Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. It doesn’t matter how great your product is, how fancy your offices are or whether or not you drive a really expensive company car. Without your customers, your company will quickly cease to exist. Your first priority should always be to focus on customer satisfaction; if your customers are happy, everything else can fall into place. Here are some tips to increase customer satisfaction.
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes
Imagine that you are one of your customers. Walkthrough a transaction in your head. Is your business clean and pleasant? Is your ordering or purchasing process simple and convenient? Is your staff friendly and knowledgeable?
It can be hard to get an honest representation of your business since you’re the boss. Hire a few secret shoppers to evaluate and give you feedback.
Ask your customers what you can do better
Start a customer feedback campaign. Provide a short questionnaire at your cash register, mail a feedback form to your customer’s home or business, or email them a feedback request. In order to get plenty of feedback, offer a discount to those who provide you with a reply. You can also call customers or speak to them in person.
Don’t be afraid to ask customers for specifics about the steps you can take to improve. Provide a friendly atmosphere and make it clear that you’re looking for things you can fix—not just a glowing report about how great you are.
Ask your employees what you can do better
Your employees are the front line of your business. They’re right there, every day, working with customers. Ask them what your company can do to improve customer satisfaction. Are there company policies that make it difficult to satisfy customers? Are there procedures that make the sales transaction more time-consuming and difficult than it needs to be?
Institute an employee feedback program and reward those employees who point out problems and come up with solutions.
Train your employees
You’ve already spent lots of time training employees how to use the cash register, stock merchandise, and complete daily tasks. Have you held extensive customer service training? Make sure that all employees are looking customers in the eye and saying, “hello.” They should be giving customers their full attention—no cell phone or texting at work. Your employees should be willing and able to provide customers with all the assistance needed.
Ask your secret shoppers to evaluate the service provided by your employees. Make sure that employees have a very clear understanding of what’s expected and how to achieve the best possible customer service. Offer rewards to those employees who make customers happy.
You’ll reap great rewards by improving customer satisfaction.
Satisfied customers are likely to be repeat customers. They’ll recommend your business to friends and family, increasing sales even more. When your customers are satisfied, your business is successful.