I have written before about how surprise and delight carry
so much weight with customers. Your
customer and prospects love to get more that what they expect. So why not wow them with your customer
service? That’s one of the best marketing tools around.
All they expect is courtesy and when you go beyond that you
are on your way to building customers for life.
So why do so many companies continue to ignore it?
But how about some concrete examples that will make your
customers not just like you, but love you.
Restaurant: Empower your servers. Let them solve problems as much as
possible. Don’t make them go to the
manager when they know how to resolve a problem.
Let them take care of their regulars by giving them
something (small) for free. Not every
time they come in but sometimes. I love
being remembered. Grocery stores reward
loyalty, why can’t your restaurant?
The second part of this is to reward your staff when someone
says something good about them. It is
simple reinforcement of good behavior.
Retail establishment:
Let me illustrate this one with an example.
One 4th of July when I was younger we bought a bagful of
fireworks paid and left. But if you have
ever bought fireworks you know that you usually get a little something as a
premium. Maybe some sparklers.
This time, nothing.
When we ran out of those fireworks (we ran out of fireworks
a lot) we went to a different fireworks stand.
There along with our purchase we got a handful of freebies. We told the owner what had happened at the
other store and she gave us extra just to “make up” for not getting
extras at the original stand.
Where do you think we bought our fireworks from then on?
Service industry: This is where true customer appreciation is
most important. Show your customers some
extra love by how you do your job. Your
competitors are probably trying to do the bare minimum to get paid. So go above and beyond.
For instance, if you have a landscaping business, offer
advice so their petunias grow better, or how they can keep deer out of their
yard.
If you own a professional business, be free with your
advice. Not only is it great customer
service but you build trust, and as we all know people work with people they
trust (read like).
So I hope I have given you a couple of examples that you can
use in your day-to-day business in order to build customer loyalty and
retention. If you want additional free
advice download 366’s
free EBook “5 marketing Tips for Small Business”