Make customers feel important to improve service

Note: This is the fifth in a series of six articles about improving your business’ customer service.

In the last installment of this series, we talked about actively gathering customer feedback to improve service — and that means going beyond a customer survey. Today, we shift our attention to making customers feel important.

The more one-of-a-kind a customer feels, the longer they’ll stay engaged with your business. Make every interaction feel less like a transaction and more like a conversation — a brief social moment that is uniquely theirs.

So how do you do that? Follow a few simple tips:

Use the customer’s name. Even if they first have to give you their customer or account number, after that point, you know that person’s name, so use it.

Offer incentives. Frequent flyer clubs, discounts, special services, and even surprises keep customers excited about your product or service. If you don’t have any customer incentives or promotions in place, add them.

Get feedback. This goes back to our previous blog post, but it’s worth repeating. Ask customers personally what they think, and they’ll reward you with more business.

Surprise your customer. Whether it’s a hand-written note or a free dessert, customers love unexpected “thank-yous.” And know that they’ll share that good experience with friends and family, too.

Some of these things may sound self-explanatory, but they are often the first things on the chopping block when things get busy and employees forget to customize each customer experience.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Central & Southern New Jersey. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @CarnegieJersey.

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