Even if you’re not in the customer service business, there are 5 easy ways to please your customers, your fellow co-workers and your boss: act like serving them is your first priority. Below we have compiled tips and pointers for pleasing your most valuable customers. Why did we do this? Because serving others really is serving yourself. If you can serve in the best interest of your job without putting your own personal issues before the task at hand, you can only succeed.
1. Be accessible
It doesn’t matter whether you are dealing with your smallest or biggest client. If you always make the time to give them your full attention, no matter what – they will always bring you their business. With excellent customer service comes loyalty and referrals. When companies build relationships with their clients and suppliers, it’s a huge competitive edge. This rule also applies to your co-workers. Be a helping hand, everyone needs someone or something and when it is your turn you will want to be treated with the same attention and care.
2. Take care to really listen
People aren’t impressed by what you know or what you can offer until they see that you care. And you can’t possibly care in any meaningful way unless you have some insight into what people are feeling and why. While you’re paying attention to your customers and co-workers, make sure you take note of their mood as well. Sometimes serving others means taking into account what might be happening outside the work world.
3. Be experts in your field
Aside from being flexible to changing needs, the most important thing a small business can do to differentiate itself is having deep expertise and knowledge about a particular customer segment or industry. If you can quickly help a customer because you simply know the answer to their problem, then they know you are the company they can look to for direction.
4. Everyone is in customer service
Your customer-service team is your WHOLE team. Everyone who works in your company is on the frontline because they reflect the kind of business you want your customers to see. Your workers need to make sure customers are not just satisfied – but are genuinely happy to work with you. The most critical person to hire to serve with everyone’s best interests at heart is your manager, since employee turnover is directly driven by manager turnover. You want someone who’ll stick around and truly believe in your company’s mission, because otherwise, it will be almost impossible to keep up with the hiring challenge.
5. Serve better than the competition
A huge downfall is not knowing our competition. You need to know what your competition does well and what they don’t do well. You need to be able to differentiate yourself by compensating for what similar companies are not doing and what you do well. Become an expert in all areas of service including those that are gaps in the industry you serve. After you know the competition, you simply have to do better for your customer than the competition would.
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