Editor’s Note: Here at Dispatches, we are always looking for ways to help our readers do things. For some of our readers, that means helping navigate the working world, for others, it means assisting in the ever challenging question, “what’s for dinner?” For still others, it means figuring out how to balance family life with everything else. In an effort to aid in all of these endeavors, we have collaborated on this article written specifically for our readers.
Technology has always been an important part of the business world. Impressions matter in your business. You want to mak sure your business comes across as professional. When a customer finds your business online or sees your shop in the real world, they will be thinking about buying from or working with you.
Even if you have a brick and mortar location, make sure you have a digital presence as well. While you might be tempted to create your website on your own, you’ll have better luck hiring a professional web designer. This can make your site glitch and error free and look professional. A good website will help customers identify what your unique selling point (USP) is. Your USP separates you from everyone else. This could be anything from a key product to a short turnaround time. But you have to be ready to promote it and sell your company on that idea.
This is also a situation where the devil is in the details. It’s the little things that make your clients come back for more and value your service. For instance, you might be sending invoices to clients after completing a successful service. You can’t let these invoices look like you’ve just slapped them together on a Google doc. You can get the quality without the cost with help from Avaza or a similar company.
One of the main things you’ll have to watch out for are bad reviews. Now, it’s fair to say that most companies get at least some bad reviews. Studies indicate people are more likely to trust a four-star review than a five-star review. Statistically, you’re more likely to get a customer writing a negative review than a positive. Generally speaking, customers have no personal reason for praising a business but they do for taking one down. So, it’s not about whether or not you get bad reviews, but rather how you handle them. You need to respond to at least a few directly and aim to take the conversation offline. This will show that you care about what your customers think. Their opinion has an impact and you do need to take it on board. That’s crucial, but it’s not the only thing you’ll need to do. You will also need to offer a solution.
Be wary of trading good reviews for products or services. Most people will see through these quickly. But consider contacting some of the clients you know were satisfied and asking them to give a quick review.This may help mitigate an onslaught of bad reviews and give you time to address the underlying issues.
You’ll also find that customers get turned off by poor customer service. It is crucial that you have the best employees working in your company, no matter what business model you’re operating. If you’re working online they still need to love the level of service that they receive. You might even be using outsourcing services which is fine. But you have to be able to trust any businesses you’re using to give a fantastic quality service. Otherwise, it’s going to reflect badly on your company and ultimately damage your reputation.
The best thing you can do is teach your employees that the customer is always right. Then empower your team to help make things right without jumping through a million hoops.
Every interaction is an opportunity to earn a little loyalty from customers.
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