Customer Service: A Little Goes a Long Way

Today's post is about one of my favorite subjects for business owners, managers, employees, and partners of any business, and I think it is one of the absolute keys to business success.  Plenty of it can make your business a sensation, and lack of it can make your business infamous.  I am talking about customer service.

In the age of the internet, cellphones, laptops, and automated phone services, much of the focus on customer service as shifted towards a focus on technology.  However, if you are like many businesses and more concerned with your website pictures, your cell phone applications, or having the latest and greatest gadgets to offer your customers, you are missing out on an easy to manage segment of your business that can lead to higher profits, better customer retention, and a better relationship with your community.

Great customer service will not make up for a terrible product, but it can make an average item great in the mind of the consumer.  Fantastic customer service can allow you to charge more for your products, ensure stability, and provide better marketing than any amount of dollars ever will.

I will give you a prime example of this.  This evening I was on the phone with a customer who was very upset about some bad customer service she had received.  I am speaking to her on a Friday night, she is upset, and time is running out, so I had to make a decision.  I could either lose this customer's business, and with some certainty ensure that she is going to tell every single person she knows to avoid my business like the plague, or on the other hand, I could spend some quality time not only discussing her prior service, but also providing exemplary customer service and attention to her to tonight.

Instead of my customer having a terrible taste in her mouth with regards to the business, telling her friends about it, and posting negative reviews all over the internet, I now have a customer who is extremely happy, appreciative, and thankful for all of the time I spent with her on the phone (including multiple calls).

The lesson is simple.  Whether you are an owner, manager, employee, or partner in a business, you have to ensure that customer service is at the forefront of every single thing that you do.  If something goes wrong, as it occasionally will, you have to go above and beyond to fix it.  By making things right, you ensure that your business, reputation in the community, and profits all grow.