Remember Me
forgot your password?

3 Customer Service Ideas to Earn Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty

Customer service has never been worse than it is in today’s business environment. With companies trimming their budgets as much as possible, there isn’t the time or money to spend on customer service skills. If it can be automated, it gets automated no matter how inconvenient it is for the customer.

How many times have you been ready for the now familiar message “please listen carefully for our options have changed” only to find yourself screaming at the phone after one too many option levels? Hey – it works for the business – it keeps their operating overhead down – they don’t have to staff as many people as they used to because the call tree does the job on auto-pilot. No late or sick employee to worry about. No customers complaining about your phone receptionist cutting them off or having a bad attitude.

When you stop to think about all the conveniences we have lost over the years, it’s pretty astounding. Doesn’t it seem like we’re doing more with all the automation that was supposed to make our lives easier? No more secretaries; we have a computer. No more gas jockey; we can do it ourselves and we even get to watch TV while we’re pumping. Nobody to answer your call or tell you when they will; you can leave a message.

I don’t know about you but all this convenience can be very frustrating for me. I can’t ever sit back and let somebody else do the task because I’m expected to use self-serve. I remember the days when service people were expected to be extremely helpful. We have begun to expect poor service and we are no longer surprised when it occurs.

This is the perfect time for small businesses to step up and offer that which cannot be offered by the big companies. Convenience is such a big selling point, how about offering customer service as a convenience for your customers? Many small businesses are run by owners that are too busy running the business to implement good customer service on the Internet. In fact, customer issues may be rare and infrequently occurring, but as the business grows good customer service becomes a necessity. The business owner will eventually find it difficult and overwhelming in the long run.

The post sales process is just as important as the initial sales process when it comes to customer loyalty. A poorly treated customer will not have a reason to do business with you again even when you roll out new products and services. Here’s three ideas for you to implement that will not take excessive time or money but will increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty:

1. Follow-Up Personally with an Irate Customer
Running a business is like having a new adventure every day. You can never be surprised when the unexpected happens, only be ready to deal with it. When things go terribly wrong for your customer, have someone follow-up with a phone call. You may be surprised to learn that Internet shoppers think of online businesses with a bit of celebrity stars in their eyes. It is totally unexpected that an online business would call them to apologize for any inconvenience and make sure the issue was resolved to their satisfaction. I’ve done it – it works like a charm every time.

2. Use Words and Phrases Guaranteed to Calm Any Customer
Customers enjoy the speed of the purchase and the anticipation of the immediate download shopping on the Internet for digital products. Things can go bump in the night at any point in the purchase process, even getting to the download page. Make it easy for your customer to report the issue by having at least one method guaranteed to get results within four hours. And then be sure you always include “we apologize for the inconvenience”, “please reopen this ticket if further assistance is needed”, “thank you for notifying us of this problem”, “please”, “thank you”, “we’re so sorry for the delay”, etc. This type of acknowledgement lets the customer know that you care. Isn’t that really what we want?

3. Give the Customer Value for Their Inconvenience
New people are coming to the Internet every day so you should expect and plan for the “this is my first time” issues. One way you can do that is to provide your customer with more information than is required to resolve the issue. For example, solving the issue and telling your customer how to prevent a similar issue in the future will assist them in using the Internet and they will greatly appreciate the extra time and effort your business took to assist them.

Combine all three of the above ideas and you will provide customer service few have seen on the Internet, let alone in many offline businesses today.

Rate this Article: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s)
Print Email Re-Publish

Add new Comment



Captcha

  • Latest Customer Service Articles
  • More from Digital Info Diva™

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

By: Yamunapriya | 13/11/2009
Developing, maintaining, and sustaining the close bond between the customer and company is known as customer relationship. Companies across the horizon, to enrich the bond of customer relationship, are using the new database technologies that enable the management to know all about customers and offer customers a platform to interact with the company. Today, customers and companies share information, which has helped the company to revive their relationship with customers and manage the customer

IT consultancy services- When and why you need it

By: Anupriya Karmakar | 12/11/2009
Hiring the right IT Consultancy company or an expert individual can boost your business and help you realize your organizational goals much faster avoiding redundancy.

Consumer Court India

By: consumer forum | 12/11/2009
The consumer forum India helps educate customers, to recognize their importance, to advocate their opinion. This is a platform to voice your views, to voice against injustice. Consumer complaint forum operates through campaigning, protesting and lobbying.

IT Help Desk Surveys and IT Customer Satisfaction Surveys Boost IT Performance

By: Howard Deutsch | 12/11/2009
Increasing IT Help Desk customer satisfaction and IT Help Desk performance will increase the performance of your organization’s employees and your bottom line. It also reduces pressure from IT customers on CTOs, CIOs and IT Help Desk managers. This article discusses how to increase IT customer satisfaction and the benefits your organization will achieve.

Insurance Industry – Increase Sales and Retention from your Customer Service Team

By: Kate Tammemagi | 11/11/2009
The Insurance sector is becoming ever more competitive with the increased popularity of internet shopping. Buyers are less inclined to ring a Company or a Broker. When the insurance buyer does contact, therefore, this is a vital opportunity to persuade the Customer to buy from us. Some core Sales Skills and Techniques will greatly assist your Customer Service Team.

Tips for making Customers a Fan

By: Dale Obrochta | 11/11/2009
Changing clients into fans is not hard for some business and when the do they make money. Learn some of the basic concepts in changing customers into fans. See how 3 business are doing just that.

How to improve Listening Skills

By: KISHORE | 11/11/2009
This is a brief introduction to the most neglected skill in communication. If you look around you will find that nearly every communication skills book or course misses it. Listening is the single most important skill for professionals, transforming your own ideas into concrete reality: buying or creating expensive toys that you get to play with. However, your clients will only give you money if you respond to their needs. Most clients tend to clients will only give you money if you respond to

$500b needed to reduce global carbon emissions

By: Olukunle Odebo | 11/11/2009
Every year's delay beyond 2010 would add another $500 billion to the extra investment of $10,500 billion needed From 2010-2030 to curb carbon emissions, for example to improve energy efficiency and boost low-carbon renewable energy.

3 Customer Service Ideas to Earn Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty

By: Digital Info Diva™ | 13/03/2008 | Customer Service
When you stop to think about all the conveniences we have lost over the years, it’s pretty astounding. Doesn’t it seem like we’re doing more with all the automation that was supposed to make our lives easier? Implement these 3 customer service ideas to increase profits with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty through customer convenience.

How to Select a Great Topic for an Ebook

By: Digital Info Diva™ | 07/12/2007 | EBooks
Think of what problems you've recently solved, and what kinds of problems others have had and solved. Any problem that has been solved in your world could easily be the subject of your next book. People love to read how others have solved a problem that they currently have.

Testimonials - One of the Most Important Components of the Sale

By: Digital Info Diva™ | 06/12/2007 | Internet Marketing
You want to make your customers buying decision a no-brainer. By providing detailed testimonials, you are letting everyone who visits your website (especially those who are seriously considering making a purchase) know - without a doubt - that they're making a smart, informed, exceptionally wise decision. You want to show you are a reputable and credible business.

Trust is the First Step of Selling

By: Digital Info Diva™ | 04/12/2007 | Internet Marketing
The best way to sell a customer is by first gaining their trust and reassuring them that by making a purchase from you, it will be a decision they won't regret.

Low Cost Marketing by Publishing your Own Ezine

By: Digital Info Diva™ | 16/11/2007 | Email
As an Ezine publisher, you gain the benefits of a conventional newsletter publisher enjoys without worrying about paper at all! You can easily and conveniently spread your marketing influence and expertise to all your subscribers even if you are just an ordinary individual. Basically, you’re the boss!

Google Suggest for Niche Market Research

By: Digital Info Diva™ | 04/11/2007 | Online Promotion
I have several ways I do keyword research depending on what I need keywords for. A few months ago, a friend mentioned Google Suggest, a tool I had not heard of. He had to explain it to me several times until the light went on in my brain.

Are you Taking Advantage of Online Business Opportunities or Playing it Safe?

By: Digital Info Diva™ | 01/11/2007 | Online Promotion
There are opportunities around us every day. How many of us actually act on those opportunities?

Submit Your Articles Free: Signup
Article Categories




Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy | User published content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Free Articles by ArticlesBase.com, All rights reserved. (0.20, 1, w1)