Outstanding Customer Service Tips
Copyright © 2005 NRG Saver Supply
Let us begin with a question.
Why have you decided to invest all the time and hard work that
goes into optimizing your web site?
Let us assume you are not doing this because you have nothing
else to do. You are doing this to bring potential customers to your
site. You have a business and you want to sell something. Some of
you may have non-profit sites but you are still selling a concept
or service.
I call Customer Service an "Attitude of Gratitude".
If you are in business and want to sell something and you
want to have happy, repeat customers you will have to adopt
outstanding customer service skills.
If you have "customers" then you have "customer service". Whether
you realize it or not this is a fact.
An excellent starting point in developing a customer service
policy is the Golden Rule.
"Treat others as you would want to be treated".
For a moment let us look down the road into the future. Perhaps
at this moment in time you are only looking to generate an income.
Let us say you are successful at doing that and building your business.
If you wanted to sell that business and retire or do something else,
what is the most valuable asset you have to sell?
Your customer list. A prospective buyer is not buying inventory.
He can get that anywhere. He is not buying "good will" because he
doesn't know for sure if you have any. What he is buying is your
customer list. This is what generates the income for you. And your
potential buyer knows this.
Therefore, your customers translate into assets and what we do
with assets is... we take very good care of them.
Be grateful for your customers. Have an "attitude of gratitude"
for your customers. Without them, you would not have a business.
Having said all of that, what happens when you have a customer
with a problem?
If you are in business this will happen. There is no way to avoid
it. It goes with the territory. How you handle these problems is
what will make the difference between growth of your business or
failure.
Every problem is an "opportunity" to cement your relationship
with your customer.
The first rule is to LISTEN. Truly listen to what the customer
is saying. Do not, I repeat, do not assume you know what they want
you to do about the problem. Ask questions. Let them fully explain
the problem and what they see as the solution to the problem. Unless
you fully understand the problem from their point of view, you will
not be able to offer an equitable solution.
The second rule is not to see the problem as a matter of right
or wrong. Losing a customer and being "right" is still losing
a customer. If you allow his problem to become a matter of who is
right, then it becomes an adversarial situation and everyone loses.
It is important to say this again.
Every problem is an "opportunity" to cement your relationship
with your customers.
When the customer calls you, he has a problem. It is up to you
to set the tone for arriving at a solution. He will either go away
feeling the two of you have arrived at a fair solution or he will
go away vowing never to buy from you again. Once you have arrived
at a solution that satisfies everyone, I will guarantee, you will
have a customer for life. You now have a working relationship with
that customer. He knows you and how you operate. You are no
longer a faceless web site but a real live person.
You should have a page on your website that explains your policies.
Often, your customer will not have read it before calling you, but
you have explained it in black and white on the web site for him
to see.
Encourage your customers to contact you with any problem they
might experience. You would rather have your customers call
you than the competition. You would much rather have them call you
than complain to their neighbor.
Our company's experience with internet sales has been that if
we get an order from Hoboken, NJ today, within several weeks
we will receive 2-3 more orders from new customers in Hoboken. People
talk to one another. They tell others about their buying experiences.
They brag when they like what they purchased and received good service.
Many years ago I made a personal vow to myself about handling
customers complaints.
I vowed, that if for any reason whatsoever, I thought I was going
to give the customer what he wanted, I would do it with a smile
in my voice and so much graciousness he would never forget my company.
Let me explain this concept. Not all customer complaints
are your fault and not all problems are created by your company.
Customers can have unrealistic expectations about a product. Or
they can misuse the product, then think the product is faulty. Or
the product may become broken in shipment.
There can be a multitude of reasons why this customer might not
be entitled to a refund or replacement. It can be clearly spelled
out on your policy page and he still wants a refund or replacement.
Perhaps, he made a mistake on his order. Maybe he is just not happy
with his purchase.
But....... He has been a good customer....or he is in charge
of purchasing and could place many orders in the future. Whatever
the reason, you are going to give him what he wants, regardless
of policy....then DO IT. Quickly and graciously and with a big smile
in your voice. When he hangs up the phone, you want him to know
he has chosen to do business with a great company.
Perhaps you feel that financially you cannot or should not absorb
the cost of satisfying this customer. The real question at this
point, is whether he is valuable enough to you to do so. Can you
afford NOT to satisfy him? What does an unhappy customer cost you
in other sales? Remember Hoboken?
All of our products carry a warranty. Customers are shocked
if they have a failure while the warranty is in place, that we immediately
offer to send a new one. No questions asked. He doesn't have to
return the defective product. People have asked us "Don't I have
to send back the bad one?" The answer always is "No, we trust that
you would not have gone to the trouble of calling us, if it weren't
defective. You will be amazed at the trust your customers will have
in your company, if your company has trust in its customers. Loyalty
breeds loyalty.
Once a customer called before placing an order to ask how he
would know if we would honor a warranty if he should have one. We
simply answered that every transaction requires trust on both sides
and if we didn't trust one another we should not be doing business
together. When we had the opportunity to chat on the phone and get
to know one another he placed his order and he has been a good customer
for 5 years. It was an opportunity to cement our relationship with
a potential customer.
Outstanding customer service is the quickest way to make your
company stand head and shoulders above your competition. In today's
world of outsourcing customer service by large companies, they have
unwittingly handed the small entrepreneur his ticket to growth.
It is your opportunity to interface with your customer, get to know
him and let him get to know you.
Outstanding customer service is also your very best asset to
insure future growth. It warrants your time and effort to develop
a general policy for certain scenarios, sharpen your listening skills
and determine the best way to change a customer with a problem,
into a great advertisement for your company.
When you have made your customer happy, ask for a testimonial.
Then develop a testimonial page for your web site. Tide soap made
a fortune using testimonials.
Jacie of NRG
Saver Supply
Copyright © 2005 NRG Saver Supply
About the Author
Jacie of NRG
Saver Supply
I started my business career out of college as one of 3 people
in customer service for Johnson & Johnson. It was great training
as my very first real job and I loved it.
We started our business of selling commercial grade
long life light bulbs from our home in 1991. Decided to
put up a web site in 1997 and the first one was pretty bad, but
people bought our products anyway. I have had to learn the internet
from the ground up and with an industry that has grown so fast and
changed so much it has been a scramble to keep up. But I love working
on our website and learning all the new things.
Outstanding Customer Service Tips Copyright © 2005 NRG
Saver Supply
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