The Golden Rules Of Customer Interaction
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Much has been said already on the subject of keeping your customers happy. In business, looking after the customer is always your top concern. As long as you are doing that, you need not worry about how the business itself will fare. Nonetheless, many business owners struggle to come to terms with the ins and outs of exactly how to please the customer. Most of the work, in fact, is done in the actual interaction with the customer. This is where the magic happens, so to speak, so that is where your attention needs to be. But what should this interaction look like? To answer that question, let’s take a look at some of the golden rules governing customer interaction. These apply no matter what the nature of the business is, or what industry you are operating in. Let’s take a look at what they are.
Keep Your Distance
Generally, customers like to be shown some appreciation and respect. To achieve this, you need to find a good balance in terms of how close to get. You want to be able to interact with your customers on a normal, everyday, friendly basis. Get too close, however, and they are likely to be put off. It can be difficult gauging the right level for this, but the secret is to experiment as much as you can. Ultimately, customers appreciate it when you keep your distance a little. If you are always hounding after them with offers and promotions, it might have the opposite to the desired effect.
Free Up Your Time
More often than not, poor customer service is merely the result of a lack of time. Either that, or it can be poor time management. Either way, the only real solution is to find ways to free up time in your business. When you have a workforce who are pushed to their limits, this is unconsciously communicated to your customers. The overall effect is generally a pretty negative one. You need to be able to commit some real time to your customers. To achieve that, consider outsourcing anything which is not essential to the customer. Using a service like TSICO for your cash flow or outsourcing your marketing are both good options here.
Listen To Feedback
You should already be making sure that you are requesting feedback from your customers. This is a hugely important part of the interaction itself. The nature of that feedback should determine how you act in the future. It is no use just asking your customers for their opinions. You need to make sure that you are genuinely acting upon them. Otherwise, there is no point in asking them at all. Make sure that you ask for feedback in an open-ended way which gives your customer the chance to expand on what they are saying.
Pay Attention To The Data
Lastly, remember the importance of paying attention to your data. You should be collecting data on what your customers do and say. This is hugely important, as the analytics from this data can be used to vastly improve their experience in the future.
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