The Customer Is King (or Queen)

Marketing experts tell us that the customer's satisfaction is of the utmost importance to successful companies. Television and print advertisements bombard us with their promises to make us happy as buyers. And yet, according to a survey published in TIME magazine, more than one-half of us are unhappy with the service and attention we receive from those who sell to us.

A Fortune 500 company may lose several thousand customers each quarter and never even know it. But if the typical small business owner loses even five customers per year, she can find herself in big trouble quickly.

An effective customer service strategy, well executed, provides the highest reward a small business can get: repeat customers. For those of us deeply committed to growing our businesses, it is not a question of whether we will offer customer service, but how much. It is not an optional part of our marketing plan.

How to Show People You Really Care You would be amazed at how little it takes sometimes to make someone feel really well taken-care-of. Most people are reasonable in their demands—they want you to show that you really care in exchange for their hard-earned money.

Just saying "thank-you" produces smiles.

Develop your own thank-you system. Some use attractive thank-you notes. Others call every new customer after their first order to check their satisfaction and to tell them they appreciate their business.

Smart marketers send customers surveys from time to time and promise a small gift for returning them.

Many successful small business marketers provide information and education about how to better use their products and services. We have produced a series of short reports on key business start-up topics that can be ordered for a minimal cost. We gave many free information seminars when we were starting.

Some companies sponsor contests among their customers—to pick a product name or come up with the most unusual use for their product. The company prominently communicates the winners to all of their other customers.

Probably the most sincere form of caring about your customers is to keep your promises.

It is very easy when you are new in business to over-promise. You desperately wish to please everyone. You may take on too many jobs at one time (believe it or not, it does happen). Or you may accept work that requires skills you do not currently possess. It is better for your ongoing relationship with the customer to ask if the job schedule can be extended or to honestly tell them that the skill required is not a strong point for you but that you know someone who can assist you in achieving the customer’s objective.

Over time you will meet other entrepreneurs in businesses similar to yours. You can sometimes avoid telling a customer "no" outright by trading work with your competitors on a subcontracting basis. As long as the finished quality is what you promised the customer, they do not necessarily need to know that someone else helped you.

Remember that your customers are an excellent source of new product and service suggestions. Their needs change over time, and, if they feel you care, they will tell you about their new wants.

Key Customer Service Questions to Ask Customer service is one area where small business can effectively compete against larger companies. But you must be prepared to provide comprehensive satisfaction because many customers expect better service from a small company than from a large corporation.

To create a successful customer service strategy, you should think carefully about the answers to the following questions. Give yourself plenty of time to improve in the areas in which you are currently weak, before you officially open for business.

1. 1. How easy is it for your customers to reach you personally? How can you make it easier?
2. 2. Do your customers have to talk to more than one person to receive service? How can you cut the red tape?
3. 3. Are your pricing policies clearly explained?
4. 4. Are your credit, return, and special-order policies designed to benefit your customers?
5. 5. Can you honestly say that your product or service delivers the benefits your advertising claims it does?
6. 6. Do you make it easy for your customers to order? To pay?
7. 7. Do you give your customers an easy way to make complaints?
8. 8. Have you trained everyone who will deal with customers in the basic feature-benefit statements for all of your products or services?
9. 9. Is your business listed in the local white pages of the telephone directory? The yellow pages?
10. 10. Have you examined adding a toll-free 800-phone number for placing orders?
11. 11. Does your company name, address and phone number appear prominently on all of your sales literature?
12. 12. If in retail, do you provide directions for how to reach you? Is there ample parking near your store?
13. 13. Do you inform customers about delays in delivery? If not, how can you correct this?

You Keep Customers by Using the Right Words Often, successful customer service consists of using the right words at the right time. This is particularly important when the customer is upset or disappointed. Some very effective phrases include:

1. "I'll take care of that for you."
2. "I take full responsibility."
3. "We want your business."
4. "Thank you for thinking of us."
5. "Consider it done."

More than in any other phase of your new business, good customer service derives from treating others the way you would like to be treated. No more, no less.

Web.com customer and small business expert, Jeff Williams, specializes in guiding individuals to turn good ideas into great businesses. He is an author, coach, trainer, and a nationally known expert on bringing new businesses to life.

Jeff Williams is the author of eight workbooks and guides on starting and growing businesses, including his latest workbook, "Starting a Business in Your Fifties and Beyond." Through his award-winning Biz Starters program, he guides corporate refugees to successfully launching their own businesses. He works extensively with the SBA's Small Business Development Center network and was selected Small Business Educator of the Year in Northern Illinois in 1998. His website at www.bizstarters.com offers an extensive collection of business start-up articles, quizzes, and assessment tools.