How irritated do you become, as a consumer, when one of the items you buy turns out to be defected? What adds further to the annoyance is when no one at the shop answers to your call, forcing you to go all the way back to the shop to sort out your queries. You would most probably never return back to the store.
“The true test of a business’ customer service effort is not when things are going right, but rather what is done when things go wrong.” A satisfied customer will keep buying from you, and also refer other people to you. It is a sort of marketing of your product that happens on a secondary level. “Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.” All of your customers are your partners in your business. So your most important job is to ensure quality, quantity and customer satisfaction.
The Thumb Rule: The customer is always right
They may not be right, but you have to treat them like they are. Use the words they like to hear. If they don’t like how you sell your product, they would probably never do business with you again. Listen to their problems, and provide them with a solution, according to their needs. It is important for you to realize that you can’t push them into buying your product. You have to impress them. Focus on understanding your customers at an individual level and treat them like the kings and queens they are.
The next thing that you should keep in mind is reliability and integrity. Give trust and you’ll get double in return. It is very important for you to be truthful about your product and stand by your words. The buyer’s priority is the most important; keep their needs ahead of yours. Because it is not your boss who pays you wages, but your customers who decide your salary.
You may feel proud when a customer leaves the door buying your product, but the real deal is when he comes again, and when he recommends other people to do business with you. You may fool your customer once, or even twice, but you lose out on a customer and a potential consumer base of 10-15 others. Customer retention is the most important sales and marketing tool of any business. Customer experiences decide the future product: when make your customer feel good, you are creating enlightening experiences for them. People will remember the product from the way you treated them, not by the price tag.
The other ways to keep your customers satisfied is to frequently interact with them. In this tech-savvy world, most people hangout virtually, so you need to be where they already are. Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, keep engaging them by having discussions and asking for feedbacks. Update them with the features of your latest launches. Educate and guide them to choose the right kind of product according to their priorities, needs and wants.
Brand name is all that counts. Build a name, build a reputation.
If a customer complains, you have an opportunity to make him happy by fixing the wrongs and providing him with a little more.
“Know what your customers want most and what your company does the best. Focus on where those two meet.”