Old School Markting- Are You in Touch with Your Customers?

By Linda Hembry

Though social media has changed the way business owners market their business, customers still need that personal touch. The best way to keep the customers you attract through all the creative technology driven marketing tools, is through good old fashion customer service. There’s been much debate over the age old adage, ‘ the customer’s always right’, but regardless of your belief, without customers you are out of business. According to Andre J. Ayers of Forbes.com:

Nearly half of consumers (47%) say they don't believe company executives understand their experiences, citing problems such as rude customer service staff or employees who provide the wrong information or never solve the customer's problem. More than one-third (41%) of the customers who take the time to complain don't think companies listen to or act on their feedback.

Here are eight customer service actions that you can implement right away to make sure your customers are happy, telling others about your company and continue to come back:

1.Develop a customer service model- Whether you are a company of 1 or 100,000 you should have a statement or a phrase that defines your customer service delivery. This statement should be put in your company manual, given to all new employees and put in a place for your customers and employees to see when they come in contact with your company.

2.Hire the right people-Your front line staff can make or break your company brand, so you need to hire people who will reiterate your customer service brand and not hinder it. With all the competition in the market, the last thing you want is to do is lose a customer over a rude or uninformed staff person. Train them right and chastise them early.

3.Know what your customers want-There are tons of resources, websites, marketing research firms and periodicals that will give you information on what your want. However, the best way to find out, what your customers want is by asking them directly. Give them a survey or have a focus group with your customers. You can also visit forums on products or services you offer to hear what customers are discussing. You can also add a blog or forum to your website to gain customer feedback.

4.Under promise and over deliver-The most detrimental thing you can do in business is make promises you can not keep. Unless you have a really good reason, customers get annoyed when you tell them one thing and deliver something else, or not deliver at all. On the other hand, customers are impressed, for example, when you tell them you will deliver on a Thursday and they get the product on a Wednesday.

5.Include a little WOW-Give customers more than what they asked for. Now days, customers want the fluff, and the fabulous for less. Pull out all the stops. Send handwritten thank you notes, make personal follow up calls, send gift cards or coupons, send product samples in impressive packaging, give them free services. Host an exclusive event for targeted customers. Do whatever it takes to wow your customers and entice them back.

6.Manage customer complaints -The best way to find out how to improve your customer service delivery is to learn from your complaints. If you do not have a complaint process, implement one. A customer complaint process that is clearly conveyed, in writing, to your customer at the purchase point is invaluable. In some industries, it may be appropriate to post it on your website. Complaints should be evaluated and responded to by managers or senior level staff, where possible.

7.Put out fires quickly- Never ignore complaints. Resolve them as quickly as possible. When a customer has a complaint the worse thing you can do is ignore them. This only makes the customer angrier and increases the number of potential customers they will tell not to use your company. When a customer complaint is handled well, customers will often overlook the actual problem and use your company again.

8.Offer Employee Incentives-Reward employees that exemplify excellent customer service, which will encourage repeat occurrences and increase the chances of other employees following suit. Some companies have seen customer service ratings increase significantly within weeks of implementing employee customer service incentive programs.

Excellent customer service is essential to effective marketing, so don’t negate new strategies that will increase customer loyalty.