{"id":22748,"date":"2020-10-29T14:18:58","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T14:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/?p=22748"},"modified":"2020-10-29T14:22:32","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T14:22:32","slug":"how-to-provide-outstanding-customer-service-as-a-first-time-business-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/how-to-provide-outstanding-customer-service-as-a-first-time-business-owner\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Provide Outstanding Customer Service as a First-Time Business Owner"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Open\n

Customer obsession as a guiding principle can help make the difference between a business that gathers momentum and one that spins its wheels.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s something that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos<\/a> puts at the top of his list of founding principles \u2013 and other successful businesses have emulated his approach.<\/p>\n

So exactly how can a new business cater to customers, and thereby secure their loyalty in the long run? Let\u2019s take a look at some fundamentals.<\/p>\n

Be Prompt<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you keep your customers waiting, they\u2019ll begin to get impatient. Especially if they have a time-sensitive issue or a complain that needs to be resolved. This means investing in staff who\u2019ll be able to answer emails and phones \u2013 and ultimately even relying on artificial intelligence to take up a little bit of the slack.<\/p>\n

Be Positive<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dealing with customers can sometimes be quite challenging. You don\u2019t need to fake a smile if you can remind yourself regularly of why you\u2019re making the effort. On top of this, it\u2019s worth taking communication seriously as a skill. Your customer-facing staff should have the charm necessary to smooth over awkward confrontations \u2013 and to solve problems!<\/p>\n

Know your product<\/strong><\/p>\n

Knowing your product will equip you to make sales, and to address questions and complaints that arise. Be aware that your customers might pose questions from an informed perspective. If you\u2019re selling hairdressing scissors<\/a> for example, then be prepared to contend with some hairdressing questions.<\/p>\n

Deliver on Promises<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing more frustrating than a company that promises big and fails to deliver. Make sure that you don\u2019t make idle promises, and that you can make good on those you do make!<\/p>\n

Understand your Customers<\/strong><\/p>\n

The more complete your understanding of what your customers need and want, the better you\u2019ll be able to cater to those needs and wants. This might be as simple as remembering your customer\u2019s name; it might be as complex as personalising your service to meet their particular needs.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t make the same mistake twice<\/strong><\/p>\n

When a customer complains about something, they\u2019re granting you an opportunity to learn, improve, and optimise. If different customers regularly complain about the same thing, that\u2019s a sign that your business is not learning from its mistakes. This is a principle that goes beyond customer service \u2013 but it\u2019s in customer service that a failure to learn can be most obvious and embarrassing.<\/p>\n

Go beyond the call of duty<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth going out of your way to cater to the needs of a particular customer. You can justify this on pure business grounds \u2013 customers who\u2019ve had a positive experience might tell their friends, who in turn might tell their friends. The further out of your way you\u2019ve gone, the likelier it will be that your act of generosity will gain traction on social media<\/a>. Make going the extra mile a part of your company\u2019s culture, and your reputation is certain to soar!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Customer obsession as a guiding principle can help make the difference between a business that gathers momentum and one that spins its wheels. It\u2019s something that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos puts at the top of his list of founding principles \u2013 and other successful businesses have emulated his approach. So exactly how can a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[56],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22748"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22748"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22751,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22748\/revisions\/22751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}