If you do not give your customer a reason to stay, your competitor will undoubtedly give him a reason to leave you.
The fastest way to increase customer loyalty and retention is by improving the quality of customer service you deliver. We get a lot of advice about how to deliver great customer service. Many of the tips are reminders of what we already know. And these are useful. But, sometimes, we need more than a reminder. Sometimes, it is helpful to have a system or, at least a set of steps to follow, to make our customer feel like a star.
Here is an easy yet valuable road-map for the accomplishment of the objective. It can be effective in keeping us on track so we consistently deliver what our customers want from us.
Following Six-step approach makes the customer feel satisfied with your services.
1. CONNECT WITH YOUR CUSTOMER
This is critical. This is where you establish rapport and begin a relationship with your customer. “Connecting” means you are building trust that runs both ways.
Do this by engaging your customer. Start by giving them your name and asking theirs. Be interested in them and what they want. Ask questions. Listen. Respond appropriately. Have a conversation with them. Be genuine. Be professional all the time because people love to buy from professionals. Cater to their personal preferences. One hotel dinning room supervisor heard a guest say that she enjoyed blood oranges, so he secretly had a few brought up to her room. Delight people and, in turn, you and your business become unforgettable.
People generally do know whether you are genuinely interested in helping them or not. If you are, they are more likely to respond positively to you and to develop trust in you. If you are really not interested, they will sense it and you will have a much harder time developing the trust you need to help them.
2. DISCOVER WHAT THEY WANT
If you have a genuine conversation with your customer, you will discover what they want. They do not always know what they want or they might have trouble expressing it. Often people know what they want but they are unsure how to get it. That is where you come in. Your offer must be in accordance with the want of the customer. This may be justified by the instance that, “If we roll out the red carpet for billionaires, they would not even notice it. If we roll out the red carpet for millionaires, they expect it. If we roll out the red carpet for thousandaires, they appreciate it. And if we roll out the red carpet for hundredaires, they tell everybody they know”. Consequently such organizational behaviour helps you advertise your matchless customer service. Judging customer's want must be commensurate with the income level and buying power of the customer.
By asking pertinent questions and paying attention to the answers, you can discover a lot about your customer. Pay full attention because people naturally love to be treated extraordinarily. You can help guide them to getting what they want. That is the role you fill and that is how you keep customers coming back.
3. KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DO
We cannot give the customers everything they want; sometimes they want what we cannot do, while most of the times, it is something we choose not to do. Every business has a niche to fill. It means doing what the business is best at doing for the customers can serve best. This step is about “picking your battles”. It is about choosing the customers who best fit with what you can do well by knowing what best you can do.
4. DO IT
This sounds easy and, perhaps, it should be. But it is where many businesses fail. They fail because they do not manage the process of planning, doing, measuring and monitoring well.
To execute well, you need to be able to measure what is important. What gets measured gets done. So, convert your customers' wants into actions you can measure. Then set up a system to measure the outcomes and the actions that produce them.
5. FOLLOW-UP
For customers, this is icing on their cake. This is true for you as well because it is easy to do and it pays huge dividends too.
As you plan your execution phase, make sure you plan a follow-up contact also. Follow them up by phone, email, letter, visit or whatever works. The more direct and personal the better but make it work for your customer and your company. This thrills customers because very few companies do it consistently.
6. THANK THEM
This often gets forgotten or it gets treated lightly. Too often when we hear a “thanks for doing business with us” it sounds phony, forced or robotic. People often say it out of habit but they put no feeling or authenticity into it.
So, when you thank your customers, be real about it. Make it genuine. Thank them in multiple ways, not just once. Make sure they know you are grateful for their business.
These six steps make a pragmatic approach which would make you see customers' loyalty to you and retention going through the roof.
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