6 Ways To Make Customers Happy
This is the age-old question that owners of any business have been trying to understand. The issue is that the demand is growing every single year. Every year there are young adults coming of age who start to shop for themselves, and they start to grow your business more and more. But then you have the crossover of generations that means one group are expecting one thing, and the other are expecting another. There are differences in style, taste, views and opinions, the list could go on.
This is the age-old question that owners of any business have been trying to understand. The issue is that the demand is growing every single year. Every year there are young adults coming of age who start to shop for themselves, and they start to grow your business more and more. But then you have the crossover of generations that means one group are expecting one thing, and the other are expecting another. There are differences in style, taste, views and opinions, the list could go on.
Diversity is what’s so great about the human race, and learning how to keep different groups of people happy to benefit your business is exciting. But it doesn’t make it easy to do. One of your biggest issues as a business is going to be your customers. Whether that’s because you’re not getting any, or because they’re complaining about your products, or your customer service. So, since customers are such a major part of your business, we’re going to show you six ways that you can keep them happy, or at least try to. Keep on reading to find out more.
The Basics Of Customer Service
The first thing that we feel we need to speak about is the ease of customer service and how much it can impact the way that people view your business.
How many times have you had an encounter with a business that just doesn’t sit right with you and completely ruins your view of that business? It happens all the time. All you need to do is speak to someone about something negative, whilst they’re already having a bad day, and you can have a bad encounter. This happens hundreds of times a day to businesses all over the world, and in that moment a customer is lost. So, we think it’s important to remember that perfect customer service has to be a 24/7 thing. Service always needs to be with a smile despite what they’re complaining about. If you follow the mantra that the customer is always right, you’ll always leave the situation knowing they think good of your company.
There are courses that you can take, even online, that will help you to understand what makes good customer service, and usually it involves bargaining and smiling. If you can apologise profusely with a smile and offer a bargain you’ll no doubt come out on top. Even if there is no complaint it’s just a general enquiry, try and be as chirpy and upbeat as you can. It really does reflect well on your business!
We also know that if you have employees it can be hard to manage how they are. You can instil your beliefs on customer service to them but you can’t control how they are. The only thing you can do is offer ongoing training, follow up on any complaints regarding an employee, and try and create positive staff members.
Everyone Loves A Discount
If there’s a quick way to someone’s heart, it’s giving something out of your own pocket. The same goes in your personal life, we know how nice it is to see someone’s face light up as you give them a gift.
When it comes to business the idea is not far off. Every customer is looking for a bargain, even if they didn’t realize it. You have those customers who really search for a bargain, and then you have the ones that are happily surprised when they find the item that they wanted is discounted. So, why not think about giving out different discounts to returning customers. This is one of the best ways to retain customers. If they know they’re going to get money off their next purchase when they come to your website, they’re obviously going to come again.
You could also offer discounts for customers who have an account with your business. It could be a simple 10% off which will make not much of a difference to your overall profit, but a big difference to the way that your customers view your business.
You should also think about giving out discounts to those customers that come to you with complaints. It’s one of the best ways to get back in their good books and to diffuse a stressful situation. You can almost see the anger leave their expression if you offer something discounted or even for free.
An Easy To Use Website
Everyone uses the internet to shop at the minute. It’s just one of the easiest ways to do so. Whether you’re shopping for information, products, or services, the first thing that you do is pick up your phone and Google it, or open up your laptop.
Whatever you Google will then take you to a website and you can always tell the difference between a high functioning and professional website compared to a basic one. So, you need to think about all of the ways you can make your website more professional and easier to use for those times when customers are Googling your business.
The first thing people are going to notice is the aesthetics. You want it to be simple and not overpowering with color, and easy to navigate. There needs to be a clear navigation bar with clear categories. Sometimes all you need to do is go back through your website, page by page, and you’ll notice all of the flaws that your customers might see. You could also think about having an online chat service installed. It’s a customers dream to enter a website and see that there’s a chat symbol with instant access to someone to talk to.
Click4assistance chat software for business use is just one of the pieces of software that you could consider using. You need to make sure that if you are using an online chat software that it’s professional and that it works well. Finally, the order process needs to be smooth and simple. Always give customers the chance to log in to an account where their details are saved, or to continue as a guest. Try and make it as simplistic and professional as possible. Working alongside a web developer can help you to achieve this.
Returns & Replacements
This is no doubt going to be something you’ve dealt with already, and it can be a nightmare, especially if the customer wants a replacement rather than a refund.
One of the first things you need to do is make sure you have a robust tracking system. You need to know what products have left the warehouse and what has come back in. There are businesses you can work with that will design the perfect system for you, so don’t panic. Always make sure that you’re respecting customers when they’re returning an item that’s wrong due to your fault. It might be, for example, an item of clothing with a hole in it. In this instance you should always accept the return and offer a refund as well as a replacement item. The more of a reputation you build for delivering excellent customer service when something does go wrong, the better.
If you’re selling services you need to make sure that you’ve got a system in place that allows customers to have free changes if it’s not up to their standards or a complete refund if they’re not happy. If their complaints are out of line this is where you can offer one free change as a courtesy, but must be prepared to outline why you’ve delivered what they asked for, therefore the issue is not your fault.
Giving Something Back To The World
People love a business that’s giving back to the world. You need to have a business that people respect in more ways than one, and one of the easiest ways to do so is if you’re supporting a charity, or perhaps planting trees, or helping a wildlife conservation.
There’s not more that needs to be said on this one. If you can give back to your local community or back to the world you will notice such a difference in the way that the public sees your business. Plus, you don’t have to spend much of your own money doing it!
Being Better Than The Last
You always need to make sure that you’re being better than the last business that they used. To do so, it’s important to do a bit of research into the brands you’re competing against. Use their website, order their products or services, and see how they operate. You will soon learn the techniques that they have in place that might be better or worse than the ones you’re using now.
You should be looking at everything from the prices they’re using to the customer service they offer. The more you can offer that your competitors can’t, the more customers you’re going to be able to retain. Just make sure that in the process of doing so you don’t become a business that’s copying everyone else around it. You need to make sure that you stay unique.