There is a popular saying that “the customer is always right”. Without the customer, your business will fail to grow. So, one vital ingredient of a successful business is its customer service. Today, you will learn what customer service means and how to do it properly.

DEFINITION

‘Customer service (is) the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently exceed the customer’s expectations.’ In other words, customer service is meeting the needs and desires of any customer.

Characteristics of Good Customer Service

Promptness: Promises for delivery of products must be on time. Delays and cancellations of products should be avoided.

Politeness: Politeness is almost a lost art. Saying ‘hello,’ ‘good afternoon,’ ‘sir’, and ‘thank you very much’ are a part of good customer service. For any business, a ‘thank you’ is appropriate whether the customer makes a purchase or not.

Professionalism: All customers should be treated professionally. Using this characteristic of good customer service shows the customer that you really care about them.

Personalization: Using the customer’s name is very effective in producing loyalty. Customers like the idea that whom they do business with knows them on a personal level.

Types of Customer Service

There are different types of customer service that are provided by businesses. The type of service that customers encounter will depend on the product or service that a business provides, what the customers’ needs are, and whether the service is problem-oriented or focused toward enhancing the consumer’s experience.

Call Center: One of the most basic types of customer service is the call center. A large business will often devote an entire department to taking calls from customers who have needs or concerns about the business’ service or product. The representatives who work at the call center will usually be the first people to hear about the customers’ concerns and will either resolve the problem or contact the people who can. Company call centers are the link between customers and the company, and how they handle customer concerns reflects on the company in a very important way. Now your company or business call center can be one or two persons on a desk at the corner of your office or shop taking calls.

Technical Customer Service: Technical customer service involves the repair people who fix issues with products, either in the customer’s home or when the product is sent in for repair. Technicians and repair people are often face-to-face representatives of their companies, and their knowledge and efficiency is an important factor when it comes to satisfying the customers and inspiring customer loyalty.

It is also vital that you understand what benefits your business stands to gain from rendering a very good customer service. A few of them are highlighted below;

Good Public Publicity

Good publicity from clients comes from great customer services. When a client receives excellent customer services, they tend to tell their friends and families which leads to word of mouth and good public publicity. This not only creates more exposure for your business, but it also increases your visibility and popularity around products and services you provide.

Higher Profits

As stated above, happy customers lead to higher profits. However, there are a number of business owners that aren’t aware that this is one of the major benefits they can receive when providing good customer services. Higher profits mean more money to re-invest on employees and new business.

Increase Customer Confidence

As word begins to spread about the service being provided at your company, this will begin to build customer confidence. After all, this is one of the primary focuses of any business. In order to build credibility, it will be important to build a customer base by providing excellent customer services.

Increased Responsibility

You will discover that over time, you will begin to take on additional responsibilities in order to make this process work effectively. By setting the bar high, you will find that many of your business will try to meet or exceed expectations as a result of the popularity your business will experience.

Saving Money

An efficient workplace has always allowed the business owner to save money. After all, when providing excellent customer services over time, you will discover ways to streamline this process which will allow you to save on a lot of things especially when you begin to expand, developing different systems, and taking care of problems that might pop up from a direct result of bad customer service.

Enhanced Efficiency

As a result of all of the previous benefits, you will be able to enhance the overall efficiency of your business. After all, the primary goal for a business owner is to be as efficient as possible. By providing good customer services this is something you will achieve and everyone who is involved will be winners as a result.The benefits of good customer services were meant to help you understand more about why treating your customers with care are extremely important. By practicing excellent customer services on a consistent basis, you will be able to help your business grow in a way that provides maximum exposure, visibility, and popularity around the products and services you provide for your clients. When an individual who has done business with your company feels that they have received the best possible service, they tend to spread the news which allows your business to reap the rewards of referral business. However, there are other additional benefits you’ll receive but the list is endless.

Source: http://businesstools.com.ng/customer-service-and-how-it-affects-your-new-business-startup/

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