People think that entrepreneurship is easy.
You know the truth: Successful businesses don’t focus on creating and selling a product or service. They fix daily issues.
In business, needs must be met, expectations must be fulfilled. Each customer has his or her own standard for “excellent” service.
Meet your customers’ high standards when you deliver these three things they need right now.
1. Updates
Your customers want information, and they want it now. When you proactively provide them with the information they expect such as shipping status, delivery times, in-stock / out-of-stock notifications, and product recall information, they’ll feel like they’re in the know. You want your customers to feel knowledgeable and confident about this information—without it, they’ll call you with questions, or they’ll lose interest in what you have to offer.
Modern business technology can automate information sharing for you, so that your employees can focus on selling more, not tracking down details about completed sales. Look for business systems that offer real-time stock notifications and order updates so that your employees can answer questions fast.
2. Facts
Here’s a scenario for you: Your customer calls with a question. “Is the plug on this blender that you manufacture a three-prong, or a two-prong? Three-prongs aren’t selling well right now and I want to double-check before I place the order.”
Can you answer that question? More importantly, can your customer service rep across the world answer that question? Has your customer service rep ever seen one of your blenders in person?
Look for business technology that leaves nothing vague. You want a system that classifies your product information carefully and completely, so that your team can provide the facts your customers need. And for when your answers aren’t to their liking, make sure you offer them…
3. Options
Got a product that isn’t quite what your customer wants? How about you offer them a similar item that does meet their specifications? After all, your customers will simply be getting a similar item from your competitor anyhow—why can’t you save them some time and effort by doing a comparative search for them within your system?
With a business system that classifies products into their various descriptors and offers a universal search function across those descriptors, you can be sure that if you have a similar item, you’ll rarely give up a sale. Customers understand that your business isn’t perfect and that they won’t always find the right item on the first try. However, your customers will build a lasting appreciation for your business when you know about the range of options that may fit their needs.
The Bottom Line
Excellent customer service isn’t hard when you have necessary information at your fingertips. However, meeting your customers’ expectations gets very difficult, very fast, when you don’t have the right tools.
To deliver the best in customer service and satisfaction, we recommend Enterprise Management (formerly Sage X3) Version 7 because it offers real-time order updates, lengthy fields for item description, and universal search across products. To speak to a Enterprise Management expert and get your customer service to a new level of excellence, click the button below.
Image licensed by r2hox (flickr)