Tips to Help Your Small Business in Customer Service

As the number of small business owners in the United States continues to increase, the need for providing high-quality customer service has become momentously indispensable. Since 86% of customers have stopped dealing with a business after a negative experience. Customer service draws the fine line between a successful and a failed business.

Whether you’ve been in the industry for quite some time now or you are just starting out, here are some great tips to help your small business thrive in terms of customer service.

Evaluate Your Current Service Level

How well is your business doing in terms of customer service? To answer this question, you need to assess the quality of service you currently provide. There are many ways to do that. And one effective way is to solicit feedback directly from your customers. It can be through a survey, or by personally talking to them. 

Use the Right Tools

Customer service is more than being friendly or polite to your customers. A big part of it is ensuring that you are able to provide fast, accurate, and convenient service. Thankfully, modern technology has made so many things possible for small business owners. From processing orders to accepting payments, shipping items, replacing items, making refunds, and more, there is likely a tool that can make all these things quick and easy. You don’t have to spend too much on such tools. As a matter of fact, you can even find free software. You just have to look around.

Be Willing to Spend Money on It

When your business is in a low budget, there are some areas that come in high priority, such as marketing. Of course, you can use small business financing. But what about customer service? Should you even consider spending on it? While there is certainly a lot of things you can do to improve your customer service without spending money, if you really want to amp the way you respond to your customer concerns, you will have to invest in things like your website, customer service hotline, etc. The good news is that 9 out 10 customers are willing to pay extra to guarantee a better service, according to research. So, if the cost is holding you back, you can let your customers cover the cost.

Get Closer to Your Customers

Customers appreciate companies that they can reach out to any time, with ease. One of the first things you can do to significantly improve the quality of your customer service is to make it easier for them to connect to you. Make sure that your contact information (email addresses, phone numbers, or office address) is available on your website. Be visible on social media. You must have an active account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social networking sites. And if you already have, aim to be highly responsive. Consumers nowadays prefer to reach out to a business through these platforms. If you’re too busy to manage your social media accounts, assign someone in your team to do so.

Train Your Staff

Your staff is the frontline of your customer service. They are the ones who interact with customers. Therefore, they should possess the necessary skills to provide excellent service all the time. Aside from giving them the right tools, give them enough training. Let your staff understand the value of providing high-quality customer service.

Address Customer Concerns in a Timely Manner

When a customer reaches out to your company for a problem, aim to address it as soon as possible. Don’t keep them waiting. Whether it is a simple account information update or a complex technical issue, do all that you can to resolve it. Don’t think that it is just one customer. Word of mouth goes a long way. An unhappy customer can tell the world how bad your service is through social media and other platforms. Additionally, by listening to your customer complaints, you can identify opportunities for training your employees, and improving your products or services.

Don’t Forget to Thank Your Customers

A simple “thank you” can go a long way towards making your customers happy. They are the reason why your business exists in the first place so it is just fitting to thank them whenever you have the chance. There are other ways to thank your customers. It could be by giving them a discount, a gift, or a personalized company token. You can even throw an exclusive party for your loyal customers.

Customer service is central to surviving and thriving in business. There are many ways to boost your customer service and it all begins by assessing your current service level. Other methods are to use the right tools, improve your products or services, build a solid relationship with your customers, train your staff, and show your clients how grateful you are.