Customer Service For the New Business Owner

You finally took the plunge and started your new business and no doubt have already realized it is your customers who will determine your success or failure since you seem to spend every waking moment thinking of ways to bring them in. Keeping customers happy and coming back is your number one priority and is absolutely essential to the long-term success of the business. The best way to do this is with outstanding customer service and to get you started, here are some of the best customer service ideas you can use to keep those hard-won customers happy and coming back.

* Respect - Treat everyone with respect. If someone were even considering buying from you, why would you not treat him or her with respect? Customers can spend their money anywhere and if they feel mistreated it will certainly be the last time you hear from them.

* Honesty - Along with respect for your customer comes honesty. Be honest in everything you say or do. This means never promising what you cannot deliver. For example, if you are a contractor and promise someone you will arrive at 9:00 the next morning, make certain you are there when you promised. If you know you cannot make it at that time, why would you ever say you could?

* Over Deliver - Go beyond what you promise. Offer a no hassle - no questions asked policy and mean it. Find ways to offer something for free. For example, if you sell watches, offer free batteries for life. You will not only gain a happy customer, you will be happy too since they will probably buy something else every time they come in for their free battery. Try to come up with ways to offer more than your customer expects such as coupons, free gifts, and faster service.

* Educate - An informed and educated customer is a loyal customer. If you take the time to teach your customers how to properly use whatever it is you sell, you will go a long way towards making yourself indispensable and an expert in the eyes of your customers.

* Complaints - You have surely heard the saying the customer is always right but do you really believe it? You will never "win" an argument with a customer, they will just take their business elsewhere and you will ultimately be on the losing end. The good news here is if handled properly, a complaint can turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal customer for life.