When you are operating a small business, it may seem hard to get customers, or, to even keep the existing ones remotely satisfied. It’s often a challenge not just for the large corporations but for the small ones as well. How do you really acquire and maintain good customers. What do customers really want?
I was plagued with this just on last week. I was trying to make a purchase through an online vendor that I have been doing business with now for over 9 years. I placed an order for the product and waited, and waited, and….waited. Nothing happened and I couldn’t get anyone in the Customer Service Department to help me or to even figure out where my order was. It seemed every time I talked with someone,I had to tell my story all over again from the beginning. It was starting to become annoying after about day #2. Wasn’t anyone taking notes and logging my complaints?
This little ordeal with my vendor taught me a little something about my own business. Customers really want what? They want service. Plain and simple. If you provide your customers with actual customer service from knowledgeable service reps, they will feel that their account is in solid and knowledgeable hands and they will actually prefer to do business with you.
The best way to run a customer away is to not know nor care about their account. Do everything you can to provide exceptional customer service and they will keep coming back for more of your products or services.
So what finally happened with my vendor and my product? Well, I did receive it about 8 days later. But i was so disgusted that I had already gone out and purchased another product, so I returned it. If customer service had been a little more “servic-ey”, I may have been compelled to do business with them.
Always provide excellent and genuine customer service.
