One of the biggest parts of running a business is learning how to please the customer. This in itself can take a long time to get right. In fact, many businesses become quite large before they perfect their customer service. However, the marketplace is becoming more and more competitive. What this means for the owner of a small business is that you can’t take any risks. Far and away the best way to ensure that your business remains competitive is to perfect the customer service side of things. The truth is, as long as you get this right, it is likely that your business can continue. But achieving this is much harder than it at first seems. First, you need to know what it is that customers really want. To help you out with that, we have put together this post on just that subject. Here is what your customer is really looking for.
A Good Price
You might feel that this first one goes without saying. However, it is important enough that it needs to be remembered at all times. Regardless of the service or the product you are providing, your customer will be looking for a good price. Competitiveness in pricing is easily the first thing that draws customers in. If you get it right, it is also what effectively keeps them there. To achieve this, make sure you keep an eye on the competition. It is always helpful to know what exactly you are up against. That way, you can alter your own prices based on the current marketplace trends.
Quick Service
Speed is very important to the majority of customers. Most of your customers probably lead fairly hectic lives, and it makes sense that they want to be done as quick as possible. With that in mind, try your best to make all customer interactions as quick as possible. So long as you don’t skimp on quality, that is. There are many ways to achieve this, and it depends on what form the interaction takes. When it comes to taking calls, consider using IVR Solutions to help speed things up. Interactive Voice Response enables your customers to get what they want without having to bother with long queues.
Reliability
Contrary to what many business owners think, the customer really does pay attention. If you promise one thing and deliver another, they are bound to notice. What’s more, there are few things worse for a business’ reputation than this. Always ensure that you are delivering to your customers what you promise to – or more. As long as your staff are under-promising and over-delivering, there is little that can go wrong in this area. All it takes, however, is one poor experience for the negative word of mouth to spread.
Quality
Finally, it should go without saying, but your customer deserves quality. No matter what the product or service you are offering is, you must ensure it is of good quality. There is a fine line to be drawn here between quality and pricing. If you manage to find the middle way, then your business is likely to do well.
