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By Marissa Perez
If you’ve been looking to start your own business but are worried about how to handle customer service, you aren’t alone. Customer service is a delicate balance for most businesses, and since customers are the core of your success, it’s crucial to make sure they are happy and will keep coming back.
Whether you’re a restauranteur or the owner of a small retail store, you want to implement updates and small changes to your business model that will keep everything fresh for your clients.
Having the ability to provide stellar customer service will allow you to maintain and grow your business for years to come, but how do you get started?
Ease their experience
One of the best ways to begin is by making sure your customers have no worries. Making their experience with your business as easy as possible will help to ensure that they keep returning. Think about your website, payment methods and shipping methods to start. When your customer is busy, they don’t want to have to wait, meaning everything they do in regards to your company needs to be streamlined.
Consider your web presence
As Entrepreneur explains, every business needs to have a web presence that makes their products or services easy to find and use. Whether you’re a small startup or a large company with lots of resources, it pays to make sure you have a website and social media accounts that are active every day.
If you haven’t yet built out a website, research web hosting service options first. For example, a web hosting service allows you to build your own site or online store, learn about SEO, and get assistance with social media marketing so your customers can find and interact with you on the go.
Incorporate different payment methods
The way your customers check out and pay for your goods or services is crucial for both of you. When they’re busy and don’t have much time, it can be frustrating to deal with a payment platform that lags or doesn’t meet their needs. By offering different payment methods–both in-person and online–you’ll help to streamline the entire process. Think about using a mobile payment platform to accept payments at conventions or other events outside of your store.
Anticipate their needs
When your customers have full schedules, it’s hard for them to get everything done on their to-do list, and that’s where you come in. Aveus asserts that by anticipating their needs as much as possible, you’ll show your clients that you have their best interests in mind. You can do this by offering a recurring shipment of items they order a lot of, or by simply sending an email reminder to help them keep track of their orders and favorites.
Offer many ways to shop
It’s not always easy for busy people to shop or take care of certain tasks during normal business hours, so by offering them many ways to shop, you’ll be opening up your company to them when it’s convenient. Think about expanding your store hours, adding an online shop to your website, creating an app for mobile business, and utilizing social media to help your clients stay in touch with you. By personalizing their experience, you’ll keep them coming back.
When you’re trying to grow your company, making sure that your customers are happy and expanding your customer base are your top two priorities. But spending all of your time focused on growth can distract you from other crucial tasks, like finding ways to improve your own skills.
If you’d like to learn more about leadership, marketing, communication, and managing people, consider enrolling in an MBA program. Online programs make it possible for you to complete the work on your own time so you can still dedicate yourself to running your business.
In addition, you’ll need to establish cybersecurity protocols for your company. This will keep your personal and financial data secure, as well as your customers’ data. You don’t have to be a tech whiz – you can talk to an IT professional if you have questions.
Customer service is one of the most important parts of your business, so it’s imperative to make sure you’re doing all you can to make life easier for the people who keep you going. With a few small changes and updates, you can help your clients stay happy no matter what’s going on in their lives.
