Smash your small business customer service: Tips to help you stand out

Marketing your business and getting customers to walk through the door is one thing. Getting them to stay is something else. For that, you have to concentrate on your small business customer service and offer everything from a dedicated small business phone line to automated reminders.

Once you start to intentionally improve your small business customer service, you may not have to invest heavily in marketing. Your current customers will do the job for you. They will talk about you favourably to their friends and family and even recommend you online. But to make it happen, you have to provide everything a customer wants, such as personalised service and a small business phone line.

6 best ways to beat your competition through quality customer service

1. Respect your existing customers

Acquiring customers is almost five times more expensive than retaining current customers. So, the focus should be to encourage your existing customers to buy more from you. One way to do that is by being always available through a small business phone line.

You should also offer customised incentives and offers to your repeat customers through loyalty programmes or coupons.

2. Be accountable

It’s your business and it’s your responsibility. If the customer raises a problem in person or online, handle it professionally. Apologise and promise to look into the matter. Don’t be defensive about your products or service.

Sometimes the problem could be due to a vendor or a courier service. Even then, you should take responsibility and get back to the customer with a solution.

3. Offer personalised services

Your customer isn’t merely a number on an Excel sheet or a name on a bill. They’re living, breathing human beings with their own aspirations. The way to appreciate that is by personalising your services.

Whether you run a salon or pest removal service, talk to your customer and understand their situation. This will help you customise your service.

4. Be available on different platforms

Today’s customers prefer omnichannel interactions. That’s a fancy way of saying that some could get in touch with you over email, some could call you on your small business phone line, some could connect with you on social media and some might just walk into your shop.

Be ready on all available platforms. Ensure that you use scheduling apps to be active on social media and monitor all the feedback.

5. Think from their point of view

Whether a customer contacts you on your small business phone line or walks in, the first step should be to understand their situation. Listen to them as they explain their needs. Don’t be pushy as that will discourage them.

Once you know their needs, suggest the solution that you think is best for them. If you don’t have it, be generous enough to recommend others.

6. Welcome feedback

It’s natural to feel confident about your product or service. But there can and will be circumstances when customers have a different view. As a small business owner or entrepreneur, you have to encourage them to give feedback.

Even if they don’t have any complaints, you can call them from your small business phone line or email them to ask about your product or service. This will show that you respect your customers.

Arm your small business with the best customer service solutions

Social media management

Among the best small business apps are tools to schedule, manage and monitor your social media activity. You can use Buffer to schedule your posts and Hootsuite to analyse your ROI.

These will help you interact better with your followers, find feedback and engage meaningfully.

Appointments

Why call up customers from your small business phone line to remind them of their appointments when you can use appointment reminder apps? These scheduler apps will increase your bookings and improve your small business customer service.

By using advanced messaging solutions, you can also find the balance between humans and tech and deliver humanised interactions to your customers.

A second-line app for work

One of the most common challenges that small business owners face is cluttered communication. To improve customer service, it’s time to switch to Chalkboard, a virtual number built for businesses.

With Chalkboard, you get a second line for work for your customers to reach you. And when you can’t take their calls, an auto-reply will send pre-written messages to tell them when they will hear from you. This way, your customers will always get a response.

Download Chalkboard today and try it. It’s a tool designed for businesses to deliver better small business customer service.