the Importance of Customer Service for Your Small Business

Especially if you are a small business, you should be over the moon if you get customers. It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, but if you are in a service business (installing ventilation systems, say), what does matter is that your customer service must be beyond reproach.

It is one thing getting customers, and another thing entirely retaining them. Your customers are bombarded with messages via social media, leaflets in the mailbox and local TV advertising. What is going to stop them thinking they should be trying someone new?

Your customer service, that’s what. That is the be-all and end-all of everything. If your service is outstanding and reasonably priced, there is no reason to go elsewhere.

What is wrong with your customer service?

If this is an outsourced service, they really don’t have your company loyalty at heart. Oh sure, they will go through the motions, but that’s all. You should have an in-house service that deals solely with customer service; it’s so important. 

Loyalty permeates beyond company walls to the client, it’s that persuasive and powerful. It’s infectious and will prove its might from the customer service center to the on-site teams, and then onto your clients, so it really is a circle of happiness.

Incentivize your customer center service

Whether in-house or outsourced, it’s vital that you project a strong leader image. You can incentivize teams with pep-talks and achieving a small bonus on the acquisition of a new client. It’s not rocket science to know that your teams, if they feel happy and appreciated, will project this positivity onto a client. 

Many companies fail to grasp this and feel they shouldn’t be handing out money to people “who should be grateful they have a job.”

Good service – extra money 

There are so many customers used to sub-standard service that they will be truly amazed by a good service offering. These customers will be prepared to even pay more for a good service. 

This is what you could be providing, so you could be earning more than the going rate. If that’s not an incentive to offer an amazing service, then what is? This is exactly what your business needs going forward.

Customer service is paramount

Your service tells a client what your ethos is, and how far you are prepared to go to preserve it. This ethos is customer service is paramount. Nothing else counts. 

Your customer service team is tops, proving that your ethos is sound and secure. If your team is not great (and they represent your company, remember), this should be dealt with immediately. Even more so your customer service that’s directing them.

What you should be doing for your own good is tracking your customer service center. You could use SpyFone, a new technology that’s installed in the service center employees’ phones to know what exactly is happening. It helps in tracking call data, surfing history, messages, and a host of useful services.

Word of mouth

This is the cheapest form of advertising, and it won’t cost you anything! If your service is sensational, from the customer service center onwards, you will find your reputation growing by leaps and bounds. Word of mouth travels quickly around a neighborhood and you could well find your business booming because of this. 

Make sure that this doesn’t turn sour on you by bad communication between your service center and your teams. You just take your eye off that for one moment and all your good work flies out the window!

 

Adam Richards

About Adam Richards

Adam Richards is a semi-retired business professional originally from Bangor, Maine. He spent the majority of his career in sales and marketing where he rose to the marketing lead of a Fortune 1000 company. He then moved on to helping people as a career counselor that specifically helped bring families to self-sufficiency through finding them rewarding careers. He has now returned to Bangor for his retirement and spends his free time writing. This blog will be about everything he learned throughout his career. He'll write on career, workplace, education and technology issues as well as on trends, changes, and advice for the Maine job market and its employers.