Building a Stronger Business in 2022 - Customer Service

by Skip Cohen

​It's Marketing Monday and as you build the foundation for a great year ahead, pay attention to everything under the Customer Service umbrella. Customer Service isn't just about your active clients but all your interactions with your target audience. It's about building a reputation for excellence and a brand known for exceeding expectations.

Just for a second, think about your favorite restaurant. Sure, it's great food to start, but it became a favorite because of the service, atmosphere, pricing, and quality. Of course, the same applies to places you shop, whether live or online. 

Amazon is good example. We do a significant amount of shopping online through my Smile.Amazon account. Why? First, I can usually find anything we need. Second, Amazon ALWAYS delivers. At a time when USPS and FedEx have been horrible, Amazon is consistently delivering. Next, they're price competitive most of the time, and buying through their "Smile" program I'm able to direct a percentage of every sale to our favorite nonprofit.

Last but not least - their Customer Service team is pretty remarkable. I can call their 800 number, express my disappointment with an order, and have it resolved in minutes. And there are often times when I don't need to even return the defective or damaged merchandise to receive credit. THEY EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Here's a check-off list for your business:
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• Response Time: Do you check your email and phone messages multiple times each day? You need to respond as quickly as possible to set yourself apart from your competitors.
• Use Your Phone: Rather than always respond to emails with a written response. Have you tried calling the customer? Often there are easy to answer questions allowing you to react even faster than through the written word. Plus, email and text messages are limited in being able to inflect sincerity - whereas a phone call allows you to talk to the customer on a far more personal level.
• Finding Solutions: Whether it's you or a member of your team, work to find solutions to challenges quickly. And when there is a problem, NEVER hide from an angry/frustrated customer.
• Exceeding Expectations: Every customer interaction is an opportunity. From the quality of the products and services you offer to each inquiry and interaction with the public - never walk away saying, "That's good enough!"
• Speed Isn't Just About Your Response: Never assume your website is working the way you think it is. Check things every day on different platforms. Right now, Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are the most popular, with Chrome having a 65% market share.
• You Can't Take It Back: Remember, there are no erasers on the Internet. Don't get into arguments in the various forums on Facebook, for example. You can never really take back an angry post, and you never know who might be a member of that FB group, reading and sharing what you've written.
• Simplicity: Too many of you have policies and disclaimers on your website that would scare an IRS auditor. Keep things simple in your policies. For example, save the discussion on penalties for noncompliance when you're having a discussion about your contract/agreement. 

Here's the bottom line, and I'm paraphrasing what I've learned from good friends Tim and Beverly Walden over the years. Working with you should be an experience. You're not selling a portrait session, or for that matter, an album, prints, or video - you're selling the fun of working with you and building trust with your audience.

Tony Corbell says it best when he talks about things he did when he first started his business, "I wasn't the best photographer in town, but I was going to make sure I was the nicest!" He's never strayed from that philosophy, although today, he really is one of the best too!