We all have stories about when we were treated exceptionally well or extremely poorly. We tend to share these extraordinary stories with others. We all know that word of mouth marketing can be the absolute best advantage, or the worst drawback for a company.
Warren Buffett said it best: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently. “ What follows are a selection of tips that will make your clients feel valued, wanted and loved.
1. Encourage Face-to-Face Dealings
This is the most daunting and downright scary part of interacting with a customer. If you’re not used to this sort of thing it can be a pretty nerve-wracking experience. Rest assured, though, it does get easier over time. It’s important to meet your customers face to face at least once or even twice during the course of a project.
A client finds it easier to relate to and work with someone they’ve actually met in person, rather than a voice on the phone or someone typing into an email or messenger program. When you do meet them, be calm, confident and above all, take time to ask them what they need. I believe that if a potential client spends over half the meeting doing the talking, you’re well on your way to a sale.
2. Respond to Messages Promptly & Keep Your Clients Informed
This goes without saying really. We all know how annoying it is to wait days for a response to an email or phone call. It might not always be practical to deal with all customers’ queries within the space of a few hours, but at least email or call them back and let them know you’ve received their message and you’ll contact them about it as soon as possible. Even if you’re not able to solve a problem right away, let the customer know you’re working on it.
3. Be Friendly and Approachable
It’s very important to be friendly, courteous and to make your clients feel like you’re their friend and you’re there to help them out. There will be times when you want to beat your clients over the head repeatedly with a blunt object – it happens to all of us. It’s vital that you keep a clear head, respond to your clients’ wishes as best you can, and at all times remain polite and courteous.
4. Have a Clearly-Defined Customer Service Policy
This may not be too important when you’re just starting out, but a clearly defined customer service policy is going to save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. If a customer has a problem, what should they do? If the first option doesn’t work, then what? Should they contact different people for billing and technical enquiries? If they’re not satisfied with any aspect of your customer service, who should they tell?
There’s nothing more annoying for a client than being passed from person to person, or not knowing who to turn to. Making sure they know exactly what to do at each stage of their enquiry should be of utmost importance. So make sure your customer service policy is present on your site — and anywhere else it may be useful.
5. Honour Your Promises
It’s possible this is the most important point in this article. The simple message: when you promise something, deliver. The most common example here is project delivery dates.
Clients don’t like to be disappointed. Sometimes, something may not get done, or you might miss a deadline through no fault of your own. Projects can be late, technology can fail and sub-contractors don’t always deliver on time. In this case a quick apology and assurance it’ll be ready ASAP wouldn’t go amiss.
Treat your customers like your friends and they’ll always come back.
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