We read in one of our recent posts how focusing more on your patrons will improve your overall bottom line. The problem is that many small business owners don't think they have the time to do just that. Using our online inventory management system, Stockpile, you can take back some of your precious time. The key is to use your newfound freedom to focus on your customers. After all, there the one's paying the bills and keeping the lights on. Without customer, why be in business. Today, let's look at a few tips that can help any organization to become more customer focused.
Customer service is both an art and a science. However, there are three common themes that pervade good customer service:
[list type="1"]Let's dissect each of these in order and look at what we can do as small business owners to ensure each customer feels like they're your main focus. From an experience perspective, there's a number of things to consider: the timeliness of service delivery, the quality of your products, the way customers are treated and more. The thing to keep in mind is how you want to be treated. If you ask yourself honestly, "would I shop here again" what would be your answer. Don't fool yourself into thinking you got it all down pat. Ask others for honest feedback. Try soliciting a first time customer or a life-long friend. Start by saying to "let me have it" and then you'll know the truth. Regardless of how good your business is, there's always room to improve.
Next, let's look at setting our customer's expectations. The best way to do this is to have consistency in what you do. The food you make. The service you provide. The way you interact with your customers. There's nothing worse than an off again and on again person when it comes to mismanaging expectations. Even if you're not the best at what you do; you can provide a consistent experience which will help you avoid unwanted situations. Honestly, there's nothing worse than to lose a long-time customer because your consistency isn't what it used to be.
Lastly, think about your offering. Your products and services. Are you proud to be in business? And why? Most times, it's about what you're doing for others. Never forget that and don't become arrogant. The thing that made you successful is what will carry you forward in business. Trust me, rarely does a poor service offering or terrible products make anyone successful. Get back to your roots, treat others as you want to be treated and deliver each and every time. Take ownership for failures and celebrate successes with your team. For now, we'll leave it at that. Just remember every business needs customers to be successful. Without them, we might as well close up shop!
