The One Aspect Every Small Business And Startup Should Focus On
Most successful businesses base themselves on the age-old business mantra, Customer is king. We all know how important customer service and subsequent customer satisfaction is. While this is easier to achieve for customer-facing businesses, it may not be so for businesses that operate online. You can try to bring in technology to automate customer service but let’s face it, you can never fully automate customer service. A personal touch in emails or messages is something that can never be replaced. As an early-stage startup or a small business, your initial set of customers is the most important to grow your brand. Let’s take a look at how customer service can be valuable for your business.
3 ways customer service can make or break your business
Customer service is a great tool for valuable feedback
Customer service is so much more than just that, especially for a cash-strapped young business. It’s a great channel to ask your customers for feedback when you don’t have the funds or resources to specifically allocate for customer feedback. This is especially important for any business that is just starting out as it offers a look into your business’s core product, it’s messaging and voice, and if they think the pricing is something they’re comfortable with. By personally communicating with your customers you learn about what customers like about your product or service and what they don’t. Using this information you can revisit your business’s core pillars, work on product development and improve any features that require attention.
Customer service offers a channel for customer retention too
As we mentioned earlier, holding onto the early-stage customers is crucial for any small business. At such a stage, it is often tougher to attract new customers than to retain current customers due to a lack of funds. So, all possible efforts should be made to retain these valuable customers and customer service offers just that. Follow up with them regularly, communicate with them and help them have a seamless experience to keep them satisfied and loyal to your brand.
Customer service is also way of marketing your brand
It is a great, inexpensive way to get your brand’s messaging and core values out there without spending much on marketing activities. Whether you choose to email or call your customers, a simple message about an upcoming offer or your latest product can be a very beneficial marketing strategy. Studies have shown that a satisfied customer on an average recommends a particular brand to at least two others.
In today’s age, when customers take to social media immediately to express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction about a brand, having an online presence and regularly updating it will go a long way in attracting new customers.
Remember, your business’s customer service needn’t be elaborate. The key is to keep it simple; you can even just assign each employee of your organisation to be responsible for their set of customers. An effective customer service would not just be about solving the customer’s problems, but also about creating an open ongoing conversation with these customers.
