The business scenario is viewing a rapid churning- something never ever imagined just a few years ago. Demand for services and products are flourishing as much as the supply, hence we have a constellation of customers spoiled for choices.
The terrifying competition has ensured that entrepreneurs are pushed to look for competitive advantages that can make a difference to their bottom lines and help their businesses thrive. Survival of the fittest never thought it would fit in such a background!
Speaking of advantages, it is imperative for an ambitious entrepreneur to recognize the value of excellent customer service, something that transcends from ‘as much as necessary’ to ‘exceptionally done.’ And that takes doing much more than simply selling and overlooking after making a sale. A sale is just the beginning- it’s like wedding vows. The real deal begins after you’re bound to a person for life…ok, for long.
We’ve all heard horrendous customer service stories but seldom hear enthusing responses when it comes to customer service. Why is that? Simply because bad news travels fast and sells fast. As warren Buffet once remarked, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
It often seems like a thankless job but come to think of it, if it is driving in profits and enriching your bank balance, your company’s reputation, and your lifestyle, you can afford to just not wait for the compliments and focus on doing the good thing more!
Clearly, you have to decide between putting the customer on a pedestal and quietly reap the enormous benefits or treating them as dirt and looking for new business avenues every few years.
Here are our reasons for focusing on providing exceptional customer services relentlessly- it has helped our company flourish for more than a decade and we are improving continuously while keeping up with demands of new technology and consequently, customer expectations.
- Customer Retention is way cheaper than Customer Acquisition.
No business needs a ready reckoner on that front! Still, it’s better to remind yourself whenever you feel lazy in offering your best services to a customer. - Retained or existing customers buy more than newly acquired ones.
Its human psychology after all- you tend to enhance your trust with trustworthy people. Similarly, a previous great experience makes your turn to your reliable vendor again. The research figures though are astounding- the probability of selling to a new customer is about 5-20% while an existing customer has a 60-70% chance of returning to you. - Excellent Customer Service builds your reputation.
Again, people tend to look at previous experiences of others before forming an opinion or relation. If you’re recognized as one of the rare businesses providing excellent ears, your reputation and your brand will gain instant recall value whenever someone needs your product or services. - Word-of-Mouth is trusted blindly.
People genuinely look for recommendations form their friends and acquaintances. All the advertising blitzkrieg can fall flat if your existing or past customers don’t have a good word to say about you! Alternately, there still are businesses running a roaring business while their competitors are struggling with ballooned advertising budgets. If only they had known the true value of excellent customer services! - Your employees will be grateful
How you interact has tangible impact on your employees. While they are not in a position to say much; they do notice and absorb these exchanges. If you treat your customers like the yellow metal, it makes your employees proud and results in lesser turnaround. Alternately, treat your customers badly and your employees will start looking for greener pastures! - Your business life span zooms!
As we mentioned before, customer service is not just for making your customers happy- it’s more important for keeping you successful. If you’re serious about your business, you have got to focus on the very reason for your existence- your customers.
We will love to hear from you!
Open Mind Services Limited , a specialized Inbound Communications company continues to assist its clients in providing impressive customer service and delivering vital competitive advantage for more than 15 years now.