The importance of customer service

Do you know who your customers are and why they choose to purchase from you?

Great customer service is the key to building a good relationship with your customers. Acknowledging your customers and creating a helpful and friendly environment will ensure they leave with a great impression.  A happy shopper will return often and is likely to spend more.

To ensure you provide the best customer service:

• Know what your customers consider to be good customer service
• Take the time to find out customers’ expectations
• Follow up on both positive and negative feedback you receive
• Ensure that you consider customer service in all aspects of your business
• Continuously look for ways to improve the level of customer service you deliver.

To build good customer relationships you need to:

• Greet customers and approach them in a way that is natural and fits the individual situation
• Show people that you understand what their needs are
• Accept that some people won’t want your products and concentrate on building relationships with those who do
• Help people – even just letting a person know about an event that you know they’re personally interested in is helpful
• Continue to keep people aware of what’s in it for them to do business with you.

If you want to provide the best customer service, all of your staff must have good communication and sales skills.
Listen to client complaints; you may learn something about your product or service. Let clients know that you appreciate feedback.
Know your products – where everything is located, brand names, place of manufacture and price. The more you know, the more confidence you can build in the customer.
Recognise product features. Turn these features into benefits for the customer. Ensure your staff can tell client about the product features and benefits.