Technology is giving the customer power! The power to share their opinions with the wider public and discourage potential customers from using your services. It only takes a few minutes for them to post a review and ruin your credibility! So how do you shift the power balance? Customer service.
Using customer service correctly will help you form relationships with your customers and make them feel ‘valued’.
So if they do have a complaint to bring up with you. They are more likely to come to you first, listening to your side of the story /your advice and providing you with a chance to solve their issue, rather than heading straight to your social media page to post a terrible review.
For example, if a customer feels like the price was too high for the work completed, they’ll come to you and give you the chance to explain why you need to charge as much as you did.
The customer, in this instance, believed they were right, but gave you the chance to prove otherwise. The power is now in your hands.
Making them feel valued and forming a relationship from the get-go is simple. It’s all about communication and satisfaction.
1. Communication is key
It’s true. From the moment the customer calls you to book in a job, you need to be focusing on what they are saying at every point of contact.
When they are talking to you, listen.
2. It’s the little things that count
This point branches off our first. In your act of listening to the customer, take note of personal details they let slip.
For example, if you are arranging a time to inspect the issue at your customer’s house and they say, “Sorry I can’t do Wednesday, it’s my birthday”. Instead of brushing it off, note it down in your job system (so you remember for next year). Turn up to the job with a small cupcake or token that shows you listened.
Or, if you mainly deal with real estate agents or strata companies, pop in every now and then (not just on the holidays) with a packet of Tim Tams or a box of chocolates.
It’s the little things that makes customers feel valued!
3. Create a culture of customer service
Creating this culture relies on the training and processes your employees undergo. There is, however, two sides to this. On one hand, you want your employees to be enthusiastic and committed to customer service to help you make your customers feel valued. On the other, if a customer does complain, your employees are first in the firing line.
Your instant reaction to this may be to blame your employee, somewhere down the line, they have failed in providing the best customer service possible. Doing this actually puts the power back into your customer’s hands. You are showing that you value customers more than your employees and potentially causing them to feel deflated and lose trust in your loyalty to them.
Long story short, ensure your employees understand the importance of great customer service. Don’t let that one customer complaint (versus many happy ones) ruin your relationship with your employees. So the question still stands: is the customer always right? Or do they just feel they’re right?
Implementing these things in your customer service processes will enforce the feeling of being ‘valued’ by you and your business in your customers.
The more positive emotions they feel towards your business, the less likely they are to take to complain publicly before coming to you first, and the more power to you!
What’s next?
- Join our Kick-Ass Tradies Facebook Group, for access to trade business specific conversations, tips and resources, plus a like-minded community of tradies.
- Book a 15-minute Game Plan Call with Andy, owner of Dr. DRiP plumbing and co-founder of Lifestyle Tradie, to clarify your priorities and get clear action steps.
