Articles Tagged with: customer service
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July 18, 2017
Five Ways to Create Loyal Customers

Successful companies know that customer retention is the name of the business game. Here’s a statistic that should give you incentive: “A 5% increase in retention yields profit increases of 25% to 95%” (Source: Bain & Co. 1990).

Here are 5 strategies to help you keep customers coming back:

  1. It’s not what you do the first time that counts. It’s what your company does consistently over and over again. Spend time examining current practices. Fix what isn’t working. Plan and build loyalty programs that give your customers the same great level of service each time, and are simple to implement, delivered consistently, and highly personalized.
  2. Hire friendly people that are relationship builders. Train everyone to believe that every customer is important. Customers will come back to your business if the staff member remembers them, smiles and cares about them as a person. Do you have a favourite restaurant that you return to regularly where you are always remembered? Isn’t this what you want for your business?
  3. Build loyalty among your staff. Pay fairly and reward for excellent performance. If you are hesitating on paying great staff, remind yourself of the cost of getting new customers into your business in the first place.
  4. Ramp up the company complaint response time. I see this all the time. If there is a complaint, it doesn’t get dealt with right away. The customer’s annoyance escalates and by the time the chain of command gets back to them, the anger and the situation are out of control. Empower everyone in customer service to make people happy. Deal with the processes after the complaint is resolved, not during.
  5. Reward and appreciate your customers. Thank them for referrals and for coming back. Create programs that track referrals and traffic. Know who your raving fans are and never forget them.
April 4, 2017
Five Ideas to Make Your Customers Want to Do Business with You

by Mary Cantando, Founder of The Woman’s Advantage, Guest Contributor

What’s the hold up in your customers’ buying decision? Maybe they need to see your offerings in a different light. Maybe they need to justify the financial investment you’re asking them to make. Maybe they need to understand how others have benefited from using your offerings.

Here are five things that just might close the deal.

Five Ideas to Make Your Customers Want to Do Business with You

1. Send them an article that is relevant to them.

Show them how industry trends or emerging companies rely on your offering.

2. Offer to provide an assessment.

You could provide an assessment to demonstrate how they could cut costs or capitalize on opportunities.

3. Email them case studies of companies like theirs.

Show them how similar companies benefited from your offerings.

4. Send them interviews with industry experts.

Find interviews with industry experts who back up your case and send them along.

5. Provide them with a payback analysis tool.

Show them how to use an ROI calculator to determine the $$ they will make/save using your offering.

March 14, 2017
Five Questions to Ask Your Customers

by Mary Cantando, Founder of The Woman’s Advantage, Guest Contributor

You may think you’re doing a great job, but it doesn’t really matter what YOU think. What’s important is how your customers judge you.

Here are five questions to ask them.

Five Questions to Ask Your Customers

1. How well do we deliver what we promise?

2. How well do we understand and meet your special needs and requests?

3. How often do we do things right the first time?

How about on time?

4. How do you rate the quality of our service?

How about compared to our competitors?

5. Would you be willing to recommend us?

What are you going to do if they say yes?

 

February 21, 2017
Five Ways to Show Your Customers You LOVE Them

by Mary Cantando, Founder of The Woman’s Advantage, Guest Contributor

Remember, your best customers are your current ones. But you’ve got to pay attention to them. A recent study shows that 68% of people change vendors because of indifference toward them by the owner, manager or employees.

Here are five things you can do to combat that indifference.

Five Ways to Show Your Customers You LOVE Them 

1. Reward your customers. 

Send them a gift or provide them with a lead.

2. Be a resource. 

No matter what your customer needs, work to find it for them—even if it has nothing to do with your business.

3. Always be upbeat. 

Have a great attitude in all your dealings with them.

4. Treat your employees well, and they’ll treat your customers well.

5. Honor special occasions. 

Why not send them a card on their anniversary of starting to work with you?

February 7, 2017
Five Things Customers Love

by Mary Cantando, Founder of The Woman’s Advantage, Guest Contributor

Are you spinning your wheels trying to grow your customer base? Do new customers come in the front door while old ones walk out the back? If so, you need to focus on your relationship with customers.

Here are five ways to do that.

Five Things Customers Love

1. Send thank-you cards.

Bonus points for handwritten and sent promptly. If you think you’re too busy, Peter Drucker used to send out a dozen every day.

2. Return phone calls promptly.

You’ll stand out from the crowd.

3. Do what you say you are going to do.

You’d think everyone would, but they don’t. Doing so makes you look like a hero.

4. Do things when you say you’re going to do them.

Or earlier!

5. Appearance counts.

Perception is reality, so make your perception a great one.

June 2, 2015
Five Great Questions to Ask Your Long-Term Customers

by Mary Cantando, Founder of The Woman’s Advantage, Guest Contributor

What is the best way to spend the valuable time you have with a long-term customer? How about asking questions that will help you retain their business, better serve them, and attract prospects that could also become long-term customers?

The next time you find yourself with a long-term customer, ask these five questions.

Five Great Questions to Ask Your Long-Term Customers

1. What changes can we make to our product/service to make it more valuable to you?

Who can provide ideas for changes that will help your customers better than your very best customers? And, they’ll be flattered that you asked.

2. What do you wish suppliers like us would do, that no supplier is currently doing?

In a perfect world, where all things were possible, what would they like to have suppliers do for them? It may seem impossible to them, so they’ve not asked for it, yet very do-able for you. Just ask and find out.

3. What words or phrases would you search online to find us?

You might be surprised at the keywords they mention, and could then build those into your site so prospects can find you online.

4. What would you tell someone who asked about us?

If the response is positive, you’ve got a great opportunity to ask for a testimonial. If negative, you can take actions to fix the problem.

5. Would you refer us?

If the conversation is a positive one, ask for a referral to launch another happy customer.

 

April 14, 2015
Five Steps to Follow Up on Referrals

by Mary Cantando, Founder of The Woman’s Advantage, Guest Contributor

There is no greater sign of confidence from a customer than a referral. A referral is an opportunity both to win a new customer and to make your referring client look like a superstar. And that is precisely why you need to have a solid plan to follow up on every referral you receive.

Here is a five-step process to follow up on referrals.

Five Steps to Follow Up on Referrals

  1. Ask the Referrer for “Inside Info.”

Ask the referrer why they thought to make this referral. What is going on with this prospect that makes this a good time for you to meet with them?

2. Ask the Referrer for the Best Method of Contact.

Would the referrer like to schedule a meeting where you can all sit down together? Or make a call to let the prospect know you’ll be reaching out? Or send an email connecting the two of you?

3. Make the Initial Call.

After the connection is made, it’s up to you to make the initial call to get the ball rolling. Don’t drag your feet. Do this immediately after the connection is made.

4. Don’t be Afraid to Make Multiple Calls.

Studies show that an average of five outreaches (email, voicemail) must be made before a message is returned. Don’t stop too early. You may be only one call away from the biggest account of your life.

5. Circle Back to the Referrer.

After you’ve made the connection, keep the referrer in the loop as to what’s going on. And be sure to say “Thank You” every opportunity you have.

October 3, 2012
Will Someone Call Me Back!!!

Today I am on a rant.  Face it…I love to support small business and look for opportunities whenever possible, to purchase from, book with, and support the Canadian entrepreneur.

Owner-operator businesses can be fun, original, and very, very good at what they do.  They can be caring, and because they are hands-on, can be pro-active, responsive, and one step ahead of trend.

They can also be the most frustrating to deal with.  Recently, I was looking for an event location for a birthday party.  I did an Internet search and came up with 3 ideal locations that were unique and well-suited to my needs.  It is important to note here that all three locations are small and unique hospitality businesses that are run by owner-operators.

All three of the company websites gave me an email address to send an inquiry to.   Emails were sent and only one responded with a call…five days later.  I was promised menus by day-end.  It has now been two weeks.  There is still no email with menus, nor has the fellow called me back to see what I thought of the menus or if he could book me.

As I was really interested in booking with them, I called one of the other locations twice more and left messages with their voicemail.  Here we are two weeks later and still no calls or emails back.

In my opinion the average customer today wouldn’t have even made the additional call as they would have expected an email response right away. People don’t wait; they move on. How many potential customers and how much money are we leaving on the table because the follow-up is poor or non-existent?

Here’s a suggestion to the business owner.   Get an outside person to email or call your business and have them make some inquiries.  Find out what the response time is, what your people are saying, and what they aren’t doing. Create a follow-up plan, train to it, and monitor it for success.  I guarantee you that there is money to be made by efficient follow-up.  Do it right because your competitors aren’t!

Copyright Pamela Chatry 2017. All Rights Reserved