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Section:: Miscellaneous Articles < Archives > |
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Using Service to Sell A slogan on someone's company truck caught my eye the other day. "Home of Outrageous Service". Not "The World's Best Widgets" or "You Won't Find a Lower Price Anywhere for Widgets", just "Home of Outrageous Service". Why would someone advertise their service instead of their superior product or affordable price? Simple. As a general rule, customer service is so poor these days that the company providing excellent service is at a distinct advantage. I'll bet you can't think of more than a few times this past month that you've received excellent service. I'll bet you even more that you can think of many times you haven't. Just a few days ago I was in a well-known store and, being a first time mommy of a nine week old baby, I discovered that it was relatively easy to get stroller, baby, and a few hundred items to the checkout stand, but for some mysterious reason getting the same stroller, baby, and few hundred items out the door was impossible. The nice cashier asked me if I needed help out and I said that I'd appreciate it. She then asked her manager if she could quickly run out with me to help me carry my purchases. Without so much as a glance, the little vest-clad muskrat said "no" and went about his business. Yes, I was at fault for getting too many items, but he missed a perfect opportunity to cultivate customer satisfaction. Opportunities like that present themselves to you every day. As a business owner, you must do what you can to provide the best customer service possible; it could be the deciding factor when it comes to choosing between you and your competitor. The question is what can you do to improve your service? Make It Easy For Customers To Contact You Your contact information should be readily available from every page of your site either by link or displayed on the page. People want to know who they're doing business with. They want to know you can be reached if they have a question about your product or if they have problems. A business site with no contact information throws up a red flag. Contact information conveys credibility, a major factor in becoming successful online. Your much coveted Pre-Raphaelite painting "Gentle Weasel at Rest" may have the potential to fetch a hefty fee, but without so much as your phone number accessible to the potential customer, do you really think they'll send their credit card information flitting through cyberspace? At the very least, your customers should be able to contact you by phone, email, and postal mail. Don't want to be bombarded with questions? Then go ahead, make yourself hard to find, but be prepared not to be bothered with those pesky orders as well. Appreciate The Value Of Your Email Once you've made it easy for customers to contact you, you have to actually answer your email. Your email "In" box is full of opportunities. Not the "ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY!!! MAKE $3000 AN HOUR FOR STARING AT A WALL!! DON'T DELETE THIS!!" type opportunities; I'm referring to the opportunities present in your business related email. Most business email presents the chance to either gain a new customer or strengthen the relationship with an existing customer - both of which can only help your bottom line. I've said this many times, but it bears repeating: many businesses spend tons of money to attract customers, yet ignore the person who COMES TO THEM. Their competitors should send them a "Thank You" note. Ignoring a potential customer's email is a surefire way to lose that person to a company that *will* listen to and appreciate them. continue... All articles published on EthanCote.com are copyrighted by their respective author. They are not to be taken without the consent of the author. |
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