If you make sure that you always maintain strong communication
with your customers, you will most definitely build trust for your brand
over time. Increased trust means increased purchases -- and great word
of mouth. Responsiveness is a discipline, though, that you must build
within yourself. Here are some tips to help you get started with
increasing your own client responsiveness.
Set aside time to deal with customer communication.
Set aside 30 minutes to an hour before you start the rest of your work day to deal with customer communication. This is one of the easiest tasks to keep putting off for later; however, you need to make sure that your customers hear from you. Also, if they see an email from you first thing, they will perceive you as a company that works hard at customer service -- and nothing builds trust like a solid work ethic.
Always respond quickly.
When you receive an email or a voice message, respond as soon as possible. Do not let an end come to your work day without responding in some form, even if it's a quick email to say that you will call first thing the next day. The key is keeping your customers feeling that you care about them. They will not trust a business that does not seem caring -- which will have a detrimental effect on your company.
Automate your responses without losing the human touch.
You may find that you are getting a lot of the same requests. That's OK -- just write one template so that you can copy and paste the boilerplate into an email. Be sure to add such personal touches as the individual's name, and add a sentence or two about that person's particular situation, but don't be afraid to use boilerplate to communicate. After all, time is money.
Delegate where possible.
Is your business booming? Then delegate the job of answering emails to one of your employees. You don't have to answer every communication personally. Once you've done your tasks at the beginning of the day, as far as customer responsiveness, pass this job on to an employee. There will be some questions that only the business owner can answer or resolve. For the rest of them, let someone whom you have hired answer the avalanche of repetitive questions.
Set up a forum.
Clients can also answer each other's questions. Once your business gets to the right size, set up an online forum on the website, where customers can go to ask questions. Those with more expertise about your product will be able to answer questions that others have -- and usually they'll be excited about the chance to share their expertise. The best part is that you didn't have to answer the question and that you didn't have to pay the person who answered it. You not only have satisfied customers -- you have experts to help your clients.
Facebook for business.
Set up a Facebook business page to ensure that you are able to reach those customers that are not on your forum. Facebook pages are also a great platform to keep your customer informed about your latest promotions and deals.
Tweet your way to success.
The best Social Media platform to use as a customer service vehicle is Twitter. Twitter is immediate and is a great way to not only deal with customer concerns immediately, but it also allows your customers to see that you care about your customer services duties.
Conclusion.
Always answer requests within one business day if you want to keep your customers happy. Trying these ideas out will help you keep within that time frame and create a happy customer base. There's no substitute for contented customers when it comes to building a solid niche.
Set aside time to deal with customer communication.
Set aside 30 minutes to an hour before you start the rest of your work day to deal with customer communication. This is one of the easiest tasks to keep putting off for later; however, you need to make sure that your customers hear from you. Also, if they see an email from you first thing, they will perceive you as a company that works hard at customer service -- and nothing builds trust like a solid work ethic.
Always respond quickly.
When you receive an email or a voice message, respond as soon as possible. Do not let an end come to your work day without responding in some form, even if it's a quick email to say that you will call first thing the next day. The key is keeping your customers feeling that you care about them. They will not trust a business that does not seem caring -- which will have a detrimental effect on your company.
Automate your responses without losing the human touch.
You may find that you are getting a lot of the same requests. That's OK -- just write one template so that you can copy and paste the boilerplate into an email. Be sure to add such personal touches as the individual's name, and add a sentence or two about that person's particular situation, but don't be afraid to use boilerplate to communicate. After all, time is money.
Delegate where possible.
Is your business booming? Then delegate the job of answering emails to one of your employees. You don't have to answer every communication personally. Once you've done your tasks at the beginning of the day, as far as customer responsiveness, pass this job on to an employee. There will be some questions that only the business owner can answer or resolve. For the rest of them, let someone whom you have hired answer the avalanche of repetitive questions.
Set up a forum.
Clients can also answer each other's questions. Once your business gets to the right size, set up an online forum on the website, where customers can go to ask questions. Those with more expertise about your product will be able to answer questions that others have -- and usually they'll be excited about the chance to share their expertise. The best part is that you didn't have to answer the question and that you didn't have to pay the person who answered it. You not only have satisfied customers -- you have experts to help your clients.
Facebook for business.
Set up a Facebook business page to ensure that you are able to reach those customers that are not on your forum. Facebook pages are also a great platform to keep your customer informed about your latest promotions and deals.
Tweet your way to success.
The best Social Media platform to use as a customer service vehicle is Twitter. Twitter is immediate and is a great way to not only deal with customer concerns immediately, but it also allows your customers to see that you care about your customer services duties.
Conclusion.
Always answer requests within one business day if you want to keep your customers happy. Trying these ideas out will help you keep within that time frame and create a happy customer base. There's no substitute for contented customers when it comes to building a solid niche.
These are just a few ways to keep abreast of your customer service function.
By Chas Demain
http://www.chasdemain.com
By Chas Demain
http://www.chasdemain.com
