Offer Excellent Customer Service - Some Customer Service Tips
Advertising is expensive and many home based businesses don't have a very large budget. So how do you make those advertising dollars stretch? Concentrate on the excellent customer service. In my article; A Tough Lesson - Customer Service Tips, I offer more great examples of customer service tips and how you can avoid up front problems and costs. Home based businesses can offer excellent customer service more often then some of the larger companies for many reasons. It can be easier to add personal touches, keep overhead low, have quicker response time and enhance the customer's overall shopping experience from start to finish. Each customer's purchase can be seen almost immediately on the books. The home based business owner can take advantage of the close (sometimes one on one) relationship they have with their customers. Statistics show that people will share their bad customer service experience with more people then an excellent customer story. One way a home based business owner can stop the bad mouthing and get the good word out is to consistently offer excellent customer service and have an effective system in place.
An excellent customer service system should be easy to implement for everyone in your home based business. One simple example of customer service is to treat people the way you want to be treated and then surprising them by going one step further. The system that you put in place must be consistent at all times! Everyone loves consistency. Look at all the burger chains as an example. Each one is run exactly the same. A customer should have no surprises. Everything from how you are greeted, to product preparation and service is down to an exact science. In your home based business think of some of the ways you can keep giving excellent customer service. Put them into your business mission statement and be sure that everyone who works with your company abides by these principals. A Few Examples of Customer Service
Customer Service Tips for Your Home Based Business Answer Your Phone Today it is too easy to send people to voice mail. Implement a system of being able to have a live person answer the call or at least one that can have the customer hold for a very brief time. In the worse case scenario have voice message to have the customer leave their phone number and let them know that you will call back immediately within a 5 minute time frame. You will lose numerous customers if they can not speak to someone live however. Most customers won't leave a message on the first phone call. There are numerous live call centers that can handle your customer calls with a live person while you are busy. I have found that more times then not a live person can convert a looker into a customer. It is well worth the money you pay them. If you have an internet business you may want to have live chat as well as an 800 number. Excellent customer service begins with the first contact. Always be Consistent Customers like being treated the same way each time. If your customers always receive excellent customer service you establish a "norm" for your business. Do not surprise your customers with inconsistency. How much inconsistency do you like? You will not only lose them but they may share some bad words to your other potential customers. Only Promise What You Can Deliver Nothing can ruin excellent customer service faster then when your customer does not get what was promised and when it was promised. If you can not do something let them know. Why should you put your home base business reputation on the line if you can't deliver? Just let the customer know in advance. They will respect you for an honest answer. Offer as Much Help as Possible Before the Sale There may not be any immediate money in it up front or at all, but the satisfaction of helping will permeate your home based business in subtle ways. This is one way may create a feeling of community which will be read by all your customers. The one customer that didn't buy at first may be testing you to see if they can trust you and your business. Offering as much help as possible also will strengthen your bond with that potential customer. They may not purchase from you but chances are they will recommend someone to your business that will. Handle Customer Complaints Immediately Many home based business owners forget this basic rule. As soon as a customer has a complaint some business owners try to avoid the customer and hope they will go away. That will not happen. The customer will be more angry and harder to handle when the problem is finally addressed. Customers appreciate a sincere immediate response to a problem and if handled well you will have a happy repeat customer and free word of mouth advertising. As you learn the ways of excellent customer service you will realize that no matter how big the error is if handled properly, it can become a great way to bond with your customer. Go the Extra Mile Sometimes a customer may ask for something special that you do not supply. What if you tried to find it for them on the internet or by looking in the yellow pages? Instead of just saying no to the customer at least you are trying to help then with their dilemma. All sales come from solving problems. That is why they came to you in the first place. How about meeting the customer at their house? Whatever the situation is, if you always offer excellent customer service you will continue to see your home based business grow. Bottom Line: Create a system of excellent customer service and incorporate it into your home based business. Your business will have happy and satisfied repeat customers. Their word of mouth is free advertising and they will be more willing to talk about your business as well as buy your products or services. See more on how customer retention makes you money. Go here for more customer service tips that I offer. Don't forget to keep in mind the examples of customer service that you find on this page when you create your service plan for your home based business. Don't forget to Sign up for my Newsletter below. Your email will be used only for the Home-Based-Business-Solutions newsletter. I respect your privacy and will not sell your email.
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Excellent customer service begins with you and your home based business. Your business should be setting examples for customer service that is much higher then your competitors. As a home based business owner you should know the importance of getting and keeping a happy and satisfied customer. This is the life line of every business. 