The statement, “The Customer is Always Right,” might be hard to grasp for those new to customer service. This statement does not necessarily mean the customer will be right about everything, but the business is to accommodate the customer to the highest level. Yes, customers can be wrong, but in the context of business, you must make it appear that they are correct and find a way to accommodate them as much as possible.
Any business is built on the backs of happy customers, and consumer satisfaction is among the biggest marketing tools you can have for your SMB. A satisfied customer will tell, on average, 3 people about a great experience that is great for your business. However, on the flip side of this statistic, dissatisfied customer will relay their message to an average of 10 people. One dissatisfied customer has the potential to affect your bottom line much faster than those who had a positive experience. Customer satisfaction can be a great marketing tool.
Reviews of Your SMB
These days, online reviews are how most customers vet a company to see if they want to utilize their products or services. Think about it. When you see a new company in town or want to find information about a particular business you have never visited, you first look for online reviews. Your customers do the same thing, so a bad review of your SMB can put a black spot on the business. Even for a business that strives for ultimate customer service, bad reviews can happen.
A great way to combat a bad review is not to bash the person online as some companies do but to reach out to those customers and find out what they liked and disliked about their experience. Many times, you will find that an irate customer is merely angry with one small factor that is easily fixed. Although trolls online go on sites and post bad reviews, most negative reviews can be easily alleviated with a positive response. Customers seeing the interaction with negative reviews will better appreciate your business trying to make amends. Sometimes in business, we have to swallow our pride and make the customer happy for the greater good of the SMB.
Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Customer satisfaction surveys have become a key way to track customers and honestly think about the company. Large corporations utilize these surveys on their receipts, but they are not merely limited to large companies. SMBs can use customer surveys to help determine where flaws in their business are and how to fix them. The benchmark question for any business using customer satisfaction surveys is, “How Satisfied Are You with Your Service?” This question helps determine how likely the customer is to return and offers key insight into how the customer perceives your business.
When you craft your customer satisfaction survey, ensure that you provide a way for the customer not to merely say they are dissatisfied but a means to communicate why. Follow-up questions about why a customer is dissatisfied will help you see flaws and improvements that can be made. These surveys provide a customer with outreach like never before, and offering a small incentive for taking the survey does not hurt either.
Responses to Comments
Social media is how the vast majority of individuals get their daily news today. An SMB without a proper social media network is doomed to fail in our digital world, so investing in social media outlets is essential. However, just the evidence of a social media site is not enough either. Your customers want to see regular posts about what your company offers and any promotions you may have, along with high-quality content in which they can learn something new. It all works together in a symbiotic relationship to keep everyone engaged with your business, but remember, engagement on social media comes with comments about your business.
You must respond to comments on your posts. Your customers make comments, and responding to their comments is the best way to show them you care. Having someone on hand to respond to posts may seem like a menial job, but it is essential. Keep responses light and never allow them to sound like an automatic post. Customers can tell the difference, so invest the time responding to comments, whether positive or negative. This will help improve your overall customer satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction is essential if you are to move ahead with your SMB. You will have some unhappy customers from time to time, but your response to them will help keep your business on top. Customers want to feel valued, and when an SMB regularly engages with customers and shows they care, customer loyalty and satisfaction naturally increase.
