When it comes to customer service, what is your goal?
For many business owners, the answer is just “satisfied customers.” They strive to provide a quality product or service and create a pleasant enough experience to ensure that the customer walks away satisfied… and that he or she becomes a repeat customer.
But in reality, you should consider whether or not just aiming to simply satisfy a customer is setting the bar too low.
Instead, your goal should be to create raving fans.
Raving fans are customers that aren’t just satisfied, it goes above and beyond that—they’re customers who can’t stop singing your praises to anyone who will listen. Raving fans will recommend you to their neighbors, their family, their friends, and anyone else they can find. And because there are few marketing tools more powerful than sincere word-of-mouth recommendations, these types of customers are valuable assets.
But what’s the drawback?
Creating a powerful fan base requires an investment of additional resources on the part of a business owner. But when you consider the benefits, both short and long term, it’s an easy decision.
Below are four practical steps that you can take to create more raving fans of your business:
Ask your customers what they want. Customer surveys are a valuable tool—at the very least, make it a goal to send out a survey annually. You can do this via snail mail, email, or online (utilizing free platforms such as Survey Monkey). Ask them what they like about your business, what they’d like to see changed, and what (if anything) you could do to meet their needs even more effectively. This gives the customer the impression that you listen and care about their needs.
Never say “no.” Clients and customers will often make requests that are outside of the services you offer. Rather than turning them down, refer them to an individual or business that can meet their needs. This simple step will help you build a reputation as a business that always has a solution.
Manage expectations. Expectations play a significant role in establishing your customers’ perception of your business. Promising results in five days and not delivering until day 10 is a disappointment—while promising results in 15 days and delivering in 10 is exceptional. Managing the expectations you create ensures that you are always in a position to impress your customers and clients. As the saying goes, “it’s better to under promise and over deliver.”
Become their friend. Sometimes a customer just wants to be heard. Whether it was a problem with the product, service, or customer support, customers just want to know that a company understands their frustrations and will work diligently to fix it. You don’t have to be the perfect company. You just need to be a company that is empathetic to problems and are willing to fix it quickly for customers. This bond between the customers and the business will help ignite positive word-of-mouth recommendations for your business.
To learn more about the systems and tools that are available to turn your customers into raving fans, contact us today!
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