By Lynn Effinger
To those reading this article who don’t understand why a discussion about the power of great customer service would appear in the marketing section of The Valley Business Journal, I would simply suggest that’s why you must read on.
While there is no doubt that advertising and public relations are vital to any marketing effort, there is also no denying the power of great customer service to enhance your brand, augment your other marketing tools and increase exposure for your products or services without much added cost. In fact, establishing and maintaining strong customer service activities doesn’t “cost”, it “pays”.
Companies like Amazon.com, Trader Joe’s, Nordstrom, Southwest Airlines, Apple and FedEx, among others, are consistently rated in the top ten for customer service by CBS, MSN Money/Zogby and other rating agencies. These wildly successful companies learned long ago that selling to return customers costs less than attracting new ones. And they also clearly understand that word-of-mouth advertising is the most cost-effective, credible method for reaching out to customers. And while these are national, and even international mega-companies, small businesses can benefit from emulating their customer service success to become more competitive in their markets.
As a small business owner, and one might even say, particularly because you are a small business owner, you must study other companies to see how their customer service programs have impacted their growth and sustainability. This is an area where your local chamber of commerce should be able to help you. Do your research. You’ll no doubt find that the following factors, among many others, positively impact the success of the companies you research:
- Be courteous and project a positive attitude in person AND on the phone… ALWAYS!
- On the telephone, human contact is greatly preferred over automated systems.
- Be a good listener to understand the customer’s specific needs or concerns.
- Do what you say you will do and when you say you will do it.
- Stand by your products and services unflinchingly.
- Demonstrate the value of your products and/or services… and when possible build in “added value”.
- Have a user-friendly interactive web site.
- Instill the importance of great customer service to anyone and everyone who works for you or is associated with your company… and reward their performance. Hammer this home, often!
There are numerous other ways to build and maintain solid customer service. Do your research. Talk to other business owners as well as surfing the net. Be the leader in your specialty like those mentioned above to sharpen your competitive edge.
Lynn Effinger is a consultant associated with Transaction Dynamics, LLC. He is also an accomplished motivational speaker, trainer, marketing expert, and the author of his newly released memoir, “Believe to Achieve – The Power of Perseverance,” available as a paperback and Kindle-book on Amazon.com. You can learn more by visiting www.effingercomunications.com.