As client expectations and service trends evolve following the upheaval of the past two years, it’s becoming increasingly vital to keep customers and clients happy and ensure that your business can continue to provide an excellent service.
The demands of the last two years have certainly impacted customer care and resources have been stretched, but it’s important now to look ahead, put plans in place, and ensure that the customer really does feel like they are important.
Here are a few reminders to help you keep your customers feeling happy and buying from your business.
Recognise that people buy from people
If you rely on telephone sales, then one key component of customer care is to offer a name to establish a real and personal connection. Revisit your call handling practices and ensure that attention to detail is applied to every stage, including the very first greeting.
See it through
Unreturned calls and poor follow-up practices cost business – not just in terms of lost revenue but also reputation. Have a system for ensuring all calls to your business are followed up. Nothing upsets customers more than being ignored. Make sure all calls are followed up promptly.
Make your shop window transact
Websites are the shop window for many businesses and marketing teams spend considerable time and money driving prospective clients to them. So, when web traffic turns into enquiries, it’s important it’s met with a timely response. If you have online enquiries, make sure you follow them up. Consistent enquiry handling is key.
Test all of your ‘get in touch’ forms on your website and your general enquiries email. Do they work as they should, are they passing enquiries to the right place and is there room for improvement?
Consider embracing live chat
Many smaller businesses do not offer any form of webchat and of those that did, responsiveness is hit and miss. A recent survey showed 50% of chats were responded to within 30 seconds yet the other 50% weren’t answered at all.
Customers expect communication with their suppliers to be easy, almost instant and increasingly 24/7, so it’s important to offer a variety of channels. Live chat has the potential to deliver the quickest wins when it comes to customer experience. Managing live chat in-house can be time-onerous and inconsistent, so consider using an outsourced service.