Whatever type of business you have, good customer service is imperative to growing your business. The experience that your customers receive doing business with you is going to determine whether or not they will buy from you again or recommend you to someone else.
In this article, I am going to focus on product-based businesses and how they can improve their service and create an experience for their customers, that’s going to keep them coming back for more.
If you are a product-based business, have you ever asked yourself why your audience purchase from you rather than going to a high street store, supermarket, or shopping elsewhere online?
Let Your Customers Know What to Expect.
When a customer buys online from a small business, they need to be told what to expect before the transaction is made. As customers we are aware that it is very unlikely that we are going to receive next day delivery.
Usually, the seller has to make an order, wait for delivery, repackage order, send order out to customer. This process can typically take up to 2 weeks, and that’s fine if you make your customers aware of this time scale.
If it is more cost effective for you to make one larger order, let your customers know you place an order every Friday for example, so they are aware that they will have to wait longer if they don’t get their orders in on time.
If you do experience any delays, then let the customer know. The customer will be more understanding if they are kept informed on the situation of their order.
When I order from Avon, my Avon lady drops in a book, I have until a certain date to get my order in. Then I usually wait a week after this date for my order to arrive.
So, to recap if the customer knows the process, they will be happy.
Do what you promise to do.
Making promises to clients can cover a wide area, so make sure all rules are clear and easy to understand.
For instance, if you sell Avon and you tell people to leave their book outside on a Sunday morning, make sure you pick that book up on the Sunday morning.
People are trusting you, to do business with you and leave their details on their doorstep for you to pick up.
This happened to me recently where an Avon book was left for a whole week on my doorstep, until my husband threw it out. I felt like the person didn’t really care about me. Luckily, I didn’t make an order, or I would have been very disappointed.
If you run a promotion such as spend £xx today in my business and I will give you a free lip gloss, make sure you remember to pop in that lip gloss. Even though the customer hasn’t paid for the item they will feel cheated if the item doesn’t arrive, and this will affect their trust in you.
Be Consistent.
Set a standard and keep to it. For example, if you gift wrap your items in tissue paper and send out little thank you cards, this is what your customers will come to expect, even though they haven’t paid any extra for this service.
If the next time they order from you and their order isn’t packaged as well as last time, they may feel disappointed and unappreciated.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
Leave Contact Details.
Always send out your contact details with an order, this can simply be done with an up-to-date business card. This can be used for a number of reasons. If the customer wishes to make a complaint (it’s always best that they come to you first so that the problem can be resolved), to purchase from you again and so that they can leave you a review.
Only Send Out Quality Goods.
Unless otherwise stated, only send out undamaged, quality products. If you send out damaged, broken or leaking items then people won’t want to order from you again.
Attention to Detail.
Make each order personal. Pop in a thank you note, use good packaging that protects the products and also looks nice. Go the extra mile so that your customer wants to shop with you again.
This will also help you to build trust with your customer and they will feel that you actually care about their order.
Follow Up with Your Customers.
It is hard work finding new customers to buy from you all the time, so why not look after the ones you already have?
Don’t be afraid to follow up with existing customers. Send them a message to check if they have received their order. Send them a message a week later to see how they are getting on. Put it in your diary to message them a month or so later (around the time they are due to run out of the product) to see if they would like to reorder.
Emailing lists are a great way to keep in contact with customers. You could make recommendations, let them know when you have promotions and send them special offers.
In this article I have shared some ideas about how you can improve your customer service and retain your customers if you are a small product-based business.
It’s not just about finding people to sell to. Business is about nurturing those customers that you already have so they buy from you again and recommend you to other people.
Do what larger store struggle to do and make your customers feel special so that they don’t mind spending a little extra to shop with you or wait a little longer for their order to arrive.
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