First of all we should talk about why customer service is so important. The fact is that people like to buy from people. If you develop a rapport with your customers, you’re more likely to make a sale. This comes down to salesmanship, but it’s also part of the customer experience. Customer service is all about improving their experience. Even if your product is great and at a good price, people remember the experience of buying a product as well as the product itself. In service-based industries, the product and the experience are even more tightly linked. For example, in a restaurant business, while the quality of the food matters, so does the quality of the service. The customer is paying for the whole experience. Good customer service also comes after the sale itself. If someone has questions or an issue, you need to hear them out and be as helpful as possible. Some people might become loyal, repeat customers thanks to great customer service, which massively increases your profit potential. Customer service also makes customers feel more confident in your business, because it comes across as a lot more professional. The way you treat customers might come down to your brand and your industry. You might be able to be more friendly and casual if you run a small cafe or a gift shop, but if you’re focusing on quality, high end products, a more professional, polite, and refined experience will be preferred. In any case, always treat the customer well and how they’d expect.

Great customer service should lead to one thing, a satisfied customer. A satisfied customer is the best scenario because everyone is happy. The customer is happy, obviously, but the business can also be happy because a satisfied customer can help you further your profits. First, they are much more likely to come back and buy more things, potentially becoming a loyal customer. If someone enjoys an experience, they want to repeat the process. This can result in more profits, without having to spend more time and money marketing to new customers.Satisfied customers also talk. While marketing is great for getting new customers, an even better method is through reviews, testimonials, and word of mouth. Simply put, people are more likely to trust the glowing praise of another customer than the glowing praise you give to yourself. 

Many people see customer service as something they need to consider after the sale, but it should shine through before and during providing a service or making a sale. Good customer service means being as helpful as possible. So, when someone is trying to make a decision, first figure out how much help they want. Some people like a lot of help as they talk through what they want and how much they can afford with their budget. Other people prefer to be left alone while they browse. The easiest way to figure this out is to just ask. If someone does want help, ask useful questions and show them different options. If they have questions, answer them as best you can. Make sure to be polite and friendly. Again, this does link in closely with good salesmanship, but it’s less about making a sale and more about improving the customer experience. Even if you don’t make a sale, you can still provide a great service. 

Businesses take all shapes and forms and, while physically talking to your customers and providing a service looks one way when you’re in a brick and mortar store or a service-based business, what about online businesses? One of the best ways to provide great customer service is to make sure their product gets to them when they expect it and in great condition. During demand peaks, it can be hard to keep up with a boom of orders. However, you might not want to keep a huge amount of product in stockpile. A fulfilment center is designed to make sure that the desires of your customers are fulfilled as they should be. In short, this is a way to streamline your logistics so that, even when you’re in the middle of a rush and high demand, you can make sure that your customers are happy and their needs are met.

One of the most important benefits of great customer service is that it encourages customers to come back. We’ve touched on this before, but in addition to providing a good service, you can directly encourage customers to be loyal and to tell others about your business. You can do this by offering special deals, discounts, and loyalty programs for your customers. You can also offer exclusive discounts to people through their email accounts, which encourages them to offer their email so you can send more marketing messages.

You also need to make sure that your customers are able to communicate with your business easily. This might mean having a contact email address or phone number so people can contact you about any issues, questions, or concerns. By outsourcing these calls to expert customer service agents, you can free up your employees while making sure that your customers are given the care that they need. This is again one of those situations where everyone is happy, including your business.