3 Secrets to Breakthrough Customer Service

I’ll cut right to the chase! Three of the best secrets to breakthrough customer service in my experience are these:

1. Acknowledgement
2. Attention
3. Action

Acknowledgement

Customers want to be acknowledged as being important to your business. You’ve heard it before, “you don’t have a business without customers” and “your customers sign your pay cheque”. Well they know it and want to be treated with a level of priority and focus.

They want their needs acknowledged. Your customers come to you to have a need fulfilled. How well do you know what that need is? Are they trying to solve a painful problem, or reward themselves in some way? When you tap into their needs, you can better meet them and deliver satisfaction that the interaction with you was worth it.

They want their intentions to be acknowledged. Customers come to you to buy. Acknowledge that by making it as easy as possible to do business with you.

Attention

Pay attention to your customers. Don’t ignore them and don’t ignore what might seem insignificant to you. Be enthusiastically attentive without being over the top. No one really appreciates “rah rah” customer service. Be professional, courteous and present when dealing with a customer. They’ll appreciate it and you’ll be able to serve them much better because you’ll be connecting with them deeper.

Action

No matter what happens, make sure you do something for the customer when they ask or even when they don’t! It’s often the little things you do that have the biggest impact on the customer relationship. Follow up on an enquiry. Check to make sure the customer is happy with their purchase. Provide some useful information for their next interaction with you. Follow through on any commitments you make. Most importantly, make your customers feel special by being part of the solution to their challenge, not part of the problem.

It’s amazing how simple some of these things are and yet when we’re in the thick of it, we forget why we have a business or a job in the first place…it’s because of customers! Just remind yourself of the last great customer service experience you had and use that as an example to tweak your service. I know this can be difficult because there are so many more examples of poor customer service that sometimes we wonder whether breakthrough customer service is a myth. It’s not and if you harness it, you’ll stand out way ahead of your competition.

Get out there and build massive momentum…and great customer relationships!