Your customers can teach a lot of things about
your business.
Paying attention to what your customers
are telling your directly or indirectly can not
only save you money but it can also help your
business to prosper.
These are the top 10 things you can learn from
your customers.
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1.
Good and Fast Service Is
Essential:
Customers want fast service, but they also want
that service to be good.
Fast service that does not deliver the
value that the customer is expecting does not
leave the customer feeling satisfied.
Image if you took your car into a fast
oil change service that does the job in 10
minutes but returned the car to you with only
half of the required oil which later resulted in
engine failures.
There is a great chance that you will
never utilize that service again. Fast service
is good but, it must deliver the value that the
customer expects.
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2. Personal Touch Is Much Preferrable:
Customers want to know that you are catering to
them specifically.
They want the personal touch.
Start by knowing their names and what
they like.
Special offers that targets them
individually will leave a lasting impression.
Making special offers ont their
birthdays, anniversaries, etc. shows that you
care and you’re willing to go the extra step to
provide that personal touch.
Another way you can provide a personal
touch is to not use automated answering
services.
When a customer calls to make a complaint
or get information the last thing they want to
do is to talk to a machine.
They want a person on the other end
answering their questions.
Automated answering services may be
cheaper than having a human being but you lose
the gains when customers are turned off by that
and go elsewhere.
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3.
How is My Brand Doing:
Your customers can tell you how your brand is
doing.
The people who use your products are the
best source for information on how your brand is
doing.
They can tell you if the brand has a
positive or negative image.
Ask your customers questions such as:
what do
you think of our logo/product/service, etc., do
you have positive or negative view?; what
specifically do you like or don’t like about our
logo/product/service, etc.?;
what would you change?
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4.
Is there Loyalty To My
Business:
You can learn whether or not customers are loyal
to your business.
If customers are loyal they will come
back and keep coming back.
They will come and buy your product over
a competitor’s product even if your product is
priced a little higher.
If they are loyal they will tell others
about your business and encourage them to come
and buy your products.
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5. You Should Listen To Them:
Customers want you to listen to them.
They have a lot to say about your
business and they want you to listen to their
feedback and take it seriously.
They want you to ask them for feedback.
They will not come out and volunteer it
automatically.
There are different ways that you can ask
for customer feedback.
You can do so through short surveys that
can be conducted online or on a piece of paper;
you can ask customers to leave anonymous
feedback on a 3”x2” card which they can drop
into a box situated in the store; You can
verbally ask questions and solicit feedback;
etc.
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6.
Specials Offers Are Much
Appreciated:
Customers like specials.
Specials give them a reason to buy.
Customers want a reason to buy.
Learn
more about discounts and special offers.
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7.
The Customer is Always
Right:
Your customers want you to know that they are
always right, even when they are wrong.
You’re not in business to score points
with your customers, hence, proving that you’re
always right will win you no points with your
customers.
However, treating your customers like
they’re always right will win them over.
So when a customer returns an item and
claims that it is defective, assume that it is
and re-imburse the customer.
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8.
Taking Complaints Is A
Good Thing:
Customes want to know that if they have a
complaint about the product or service they
receive that they can contact the company to
voice those complaints.
Having a complaint handling system in
place gives the impression that the business is
serious about taking care of it’s customers.
A complaint system can consist of emails,
text messaging, phone, etc.
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9.
You Must Keep Your
Promises:
When you make a promise to your customers they
expect you to keep it.
If you state that your store will be open
between 9:00am and 5:00pm, make sure that it is.
When you
place an item on sale at a 35% discount, make
sure that you sell the item at a 35% discount.
If you promise that a product is of a
good quality, make sure that it is.
A promise is a promsie and customers
don’t want to be lied to.
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10.
Be Available At
Convenient Times:
Your customers expect you to be available at
times that are most convenient to them.
This means that you have to know your
customers and arrange for your busienss to be
open to serve customers at the most opportune
time.
This may require that you open early or
late, and on weekends and holidays.
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