In the relationship that you have with your customers, you are looking to achieve many things. Arguably the main thing that you are looking for, however, is for the customer to be on your side. In other words, you want to get to the point where your customer is actually going to be happy to be your customer, and feels as though the business and they are working together, rather than working separately. We all have experiences of the latter: when a customer service team makes you feel as though you are a nuisance for asking a question, or when it is a hassle to get a basic refund. Your goal in business should be to get the customer on your side – and that happens as a result of treating them right. So what are some of the main things that you might want to focus on in that respect?
Be Polite & Professional
No matter what might be happening, whether you are arguing with your customer about a dispute or whatever else, you need to maintain a polite and professional set of behaviours at all times. This is the absolute basic of customer service, and it is something that you might find requires a lot of patience in order to make it a reality. But it is worth it, for when you are polite and professional, it has a way of encouraging your customer to come around to your way of thinking. That is absolutely helpful when you are trying to get your way, although of course you should mostly be trying to help your customer get their way. In any case, being polite is something that all people appreciate, and which you should absolutely make a point of working on if you are keen to keep your customer happy.
Keep Prices Down
It’s no great surprise to learn that customers might care somewhat about pricing. We all want to be able to afford the products and services that we are looking out for, and this is something which you will want to encourage and make sure of for your own customers. It’s important to do whatever you can in-house to try and pass on these savings to your customers. They really do appreciate it, and it is one of the surest ways to get the customer on your side in that way. Remember too that the price of the product or service itself is not the only thing that matters here for your customers. You can also work hard to reduce the price of anything that goes along with it, such as packaging and delivery. There are actually many ways in which you might be able to do this, such as the services offered by the likes of epackets.com or simply reducing the amount of packaging there is in the first place. All of this is going to mean your customer is better off, which is absolutely something they will be grateful for.
Act Ethically
These days, it really matters a lot to people that the businesses and services they are using are acting in as ethical a manner as possible. It shows that you care, and that is something that encourages customers to want to use your services all the more. So you should aim to do whatever you can in order to ensure that you are acting ethically. That could mean working to be more environmentally sound in your practices, or it could be a simple case of trying to partner up only with the right businesses and people. The more that you show you care about ethics before profit, the more likely it is that people will respect your business, and so be more likely to come around to your way of thinking. Clearly, this is something you should aim to do anyway, regardless of what people will think. Be principled, however, and the irony is that people will respond very well indeed.
Always Listen
The mere act of listening to your customers is a very important one. As long as you are doing whatever you can to know what they think, you will find that you are going to be able to keep them happy, if only because you know what it is that they are actually looking for. This is a customer-led way of doing business which is really powerful indeed, and it’s something to champion as best as you can. By always listening to your customers, you can be sure that they are going to be on your side in the future.
