Equipment Leasing Blog: Every Business' #1 Priority: The Customer

Remember the saying, ?The customer is always right?? It seems like this phrase has been around forever, but just because it?s old doesn?t mean it isn?t still relevant. In order for your business to be a success, it is vital to always remember to keep your customers satisfied. There is no instruction manual that tells you how to deal with customers because every customer is different, but here are a few simple tips on how to deliver great customer service.

Make a Person a Customer
A person is not a customer until they buy a product or service from your store and in order to gain that person as a customer, your employees need to make them feel important. If you have a physical store location, have employees greet customers and ask if they can help them find anything. If your business is done over the phone, have your employees ask, ?How are you doing today?? These are small actions, but the acknowledgement can make a person feel welcome and want to do business with a company who treats them right from the start.

Research Your Customers
Getting to know your customers is an important aspect of customer service. A simple way to learn more about your customers is by conducting surveys on an ongoing basis. Constantly getting feedback on how your business is doing is an effective way to continually improve. Customer service survey questions to ask can include:

• How long have you used our products/services?
• How frequently do you purchase from us?
• How would you rate your overall satisfaction with us?
• How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend?
• How likely are you to continue doing business with us?
• Please list any suggestions on how we can improve our products/services

Don?t Keep the Customer Waiting
People don?t like to wait- it?s that simple. Much of a customer?s dissatisfaction comes from having to wait, whether it is in a store or over a phone. Expectations are high in this ?now? generation, so be sure your business is doing all it can minimize waiting. Some things you can do include:

• Answer the phone by the third ring
• Be 5 to 10 minutes early to meetings with clients
• Reply promptly to emails and phone calls

Follow-up After a Sale
Follow-up phone calls can be the difference between good customer service and great customer service. If you want a customer to remember your business, a short and simple follow-up can do the trick. Shortly after your customer buys a product or service, call and get their feedback about the product. Did they have a good buying experience? Is there anything that could be improved in the future? Is the product working out for them so far? Not only does asking these questions make the customer remember your business, but it also gives you the chance to make sure the customer is fully satisfied with their purchase. If they aren?t, the follow-up call is your chance to work everything out.

No matter what your business? approach to customer service is, be sure your employees clearly understand how to deal with customers so your business has a strong, unified customer service team. Remember, in the customer service world a little can go a long way!

Source: http://blog.tigerleasing.com/2012/07/every-business-1-priority-customer.html

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