Guest Article by Lyndsi Decker
No matter what business you are in, your customers are your best advertisement. They will tell their friends and relatives if they were satisfied with your service. If you make them happy, they will be loyal. How can you create an experience that keeps people coming back?
Be Nice
Treat your clients like gold. Remember that they are your bread and butter. Remind your employees that happy customers equal job security for everyone. Look clients in the eye. Ask them what you can do to help. Be genuine. The restaurant industry has done a fantastic job of creating incentives for employees to treat customers well. Servers get paid in direct proportion to how they treat their guests. What incentives can you create in your company to encourage customer satisfaction? Motivated employees are the best tool you can have to increase business.
Know Your Product
Know your product and make sure your employees do too. You can’t sell something unless you know how it works, who it works for and when it should be used. Put yourself in your clients’ shoes and give them the best service they have ever received. Educate your employees on the uses for your products or services. Remind your employees that customer service is everyone’s job.
Listen
Listen to your clients’ needs. Customers want a quick and easy solution to their problems. How many times have you been told what the fix is to your problem before you actually explained your need? People feel insulted when they are not heard. One of the easiest ways to listen to your clients is to ask them why they have sought out your product.
Customize
Be prepared to customize. An opportunity to customize a solution for a customer will bring you rave reviews and repeat business. If you show your clients you can be flexible, they will think of you when they have a unique order. For example, a cookie company I bought a gift package from offered to include a book I bought for a friend in the package they were mailing for me. I brought my corporation’s holiday gift business to them that year and every year since.
Creating loyal customers is the best use of your marketing budget. Educate your employees on what makes clients happy. Talk to your clients about your products. Ask them what they like and what they would like to see changed or added to your product line.
Author Bio
Lyndsi Decker is a freelance writer. Currently she is promoting Chiropractic Marketing as well as Epic Marketing. She is a small business owner and often blogs about small business issues.
