Why is Customer Service Important?

Define Customer Service and Understand How to Deliver Exceptional Service

Why is customer service important? Because unhappy customers will not buy from you. What is good customer service? To define customer service you need to understand how to deliver what customers want.

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Why is Customer Service Important?

Providing excellent, and memorable, client support is important. Without exceptional support, your clients will not return. And average or mediocre support won't keep your customers either; bad customer service will drive them away.

As a business owner or manager, you need to ensure that your business is focused on understanding "what is good customer service" and how to define customer service. With that understanding in place, you can work on building and maintaining high customer service, and high customer satisfaction levels.

Customer Service Tips

#1 Tip: Provide support to your customers that is aobut them, not about you (for example, not "we're too busy, we're short a person, Tom's on holidays, etc.").

#2 Tip: Always try to put yourself in your client's point of view.

#3 Tip: Listen to your customers. Build a strong customer service management program by actively listening to your customers.

Define Customer Service: What Kind of Support and Satisfaction Do You Deliver?

1. Do a grid on your best and worst customers – what they do right; what they do wrong; what they do on a repetitive basis.

2. Consider charging a premium for the most difficult customers – only if you can't help educate them to become your best customers; and only if you think they can't get a lower price for the same level of service.

3. Or consider providing an incentive (credit) to have them behave in a more acceptable way (in time, on time, as per layout, etc.).

4. Consider crediting a premium to the 'easiest' customers (that is, those clients who do it right the first time - provide the purchase order correctly, provide enough time to turn the order around, and more) – only for specifically designated efforts within their control.

5. Bill and then credit extras when you want to build stronger client relationships (this is the opposite of 'nickel and dime-ing' customers) – for example, you quoted a job at $36,000 and then discounted to $33,000 because you actually produced it more efficiently than planned.

6. Mark the credit as a special credit per you (your name). Track credits and discounts by each client (use a special tracking code/number). At the end of the year (or on a quarterly basis), review the total credits with your client - showing them how much you've saved them.

7. If you don't have a customer relationship management (CRM) software program, then learn to use your MS Outlook Calendar (or other online agenda program) for reminders, updates, etc.

What is Good Customer Service?

Good customer service is directly related to client satisfaction. If your client is not satisfied, you haven't provided good services. In fact, customer service analysis during the last decade says that you need to actually delight customers, not just satisfy them.

Just like product features and benefits can provide your business with a unique differentiation proposition, so can the delivery of exceptional client support. Make sure that you survey your customers on a regular basis to find out if they feel that your client support is exceptional and/or delightful.

Understanding Why is customer service important? is important to building strong client relationships, and growing your business. You need customers to operate your business, and if you have highly satisfied customers they will often refer more business to you.

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