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What’s the secret to holding on to your customers?

Exceptional customer service.

Check out some of these stats from an American Express survey:

  • 78% of customers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience
  • Seven in ten Americans said they were willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service
  • 80% of Americans agree that smaller companies place a greater emphasis on customer service than large businesses
  • Americans tell an average of nine people about good experiences, and tell about sixteen people about poor experiences

Think about some of these. That many people have bailed on a transaction because of poor customer service? These are the people who are so close… The people who are almost there… The people with the item in their hand…

And that item goes back on the shelf (or they abandon your website) when they can’t find someone to answer their question or make a recommendation.

What do those people who receive bad service and bail on their transaction do?

According to these numbers, they aren’t being quiet about it about their bad experiences. This is where social media and good old-fashioned word of mouth come in.

You can’t silence someone, but you can keep them from having something to complain about in the first place… Namely by providing the best customer service you can.

According to the Pew Research Center, 58% of Americans perform online research about products or services they are considering purchasing.

You don’t want someone looking at your Yelp page or your Google reviews and seeing nothing but the negative. When that’s what people see, they sure won’t patronize your business.

On the flip side of that, though, a bad review can help you see where you need to improve, just as a positive review can help you see where you’re succeeding. And while no one wants to see a so-so review, one or two among a sea of positive reviews will actually help you.

Why? It lends credence to all the reviews…

Fifteen five-star and gushing reviews will seem fake or coerced. A few three-star reviews thrown in will make you seem real, and make all the rest of the reviews seem truthful – not just from your mom and your best friend.

That’s all well and good for your brick-and-mortar business, but what about an online storefront or the web presence of your business?

According to Forester Research, 41% of consumers expect an email response within six hours. The number of retailers who respond that quickly? Only 36%.

I know, I know… You’re busy and don’t have time to mess with emails as they come in. You get to them when you get to them, right?

Wrong.

Answer questions in a speedy manner, but more importantly, make sure you give a complete and accurate answer.

Consider this: Benchmark Portal Analysts pretended to be prospective buyers and sent emails asking questions about products and services through forms or email addresses provided on websites.

What did they find?

83% of small and medium-sized businesses responded with inaccurate or incomplete answers.

When you answer an email from a customer or prospective customer, remember a few things: answer in a timely manner, and be sure to personalize the response so it’s evident you took the time to listen. Make your response as thorough as possible.

Eliminate the need for the customer to write several more emails.

Get all of the questions answered, answer any questions that may pop up, and by all means, give the correct answer!

While there’s no doubt that online customer service is important, it may be hard to get things up and running if you aren’t tech savvy – or are too busy with face-to-face customer service.

Fortunately, there are a few online tools that can help you out. For example, SnapEngage can help you do things like customize your chat windows when offering online services. The service also works across all of your Internet properties, and can allow people on your site to leave you messages if someone’s not around to live chat with a customer. You can also download software that allows you to chat with customers from anywhere – not just when you’re tucked away in an office.

Another valuable customer service tool is ZenDesk, which can help you gather data to find out exactly who your customers are, and what they need – as well as a way for customers to find answers on their own to minimize their frustration. What’s more, the site also features a system that allows customers to ask questions, and you can deal with them from any platform – email, web, social media, or chat.

Perhaps you’ve heard stories about amazing customer service from large corporations, but your efforts don’t have to be elaborate, costly, or even time-consuming.

Consider this: a customer posted a handwritten thank you card on Reddit that he received from an auto shop in Ohio, and was raving about the level of customer service. Basically, the card just said thank you, we appreciate your business, we’re hope you are satisfied, call us if you need us.

That’s it.

It probably took the business owner just a few minutes to jot out and send. The image of the card went viral and the comments poured in, including one that said “If I got this card, I would never use another mechanic in my life.”

Scribeless is a great service for the busy entrepreneur who wants to send out handwritten cards…

Or how about the woman who was worried her 89-year-old father, who was snowed in in Pennsylvania, wouldn’t be able to have any food? She called numerous stores, but no one would deliver. She then called Trader Joe’s, who said that, while they don’t normally deliver, they would in this case – they fulfilled her order and charged her nothing.

Those examples aren’t over the top, and they aren’t hard to do…

While you probably can’t afford to deliver a free product to everyone every time it snows, handwriting a thank you note to every customer is simple and effective. Just taking a few minutes after dinner each night to write the notes, and then mail them on the way in to your business each morning, will make a good impression with precisely the people you want to have a strong opinion of you – your customers.

And remember, that easy thing can spread positive word of mouth – and you can’t put a price on that.

In your corner,

Charlie

what now?

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