Stop Helping Your Competitors!

“Your customers won’t love you if you give bad service, your competitors will.” 
Kate Zabiskie

by Skip Cohen

So many of you could do a better job when it comes to Customer Service basics. That quote above says it all; stop helping your competitors!

​It's Marketing Monday, and after a recent battle with an online sales company, the importance of Customer Service is fresh on my mind. The only silver lining is that each bad experience I have, becomes the foundation to remind you about one of your best marketing tools, providing outstanding service.

There's no need for this to be a long post today. The basic ingredients for providing excellent Customer Service couldn't be easier to remember:

• Listen: You've got two ears and one mouth - so listen twice as much as you talk. Along with "listen," also goes "read and comprehend" when you get an email from an existing or potential customer.
• Empathize: When the issue is something negative, let the customer know you understand their concern. Let them know, "the buck stops here." In other words, you're going to be the one to resolve their issue.
• Don't leave customers on hold any longer than you'd be willing to wait. This isn't just about the hold button but not responding in a reasonable amount of time.
• Solve problems quickly! You can't always resolve a challenge with the first contact, but make that your goal. You only fuel the customer's skepticism when things drag on and on.
• Exceed expectations!
• Always give customers more information than what they ask for. I've used this example in other posts - Disney is the best at this. If you ask any Disney staff member, "When is the electric light parade?" They'll not only answer you, but they'll give you a great suggestion on where to watch it. Be engaging!

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Obviously, the quality of the services/products you're providing has to be outstanding, but don't underestimate the power of offering a great experience for your clients as well! It's one of the most powerful tools you have to separate your business from the competition.