Originally posted on https://www.exponentialprograms.com/professional/blog/how-to-improve-your-customer-service-overnight/

If you would like to improve your reputation, sending out the right messages is not enough. You will also have to deliver on your promises and keep your customers happy. If your current customer service is lacking traction, and you are losing clients constantly, you have a job to do. It is always easier and cheaper to keep an existing customer than to go out there and find a new one. Below you will find a few areas you should focus on if you would like to improve your customer service.

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Engagement

One of the things most business owners miss is engagement. You are too busy marketing, and fail to create meaningful relationships between your brand and your market. In case you are new to the business world, you might need to go out there networking and find people who might help you find the right clients or improve your service. Getting the word out and creating personal relationships might get you more exposure in your local area and help you increase your reputation, too.

Consistent Messages

When you start a business, chances are that you are not completely clear what you stand for and what your values are. Without this, however, you cannot build a successful brand. You need to find your unique selling proposition, especially if you are operating in a highly competitive market. That is why every platform you are present on should have the same brand image featured. You can look for marketing packages for small business owners that will help you manage your brand and create consistent messages on social media, your blog, and other platforms.

Phone Systems

It is also important that you communicate with your customers effectively. If you don’t have a dedicated line for new clients or calling out, following up with leads, it might be time to get one installed. Even if it is just a redirected number, you and your employees will know exactly how to answer the call. If you do a lot of follow ups and customer updates, you can create an auto dialer that will help you schedule callbacks and even take notes or record the conversation.

Implement a CRM

If you want to manage your clients better, you will need a customer relationship management system. It doesn’t have to be too complicated; simple diaries, tasks, profiles, and reminders for each employee will do. If you are engaged in marketing campaigns, you will also have to ensure that your CRM system works well with your autoresponder, your social media management platform, and your client account software, so you don’t have to record the same information more than once.

Newsletters

If you want to be remembered by your customers, you might want to get their permission to stay in touch. Creating a newsletter will help you make the most out of your business, and get your brand out there, in front of your prospects’ or your clients’ eyes. This will improve your overall conversion rates, save you time and money on your marketing campaigns, and help you create a personal relationship with your customers.

Creating Customer Profiles

It is important that you get to know your customers. Not only their background, but also their needs, their wants, their preferences, their most important problems, and their values. You might want to create customer profiles for each client and regularly update them, so you can talk to them as if you knew them in person, even if you never met. Take notes of consultation sessions, so you can mention the things you talked about last time, and show that you care.

Customer Surveys

To monitor your reputation and ensure that you are delivering the best service possible to your customers, you will need to get regular feedback. You can now create a survey on Google or SurveyMonkey for free, and get people to give you an honest feedback. You have to find new ways to improve your service and offers if you want to maintain your competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Website Self Service

Many business owners think that they create a website for the search engines. While your SEO is important, you will also have to keep the needs of your audience in mind. Make sure that you are able to accommodate your visitors’ needs. You can implement eCommerce features, so your clients can place their order themselves, and don’t have to call your office. You will also need to look at the search and browse features, and maybe include a Q and A page, which will answer some of the questions visitors need answering before they would hit the “buy” button.

Online Chat

If there is one rule to creating a great website, it might be that it has to answer the question people have when they land on it. If you don’t want to look like you are just a brand hiding behind a site, you can add an online chat feature to your site that will allow you to ask questions before you engage with people. You have to qualify your leads, and a social media chat plugin will help you build a list and eliminate time wasters, as well. You can get to know about the needs of the person visiting your site, and adjust your offers accordingly.

Dedicated Account Managers

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If you don’t want your clients to be passed from pillar to post when they call or send a support ticket, you will need to appoint dedicated account managers to each customer. This person can be the first point of contact for them, and answer all the questions they might have. As they deal with the client personally, they will have a better chance of creating a deeper relationship and trust.

If you want to stand out for your customer service, you will need to ask your market how well you are doing. Take into consideration your potential clients’ needs as well as SEO rules when creating your site, and provide a personal service, tailored to individual customer needs.