Whether your small business is well established or in startup mode, one of the biggest challenges faced by many business owners is keeping customers as the top priority. This can be a real struggle with so many aspects of business ownership placing demands on your time and attention. However, the quality of your customer experience is arguably the most important aspect of your entire operation.
Here are five powerful ways to help you stay focused on priority number one—creating and maintaining an optimal experience for your small business customers.
1. Find the right frequency of communication
Is there anything more annoying than signing up for an online service, only to be bombarded with email? Don’t make the mistake of assuming your customers want to hear from you constantly. Overwhelming them with email or Tweets is the quickest way to turn off your customers and lose subscribers.
The opposite side of the coin, of course, is that you don’t want to ignore your customers either. Each business is different, but in general, follow the “less is more” principal. A good communication frequency is once or twice per month, and a newsletter is a smart, simple solution. It gives you an opportunity to summarize what’s new and exciting at your company and highlight the benefits of your service for your customers. Be sure to include a link to a more detailed article or blog post for each story. This keeps each communication relevant and newsworthy, helping readers to stay interested in your business.
2. Know what your customers want
Do you really know, with precision and confidence, exactly what your customers want? If you’re like most business owners, you realize the importance of listening closely and carefully to what your customers are telling you. But have you baked the ongoing gathering of input into your processes? If not, it’s time to start. Use SurveyMonkey or another simple survey tool to conduct regular emailed surveys of your customers. And, set up a virtual focus group. Get a group of 5 of your customers to agree to a one-hour monthly call to provide feedback. If you want to give participants a discount or some other perk for being part of the group, that’s fine. But, you may be surprised to find that many of your customers would be willing to provide input without any incentive, other than helping you provide a better service to them.
So don’t assume you already know what customers are thinking or feeling. Interact with them as much as you can. Listen attentively and be sure to take action based on their input.
3. Make it easy to do business with you
Revisit your own experiences with a physician, accountant, dentist or other service provider. Did you have to spend 30 minutes filling out paperwork even before seeing anyone? Was your appointment time kept, or were you delayed due to overbooking or some other problem? What about booking your appointment? Was it a simple process or a bit painful? All of these customer contact points, if not made smooth and easy, can become sources of friction that reflect poorly on the customer experience at your business. Whether you offer a product or service, run a retail operation or online store, make it easy for people to do business with you. This is a key factor in ensuring customer satisfaction even before the service is provided.
4. Make each customer feel special
No matter how many customers you have, each and every one of them want to feel valued. After all, they’re spending time and money with your business, so the quality of their experience really counts. Do you see your customers in person? If so, greet them warmly, make eye contact and reach out to them with a handshake. Remember their names—and use them—the next time you see your customers. Each customer is more than a source of sales revenue. They are unique and special, and smart business owners know that lasting businesses are built on making and maintaining good relationships.
5. Turn goodbye into another hello
Rushing a customer out the door is good way to ensure they’ll never come through your door again. When an appointment has concluded, use the moment as an opportunity to gain feedback and build rapport. Don’t rush the goodbye. Talk with your customer, ensure they had a good experience, and tell them you look forward to seeing them again. When you’re genuinely interested in your customers, they’ll know it and they’ll appreciate it.
Whatever you make, market, solve or sell, it’s your customers that keep you in business. That’s why it’s so important to give them a good experience. So, use these 5 tips to ensure you are keeping customers as priority number one – because they are.
Written by Bob La Loggia
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