Customer Service
Keep Customers Close
Here are eight rules to help you hold on to your key
customers:
1. Know your customers. Find out not only about their
product needs but also about them personally. Keep records on this information
to turn your customers into friends.
2. Contact customers regularly, even if it’s just
to say “Hello.” Such calls build a firmer relationship. Hey
are particularly worthwhile if there has been a problem in a product delivery.
A call to verify that all has been remedied is well regarded and can reassure
anxious customers that the problem won’t be repeated.
3. Handle complaints quickly. No matter who or what
was the cause, address it immediately. If you don’t, the problem
will magnify in the customer’s mind to the point where he or she
may consider changing suppliers.
4. Prove that you’re dependable. If you promise
delivery, be sure that it is a realistic date. If you promise to call
back with an update on an order, do that. In other words, if you make
a promise, keep it.
5. Serve, serve, serve. For instance, if your customer
is dependent on you to do business, then you may want to institute a 24/7
means to stay in touch with the customer in an emergency.
6. Show your appreciation. Let customers know that you
appreciate their business. It may be enough to say, “Thank you”
after you take an order and before you hang up.
7. Be timely with follow-up calls. Leave a voice mail,
send an e-mail, or write a note and fax it.
8. Think before speaking. In today’s tougher times,
for instance, don’t press for a bigger order if you know that your
customer is having a tough time. Sensitivity now will pay off when his
or her business becomes robust.
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