At times, customer service means resolving problems that customers have. But at times, customer service means keeping customers happy. What do you do to keep customers happy? Do you reserve the “above and beyond” treatment for your best customers?
Inc. Magazine has an article entitled “10 Ways to Support Your Best Customers.” Among the ten suggestions are:
- Be accessible
- Bring expertise to the table
- Nurture the relationship
- Ask what the customer wants
This last suggestion is key. Many customer service efforts are wasted if they are not responsive to the customer’s needs and wants.
Perhaps more time-intensive is the idea to develop personal relationships with your customers. Inc. Magazine offers suggestions for this in the article “How to Build Personal Relationships with Customers.” According to the article, if a company does not build a relationship with a customer, there will be no business at all. The article suggests developing a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy, which would have as its main points:
- Communication
- Rewards
- Human touch
- Flexibility
Why bother with going the extra mile or having a CRM strategy? Because, as Lou Dubois writes in Inc.:
Customer loyalty and repeat business are the cornerstones of today’s market conditions. In the words of many industry professionals, losing a customer is the absolute worst thing that could happen to your company. This mantra has always stood true, but when you’re fighting with competitors for every dollar, customer retention is key.
Companies should strive to maintain relationships, and grow relationships with their customers. Customers are the lifeblood of any business. What can your organization do to improve its relationship with its customers?
