How to offer the best in customer service

Successful business owners understand the need to build their business on the best customer service. They make it a priority that every customer that shops with them feels like they have had the best experience possible. If a business owner is not making customer service a priority he or she is not only missing out on building their business but is overlooking a valuable marketing tool. Studies have shown that a majority of customers will return to purchase again from a store based solely on the service that they received. This is true even when the store does not offer the lowest price on the product that they are purchasing. This makes offering a high level of customer service critical for the long term success of your business. Here is what you need to know about how to offer the best in customer service-

- Train all employees to offer customer service-It is crucial that if you want to offer the best in customer service at your business that you train everyone who works for you to do the same. You will need to make sure that everyone in your business (not matter what their job description is), knows and understands that they must offer the best in customer service. Having a formalized training program will make sure that everyone knows what they should be doing in terms of customer service. When you have your staff understanding this priority the level of customer service in your business will go up dramatically.
- Make sure that every customer is greeted-Your customers want to know that you appreciate their business. The first thing that should happen is that every customer should be greeted. When your customers are greeted in a friendly and warm manner they are far more likely to want to stay in your store and shop. However, it is crucial that every greeting is sincere since your customers will instantly pick up if you are only pushing for sales.You also want to make sure that your customers are instantly greeted and not left waiting to get help. Keep in mind that if your customers have to wait to long they will simply leave and go to your competition.
- Have a problem resolution procedure in place-Nothing is more frustrating for customers then having to hear the words, "let me get a manager". If you want to improve the customer service in your business you will need to institute a procedure that will allow employees to deal with and resolve problems on their own. While many business managers don't think that this is possible it has been shown with training that you can put this into place and improve your customer service.
- Under promise and over deliver-Another glaring lack in customer service happens when promises are made and then not delivered on. You are far better to under promise to your customers and then over deliver. You want to make sure that you consider deadlines and timelines before committing to anything. When your customers are given what they want in a better time frame then they expected they will be fare more positive to your business then if you let them down.
- Obtain customer feedback and use it-Many business managers go to great lengths to get feedback from their customers. Then they simply catalog the information and put it in a file. This is just a waste of time, money, and effort. If you are able to get feedback from your customers make sure that you act on it and show them that their needs and wants are the top priority for your business.