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If you run a small business – or even if you’ve ever simply worked in retail or hospitality – chances are you’ve heard the saying that “the customer is always right”. This is a quote that was originally used by the owners of Macy’s and Selfridges – two of the biggest high-end department stores on the market. These two businesses have expanded, flourished and profited immensely over the years. So, it’s not all too surprising that you might want to follow in their footsteps and take whatever advice you can from them. Now, let’s take a moment to determine what is exactly meant by “the customer is always right” and what you can do to provide the best customer service you always can! This will help you to boost sales, increase profits and experience greater levels of success!
Why Is the Customer Always Right?
When it comes down to it, customers aren’t always going to be right. In fact, often, many are completely wrong. You’ll find that some customers have poor intentions and intend to complain simply for the sake of getting some kind of benefit in return – whether they’re actually happy with your products and services or not. But let’s not take the phrase “the customer is always right” so literally. When it comes down to it, the phrase is there to remind you that you need to do your utmost to meet a customer’s needs and keep them happy in order to finalize sales and generate a profit. This is where good quality customer service can come into play.
Providing Top-Quality Customer Service
Now, in a traditional brick and mortar store, customer service is face to face. Things are a little different when you operate solely online. At the same time, you still need to keep your customers happy. Here are a few ways to focus on online customer service.
Offer as Many Routes of Contact as Possible
Offer as many different ways for your customers to get in touch as possible. This will make sure all customers’ preferences are met. Have a contact page on your website. Have a phone number. Have an email address. Have social media profiles with messaging options turned on. The more options, the better!
Train Your Staff
If you have members of staff working for you, you need to make sure they’re fully trained in how you want them to reply to customer queries, complaints, or any other forms of communication you may have with your customers. Develop a tone of voice. Lay down strict guidelines. Teach them proper greetings, whether emojis are permitted, how to answer frequently asked questions and how to encourage sales without being too harsh or pushy. You should also show them how to deal with negative feedback and what to do when you get a negative review.
Request Feedback
There’s always room for improvement. Survey customers to find out which areas you can work on to do even better next time!
Sure, technically, the customer might always be right. But you need to do the best you can to keep them happy if you want a happy customer base who will purchase time and time again. Hopefully, the above advice will help you to achieve this!
