|
|
|
Customer service, everyone say's their's is great
Customer service, everyone say's their's is great while a large percentage fail miserably. By Vern Anderson Customer service is probably the most important part of any online business, but many are dropping the ball. This past week (not by design)...
Dealing With Business Slowdowns
When times are slow for your home-based business, chances are you won't have the luxury of waiting and seeing if things improve. You'll need to take steps quickly to get back on track.
These suggestions will help you get business back to...
Meeting Customer Expectations
As I was in the airport today waiting for my flight, I was next to a gate for Southwest. For those that don't know, Southwest doesn't issue reserved seats like most airlines. Instead, ticket-holders are issued one of three boarding groups, each of...
Top 10 questions about customer service and business
Question 1: Is it true that the client is always right?
Answer: Yes. The customer is always right. The customer's
perception is reality.
Question 2: If the client is always right, does it mean the
service provider is always wrong, even...
Why Public Relations Doesn't Just Happen
Public relations is a very important part of the marketing mix. A successful PR campaign provides third-party endorsement of products or services which is something no other marketing element can deliver. Many people think that once a company...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keeping Customers Loyal
It's a well-known fact that it costs many times more to acquire
a new customer than to keep doing business with your existing
ones. For this reason, the best way to become profitable is to
have loyal customers who keep coming back again and again. It's
all about relationship building.
The new customer-supplier supply chain has been altered
dramatically over the last few years. The "new economy" has had
a great impact on the way we view the predictable ways of this
once status quo-ish aspect of American business called customer
service. So what can you do?
Customers Aren't as Loyal as They Used to Be
It used to be that customers would find one service that met
their needs and stay with it for absolutely years. Now, though,
customers are fickle, and can all-too-easily be tempted away by
a competitor's offer if they feel that it sounds cheaper or
better than yours. So-called 'loyalty management' has become
more of a science than it ever used to be, and it's one that you
need to make use of if you don't want to be constantly failing
to retain your customers.
Offer Discounts for Repeat Business
You will see some businesses who give people a 'first-time'
discount, as a hook to get people to try their services. This is
entirely the wrong way to do it. What you should be trying to do
is reward loyalty by giving people a discount each time they use
your services. Over time, this makes it so that moving to the
competition looks like a ridiculous proposition for them -- why
would they when they get a 20% discount from you every time?
Keep Mailing Lists
You should have at least two mailing lists: one for your
prospects (people who might buy from you), and one for your
customers (people who have bought from you). You should lavish
attention on both lists, but especially on the existing customer
one -- and really lay it on thick for anyone who's bought from
you more than once.
You need to be in contact with your regular customers as much as
you can, always understanding their needs and when they might
need you again. Don't worry about this costing masses in direct
mail, as you can always do it by email. The secret is this:
contact, contact, contact. Send your regulars Christmas cards,
invite them to
meet with you for lunch -- anything you can think
of. A good tip is to always use the techniques that your
competitors are neglecting.
If your service is one that the customer will need at regular
intervals or a certain time of year, make sure you keep track of
this in your customer database and send something out then.
There's nothing worse than losing out on a customer's business
just because they didn't have your phone number to hand and had
a little extra time to see an offer from a competitor.
Another good thing to send to your mailing list is a newsletter,
either by email or post. Take a few hours each month to write
something with useful information about your industry that your
customers are likely to keep and find useful, and put your logo
on the top so that they can be reminded of you when they see it.
As a bonus, you can keep this material archived on your website
too, so it can be found by people searching for related words in
search engines.
Be Crazy About Feedback
You need to phone up as many customers as you can to get their
feedback after they deal with you. Make sure they were satisfied
with what you provided, offer to fix anything that they're not
happy with, and ask them if they can think of any way you could
improve. Customers will appreciate this -- and they'll like it
even more if you actually implement their suggestions.
Provide a Personal Service
Go the extra mile to make your customer feel like they're your
friend, and not just a tracking number in your database. Tailor
everything you do to their needs, and make everything easy for
them -- don't leave them to do legwork that you could be doing.
After all, they're the customer.
Finally, cheesy as it might sound, customers really appreciate a
little thank you note when you've received their payment. For an
extra personal touch, you could handwrite it.
About the author:
Original Source: Articles-Galore.com
Information supplied and written by Lee Asher of CyberTech SoftShop
Suppliers of the DeadEasy
Ebook Maker and Publishing Wizard.
|
|
|
|
|
|