In today’s highly competitive marketplace, providing excellent small business customer service is more important than ever. According to a survey conducted by American Express, 90% of Americans say customer service is a deciding factor in whether they’ll do business with a company.
In short, small businesses that want to succeed need to prioritize customer service. In this article, we’ll explore:
- The important of small business customer service,
- Benefits of great customer service,
- 5 ways to achieve customer service success,
- Actionable items to help you enhance your customer service.
The importance of small business customer service.
It’s clear customer service is important. But what exactly does customer service encompass? And why is customer service especially important to small businesses?
Small business customer service can be defined as the process of providing assistance, support, and solutions to customers before, during, and after they make a purchase. This includes answering questions, addressing concerns, and resolving customer issues. The primary goal of customer service for small businesses is to ensure customers have a great experience with your business.
Unlike larger corporations, small businesses often rely on a loyal customer base and positive word-of-mouth to thrive. Providing excellent customer service in a small business context is not only about resolving issues promptly but also about fostering strong relationships with customers.
For example, if you’re a regular customer at your local coffee shop, that’s probably because the staff are friendly. Your business matters and you’re important. Maybe they remember your name, your order. But if you are a regular at a Starbucks, your business with them may not be valued as highly. They’re not likely to remember your name, or your order.
To summarize: In a smaller setting, each customer holds greater significance, and their satisfaction can significantly impact the business’s reputation and success.
Benefits of great customer service.
According to a study by Microsoft, 56% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company due to poor customer service. In other words, the level of customer service has a direct impact on a small business’s revenue and growth. There’s a range of benefits great customer service brings that leads to this growth:
- Positive reviews and referrals: Often, small businesses don’t have the resources to launch a marketing campaign. So instead, they rely on word-of-mouth marketing. Providing great customer service will encourage your customers to talk positively about your business.
- Customer loyalty: Satisfied customers are likely to turn into loyal customers. These relationships are crucial, and often act as the backbone to your small business.
- Competitive edge: Small businesses with excellent customer service gain a competitive edge, distinguishing themselves in a market where personalized attention and positive experiences hold significant weight.
“Having exceptional customer service should be an integral part to every business strategy. The benefits go far-beyond providing customers with a pleasant experience. It’s free marketing for your business.”
Natalie Ruiz, CEO at AnswerConnect
Quick takeaways on the importance of customer service:
- Customers get a great experience.
- You create a loyal customer base.
- Word-of-mouth marketing for your business increases.
- Your businesses reputation is enhanced.
- Increased revenue.
5 ways to achieve small business customer service success.
The details of great customer service can look different on every business. But there are several overarching success pillars that every small business can apply.
Here’s our top 5 practices for you to implement, and improve your customer service:
Understand the customer
To perfect small business customer service, it’s important to first understand the customer. Knowing who your customers are and what they want can help you tailor your customer service strategy to meet their specific needs.
Collecting customer feedback is also crucial to understand what your customers like and dislike about your business. When doing this, it’s important you ensure that the feedback process is accessible and convenient for customers. This can be done through surveys, social media, or other feedback channels.
Customer survey tips:
- Regularly conduct customer surveys to gather insights into your customers preferences and experiences.
- Include questions that delve into specific aspects of your products or services.
- Reflect on your findings to better understand your customers, and improve your customer service strategy accordingly.
Build a strong team
Building a strong team is also essential to providing great customer service. It’s crucial to hire friendly, knowledgeable, and patient people. When hiring for a customer service team, HR teams should look for attitude over competency and broaden the net of their search. That means keeping diversity and inclusion as essential filters in their search.
Once you have the right team in place, it’s time to prioritize providing ongoing training and support. That ensures they have the skills and knowledge necessary to handle any customer service situation.
Ongoing training ideas:
- Offer workshops or external training programs.
- Conduct simulated customer service scenarios to prepare staff for real situations.
- Establish regular feedback loops to establish training initiatives.
- Encourage knowledge-sharing and collaboration among team members.
- Recognize and reward team members for exceptional customer service performance.
Create a customer-friendly environment
A customer-friendly environment is another important aspect of perfecting small business customer service. This includes ensuring a welcoming atmosphere for customers and providing a range of customer service channels. That makes it easy for customers to get what they need. For example, having a user-friendly website, offering online chat support, and providing a toll-free number can make it easier for customers to reach out for assistance.
A great tool to help you create a customer friendly environment is an answering service. With around the clock support, customers can always feel heard by your business. Another effective use of an answering service is to have bilingual receptionists answer your calls. This allows every caller to be supported in their preferred language.
Communicate effectively
Effective communication is crucial to providing great customer service. So what qualifies as effective communication?
- Active listening: Taking the time to understand customer needs, concerns, and feedback creates a sense of genuine engagement.
- Using positive language: Incorporating a friendly and personable tone in written and verbal communication adds a human touch, making customers feel valued and appreciated. When you use positive language, your customers are likely to see your service in a brighter light.
- Addressing complaints and issues promptly: Responsiveness is key; promptly addressing inquiries, resolving issues, and acknowledging feedback demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction.
“Call response time is a factor that is too often overlooked by business owners. Yeah, you might call them back. But more often than not, it’s too late. They’ve gone to your competitor. You’ve lost them. Inbound call handling rapidly improves your call response time. Customers can connect to your business instantly, 24/7/365.”
Natalie Ruiz, CEO at AnswerConnect
These three simple steps can make a big difference in how customers perceive your business. And remember; it’s important to make customers feel heard and valued, even if they’re unhappy with their experience.
Measure effectiveness
Measuring customer service success is essential to ensuring an effective customer service strategy. Regularly assessing your small business customer service provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of your service delivery and highlights areas of excellence or potential improvement. You can assess this through:
- Tracking customer satisfaction,
- Analyzing customer feedback,
- Making data-driven decisions.
These steps allow you to make informed changes to your customer service strategy to better meet the needs of your customers.
Unlock small business success today.
In conclusion, perfecting small business customer service is essential for success in today’s competitive marketplace. By understanding your customers, building a strong team, creating a customer-friendly environment, practicing effective communication, and measuring success, you can provide great customer service that will keep customers coming back.
Consider implementing a call answering service to ensure that you never miss a customer call and can always provide timely assistance. By prioritizing customer service, small businesses can differentiate themselves from the competition and thrive in the long term.
Get in touch with our team today to find out how AnswerConnect can power your customer service to the next level.
Contact us at 800-700-8888 or book a consultation below.
