Tips for Improved Customer Care Communication
If you want to set yourself apart from your competitors and attract more customers to your business, mastering communication is crucial.
With the new advancements available today in Internet and social media marketing, traditional forms of business communication are becoming obsolete.
Anticipate Customer Questions
The best way to meet a customer’s need before a problem arises is to anticipate the most common questions you will encounter when a customer places an order or uses a service through your business.
The place to tackle common customer questions is where you communicate with customers the most; is it via your website? Your business’s telephone systems? Your e-mail system?
After you determine where the majority of customer communication occurs – act! If most customers communicate with you through your website, it is important to create a resourceful FAQ section that customers can refer to without having to contact your company directly.
If you communicate with customers mainly through e-mail, set up several customer e-mail templates that can be quickly sent out to customers to answer questions when they have an issue.
The quicker you can respond to customers, the better to retain customer loyalty and make a positive first impression.
Establish Customer Communication Policies
You would be surprised by how many businesses don’t have clear-cut customer service policies in place.
When a problem arises, each customer is dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Not only is this inefficient, but it sends mixed messages to your customer base.
In order to establish security and trust with each customer, all customer issues must be dealt with fairly and in the same consistent manner.
According a Lee Resource Incorporated data study, 95% of customers who complain will gladly do business with a company again if a complaint is resolved – and quickly.
As a business owner, these statistics should send you to “brainstorming mode” so you put a good policy in place.
Follow-Up With Customers In Writing
If a customer has alerted you to an issue via the phone or via your website’s contact form, it is imperative to follow-up with the customer in writing once the issue is resolved.
The most efficient and affordable way to do so is by e-mail.
A follow-up e-mail can be used to summarize the problem that occurred, reiterate any questions that the customer may have raised, and outline the steps that were taken to remedy the problem.
Although it may seem like overkill in some cases, customers will appreciate a company’s attention to detail in handling their problem.
In business, communication is everything. Furthermore, you are only as strong as the communication tools you work with and the policies you put in place.
