability – And lastly, you need to be flexible and adaptable for each situation. Policies are in place for a reason to protect you and your customer, and also make things fair across the board for every customer so you don’t give one person more leeway than the other, and then they both find out. So that’s really, really important. Always remember, sometimes depending on the situation, it may be worth helping out out of goodwill, but keep it fair.
For example, do not give a refund to one customer for the same issue with another where you havent given a refund.
Now, if you’re wanting to learn more about your customers and want to identify exactly who they are or make sure you are aiming at the right customer, you can download my free customer avatar template by subscribing below.
The Importance of Good Customer Service
It’s super important to provide good customer service, if you want to know the 5 Mistakes You Make With Frustrated Customers have a read right here.
Good customer service is key to differentiate your business from a sea of companies. You need to be able to stand out from your competitors, by offering amazing customer service you will enhance your brands reputation.
This will then encourage repeat business which is exactly what you want! Providing excellent customer service leads to your customers having higher customer satisfaction, which increases any likelihood of repeat purchases.
Satisfied customers are more likely to talk about you too and the positive experience they have had with your brand. This drives your organic growth solely through referrals and is known as positive word-of-mouth.
Now we all want repeat customers, don’t we? Providing superior customer service helps retain customers (known as customer retention) AND reduces turnover rates (the loss of customers or having one time customers).
If you would like to make a real change, consider creating a customer service strategy. Here is a workbook to guide you through the exact steps to make this happen. Download your own customer service strategy workbook, right here.
Making this super clear will help you take those next steps to gaining the customers you have always wished about.
And lastly, positive online comments and reviews are what we all wish for. Good customer service is reflected in positive online reviews which then attract new customers or give someone a reason to buy from you.
Now you can probably see why I harp on about this being so key to your business. Next we will talk all about customer loyalty and keeping those customers coming back for more.
How Exceptional Customer Service Builds Customer Loyalty and Retention
What is Customer Loyalty?
Customer loyalty is the commitment someone has to buying from your business. It means they continuously use your products and services over any other business. These customers are typically your repeat customers and love your brand.
And why do we want customer loyalty?
- Positive word-of-mouth because they are satisfied, they recommend you to others.
- Increased sales as loyal customers come back for more, boosting your sales and revenue.
- It’s cheaper to keep customers than to find them! Therefore reduced marketing costs and marketing efforts.
- Plus a competitive advantage, loyal customers tend to stick with what and who they know.
What is Customer Retention?
Customer retention is all about your business having the ability to keep customers over time. Maintaining customer relationships is key to encourage your customers to stick around.
Our mission as business owners is to reduce the number of customers looking and going elsewhere. One of the best ways to keep your customers is by learning all about creating and reviewing your customers experiences. But, don’t worry I’ve got your back, I have created a course specifically for this! Click here to learn more about the course. Or you can read all about the customer experience here to get started.
In addition you can take steps by downloading your free customer avatar template below:
Why Do We Want Customer Retention?
Who’s got the time and money to keep finding new customers? That would be physically and financially draining.
- Retaining customers is more cost effective than looking for new customers, this is because the customers already know you and already trust your brand.
- Customers that stick around typically spend more money over time as they trust what they are paying for and you!
- Of course we also want stability and growth, a high retention rate ensures a steady stream of revenue. Which is crucial for your business to survive.
- Long-term customers provide valuable feedback for you to improve your business and refine your products and services.
Now that we know what customer loyalty and customer retention is, let’s talk about how exceptional customer service can improve both.
- Being personalised and providing an attentive service gives a deeper emotional connection with your customer.
- Being consistent with a high quality service builds trust and your credibility with your customers making it more likely for them to stick around.
- Reduces marketing costs due to not having to find new customers continuously.
- Lastly, long term customers are likely to become brand advocates, promoting your business to their family and friends.
Are you on board yet, wanting to deliver exceptional customer service? Have a think about what service you are providing right now and how you could quickly improve your service. Maybe you need to know what mistakes you are making? – Read this – 5 Mistakes You Make With Frustrated Customers!
The Role of Positive Customer Interactions in Enhancing Your Brand Image
Let’s talk about positive customer interactions and how they can improve your business as a whole. By purposely improving how you speak to your customers you can improve your customers confidence in your brand. This can lead to more purchases overall. Communication is key!
It can differentiate you in the market with a strong brand image and sets you apart from a world of competitors. Are you fun? Serious? Sassy? How do you want to be remembered?
Customer service that is memorable are often shared on social media, therefore enhancing your online presence. Plus a strong brand image alongside an amazing service can be a key factor in customer retention. (bad experiences can also be shared too, so be careful!)
Lastly your brand values – being consistent, having positive interactions that align with your brand values and strengthens your brand identity.
Practical Tips to Improve Customer Service and Gain a Competitive Edge
Now that we have discussed how great customer service can help, below here are some customer service tips and tricks so you can improve your customer service for your business via customer service best practices:
Employee training is key – Expecting your team to have the skills to speak to customers is where most businesses fail. Talking to customers can require a specific skill, so make sure you book your staff and yourself onto some customer service training to gain effective customer service skills. Do not expect an excellent service from someone without training. (I see this all the time!)
Review and listen to your customers feedback – Act on feedback that you receive to improve your customers experiences. Gather feedback in a safe place and then dedicate some time to review it all. Are there patterns emerging? Can something be easily fixed?
Create a customer culture – Having a customer-centric culture where all employees prioritizes customer satisfaction is vital to becoming customer focused as a business.
Enhance service with technology – Implement a CRM tool (customer relationship management tool) and customer service software to manage your relationships and streamline your processes. A great idea for this is using a service desk software which manages your customers issues as tickets and keeps an audit of all interactions. There are lots of free and paid options for service desk software online. No more unmanageable email inboxes…
Metrics – Its a good idea to also monitor and measure success to evaluate whether your improvements are actually improving your performance and to find places for improvement.
I know this was a technical post, however if you have any questions please do post them below. I will be aiming to post simplified articles also so we have a mix of beginner through to advanced learning. If you found this helpful, be sure to share with your friends and save to Pinterest for later use.
