During economic times people are getting picky on where and what they spend their hard earned money on. They start paying attention more to the kind of service they receive when visiting a store, or vendor. Its so important that you and all of your team realize that the main focus of your business is the customer. I am not talking about customers as a whole but each individual that looks at your web page, walks into your store, calls your business is a very important piece of the pie.
Lets say you own or manage a retail store that sells items that people really need. One thing to take into consideration there are very few business's out there that have a unique item that nobody else carries that we all need. Right? Of course I am right. So when you have a customer that calls on you and you ignore the call or don't return the call right away, what just happened? You just lost revenue! For all of you managers that let your calls go to voicemail 90% of the time you are losing revenue. WAKE UP ! Now its been proven that most consumers are impulse buyers so when they are looking for a service, or item to purchase they usually want to get it now. So when you don't get back to the customer that left you a message a hour ago, 3 times out of 5 they have taken their business to your competitor. So that takes us to Rule #1.
1. Follow up immediately to customer inquiries and request. I can guarantee you that your competition has already done it.
2. Are your front line team members order takers or sales people? Do they know what they are selling?
Rule #2 is very basic. If your staff doesn't seem knowledgeable about the product or service they are selling or offering then your customer that comes to you for the first time will not be all that excited about using your services or purchasing your goods. TRAIN YOUR TEAM!!!! VERY IMPORTANT!
Rule #3 Are you and your team going the extra step to make your customers feel welcomed and important? Well if you are not, then close your doors and lock it up for good. Times are changing that consumers have way to many choices then to come in and see your front line agent talking on the phone or just standing there at the register with a fake smile on their face. Make sure your team is warm, smiling like they mean it, and greet the customer as soon as they enter the store or call your business. Again I cannot stress this. I know we all have clients/customers that get on our last nerves and are high maintenance, but can you really afford to lose their business? Seriously think about that before you answer because usually 9 times out of 10 those high maintenance customers are the ones that know a lot of people, and once you upset them they will truly tell all their Friends, family, associates and so on.
Rule #4 Follow up. If you are offering a service then its very important once that service is rendered, you need to follow up and make sure everything was to their likening. This does sometimes open up a bottle of worms, but it will also give you great constructive criticism and allow you to improve your offerings.
Rule #1 Follow up with customer inquiries and request immediately
Rule #2 Make sure your team knows what they are selling and offering
Rule#3 Focus on Great Customer Service. GO THE EXTRA MILE
Rule#4 Follow up with your customers to make sure they are happy with your services.
These are just the basic of customer service and the major areas. If you are lacking in one of these then you have problems. If you are lacking in more then one of these then its time you focus on training, your mission statement or just close the doors.
I will blog about this more in the future.
