Opening a small start-up working from home can seem like an easy way to make money. But just like any other business, home-based businesses require a lot of planning if you want to succeed. One way to successfully grow a home-based business is by focusing on customer support. Researchers have found that 86% of U.S. adults are willing to spend more with a company that offers better customer experience. If you are unsure about what you can do to improve your customer support, read on, because in this blog post we’ve gathered a few useful tips for taking your customer support to a new level.
Treat Your Customers as You Would Like to Be Treated Yourself
Give every one of your clients a VIP treatment that you would like for yourself. Do everything in your power to help them out and solve their problems as soon as possible. Thank them for their contribution to your business by email, phone or in person if you ever get the chance to meet. Make sure your customers know how much you appreciate them.
Keep Your Integrity
Nobody wants to work with people who lack integrity. That’s why you should make sure to keep your promises to your business clients. If you promised to get back to them with a solution to their problem, then make sure to do that.
If you promised to let them know when their desired item is back in stock, make sure to keep that promise as well. Due to an increase in demand, many businesses forget to get back to their clients. But forgetting to get back to your clients can have a huge negative effect on your reputation as it will make you seem unreliable, which will entice your clients to find another supplier.
Use Chatbots
Chatbots are a new, rapidly growing trend in customer service. Research shows that 80% of businesses either use chatbots or plan to use them in the near future. Chatbots use artificial intelligence to find the answers to customer inquiries and answer them without help from your employees. Just add them to your website to keep the communication going at any time during the day and night.
Look After SEO & Social Media
Monitor social media for any mentions of your company and get in and reply first when anything is said. Use an SEO company in Dublin to make sure that reputation management is in place and that you own all the first page of Google’s results when someone searches for your company name.
Enable Live Chat on Your Website
Live chat is another great way to communicate with your customers in real time. Place a live chat window at the bottom of your front page, and assign one person to keep an eye on it at all times. You can even combine chatbots and live chat to save money and speed up your customer service process. Chatbots can reply to more simple questions, while complicated inquiries will be automatically transferred to a live chat agent.
Always Measure Customer Satisfaction
Continuous measuring of customer satisfaction will help you reduce the number of unsatisfied clients. Online surveys are a great way to find out how customers feel about your brand. You can add them to your website, or send them to your customers’ emails. The insight you get from your clients will help you discover which parts of your home-based business need adapting to better satisfy your clients’ needs.
Find Out What People Are Saying About Your Company
In today’s digital world, sharing your thoughts about a company has become easier than ever. Many people are more than willing to hop on the internet and leave a review. Social media profiles and sites such as Yelp are full of reviews and opinions about companies. And these reviews are the first thing most people read when they inquire about a company.
That’s why you should make sure to take some time and read everything people have said about you on the Internet. Google your company name online and visit forums where it is mentioned. Type your company’s name in different social media queries and see what pops up. Make sure to keep track of all negative reviews and customer complaints, and fix any shortcomings as they will help you improve client satisfaction and customer retention rates.
Adopt the Proactive Customer Service Method
Proactive customer service means that you should contact your clients before they contact you. You can send your clients regular payment reminders, or offer them loyalty and reward programs. By staying in touch with your clients on a regular basis you will improve brand loyalty and make your company a go-to company for whatever your clients need.
Poor customer support is the number one reason why clients leave a certain company and switch to a competitor. And home-based businesses are not an exception. If you really want to succeed, you have to rethink the way you treat your customers. Providing great customer support will make people feel like you really care about their needs, which will keep them constantly coming back to your business.
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