Using Customer Service to Target Potential Customers

We have customers who cross shop. That is, they shop for a product category at more than one retailer – us and a competitor. Some customers use the internet to shop at even more than two retailers. So how do we differentiate ourselves when our potential market is comparing our company to many similar ones?

     We differentiate ourselves on customer service. Business owners are constantly getting their time sucked away by all of the important aspects of running their business. We do everything we can to quickly identify our customer’s needs and then we identify how we can go beyond their expectations.

     You see, if we can exceed our customer’s expectations at every point of interaction, we can provide value that our competitors will have a hard time matching. So how do you use this strategy to improve your chances with potential customers? In our business, it is all about information. We provide potential customers with a lot of information with which to make their decision. There are a few ways that we do this. First, we are accessible. If a customer makes an inquiry, we reply quickly. Our answers to questions about products are an example of the delivery of our service. So we have to answer honestly, quickly, and completely.

     It is easy to overpromise your service. You may want to tell your customers that a product will be delivered before possible or that it will cost less than it will. When you make promises that you can’t keep, your customers will ultimately end up unsatisfied. This also ties into your ability to be helpful when you first talk or meet with a customer. Be helpful. Always be way more helpful than they expected you to be even if it doesn’t equate to automatic profit. It is great to be over helpful. It is bad to over promise when you can’t deliver.

Always go one step further than your customer is asking for. For instance, if your customer is asking about a delivery price for one of your products, give them the class and weight of the delivery so that they can get their own freight quote if they want to. Freight is one of the biggest expenses that I have as an online retailer. There is no profit padding in our freight. We get good freight versus our competitors because of the quantity of our shipments, but if our customers can do better, more power to them. I want to empower my customers to get the best deal possible. The best deal possible includes excellent customer service. I know that once a potential customer queries us about one of our products, our response will go faurther than a simple impression. We seek to actually help them with every answer. We do that by providing them with the best information quickly and professionally.