Friday, May 15, 2009

When Good customer service is NOT enough


If you think good customer service is enough these days, think again. Customers expect good service and if they don't get it they tell every man and his dog. Good service should be a given now days, customers need good service but when they get GREAT, FANTASTIC, AMAZING customer service, people begin talking as well as referring.

I received AMAZING service from Julie at Olympus Australia (Camera) this week and it made me think, who do I know that could help my contacts understand how to give GREAT, FANTASTIC, AMAZING customer service to their clients. Let me introduce Nathan Williams a (Customer Care Specialist) who has put together his 5 best customer relationship tips.

Bullet Proof your Business by Nathan Williams
As your competitors pick up the phone and call your clients in an effort to win new business, your customer retention may well be affected. If you're not talking to your customers, then someone else will be. Here are 5 customer relationship tips to think about.

1. Maximise the effectiveness of your sales and marketing budget?
Most businesses focus on new business, yet it's up to nine times more profitable to sell more to an existing customer, than to try and acquire a new customer. Repeat customers also spend up to 33% more than new customers. Ensure that you have a customer retention strategy in place that helps you to maximise business from existing clients, and leads to more business being referred.

2. Why are you missing out on business, and why are some of your clients now inactive or not referring you business.
Only 4% of people will, on average, tell you the truth about what they think of your business. This is why it's referred to as the 'Customer Complaint Iceberg.' Worse still, for every negative experience (which you'll rarely hear about), a customer may tell five people, who in turn tell another eleven people. Unless you can find a way to proactively get the truth from your prospects and clients, you are operating with a blindfold on.

3. Can you prove how good your service is?
Customers become more discerning in a downturn and will look for quality. Any mechanism that demonstrates how good your service is (as opposed to you just talking it up or testimonials which everyone has), will help separate you from the herd. You need a compelling reason for customers to use you - this is a major benefit of using an independent expert.

4. Why is communicating with your customers important!
What customers say about you (and not what's in your brochures) is your brand. This knowledge uncovers the true essence of your business and can give you some great ideas for what to focus on, what to discard and what to develop as businesses and consumers re - evaluate what's important.5. Should you stay close to your customers and get positioned for the next boom Now is the perfect time to stay close to your database so you can profit when the economy improves - this is the time to focus on client retention. This in turn will lead to new business, because not all businesses look after their existing clients well.

This article was written by Nathan Williams. If you have any questions feel free to contact him on 0410 471 200 or at nwilliams@customercaregroup.com

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