The Importance of Customer Service for your Business Succes

Still to this day good customer service is something of an afterthought for many companies. Even with the power of social media where dissatisfied customers can voice their complaints to the whole world some businesses won’t take service too seriously. 

There can be a myriad of reasons for this. I am of the opinion that in most cases it’s not because companies don’t want to offer good service. They do!

But it’s not a priority, either because most money is invested in marketing and the product or service itself. Or companies simply don’t know how to setup and maintain it. I know from experience that it’s absolutely vital for a business to treat their clients as welcome guests, whether you’re a freelancer, owner of a small web shop or if you run an agency with multiple employees. 

Last week I wrote why the customer is not always right. This article highlights the importance of Customer Service for your business. And why offering excellent service to your clients should always be a priority.

Is good Customer Service the same for an Online Business?

With customer service you’re probably thinking of a call center handling thousands of calls per day. Or the service desk in a major store.  

With an online business the methods you’ll be using to offer service to your clients will differ on a few fronts. But the basics remain the same. Whether you’re a freelancer or an agency, having the client (or target audience) at the forefront of your mind is just good business ethics.

The exception to this rule probably is Affiliate Marketing.  The beauty of affiliate marketing is that customer service is a non-issue. Everything service related will be handled by the company whose product you’re promoting. 

Excellent Service will get you high paying clients

One of best (and oldest) Internet Providers in the Netherlands was a company called XS4ALL. It’s a subsidiary of KPN and very sadly in the process of being incorporated whole by its parent company. XS4ALL was known for its excellent customer service. For instance, it would give far more support and help when a client was dealing with Wi-Fi-issues. 

Now, as anyone with experience in IT will know, there is only so much an Internet Provider can do to fix your faulty Wi-Fi. There can be so many external factors in play that can ruin your Wi-Fi. Most providers will offer a minimum of advice, but it’s here where XS4ALL really shined. They would go through hell and back to get your internet fixed, not taking no for an answer. And that was their attitude to almost any problem they come across.

Their monthly subscription is among the highest you can pay in Holland. But precisely because they offer such excellent customer service there are more than enough people willing to pay them. Their clients know and expect that they can get the best with them.

And that’s also an important reason for you to focus on giving good service. It enables you to ask  and  get a higher price for your product or service.

Good Service increases Customer Loyalty

In his book ‘company of one’ Canadian entrepreneur Paul Jarvis writes about an example where his billing software was making some customers pay twice in the same month by mistake. Luckily he found out before the faulty invoices were sent to those clients and got ahead of the problem. He immediately took action, contacted these clients, apologized and reimbursed where needed.  What happened? Only 1 client wanted a full reimbursement of the costs. And Jarvis had a slightly smaller profit that month, because he had to fix this problem and switch to other billing software.

His clients almost to a man where ecstatic however. They hadn’t expected such an excellent display of service . The actions Jarvis undertook to decrease the damage suffered for his customer insured their loyalty. Many would remain with his company for years on end.

And that’s also how you should look at it. Most customers won’t expect everything to be perfect all the time. But offer them swift and excellent service when something does go wrong, they will become and remain loyal to you for a long time!

Complaints can be an opportunity to improve your business

At my old company we were dealing with the same kind of problem as Jarvis: we had to reimburse a certain number of customers for a mistake on our side. However, the back office dealing with this problem was understaffed and could not fix it in time. For some reason nobody in our organization knew about this until the first clients started complaining where their money was. This gave us the opportunity to pinpoint the cause of the problem and improve the overworked Back Office. Which not only helped in fixing the problem with the reimbursements, but a lot of other processes as well.

What I mean by this: a client with a complaint or problem can be a great opportunity for you to find and fix a flaw in your business. Software may be not working correctly, an employee is lacking in expertise in a certain area. Or you yourself are. A customer complaint can expose such a flaw. Then it’s up to you to fix this and so improve your business.

Complaints are an opportunity for an Upsell

My last year working in a call center besides fixing the problems of our customers I also had to do some upselling. Trying to sell some extra products to a customer, like a Sports Package for TV or a virus scanner. You know when I had the most success as a salesman? When I first focused on the client and the problem. If the problem was taken care of I could sell the client almost anything. Why? Because the client’s needs where met and  I’ve gained their trust. 

Fix a problem, listen well to your client’s needs and they will want to buy from you more.

Customers will refer you to others

Offering good customer service will also mean that your clients will refer your business to others. And as any savvy entrepreneur knows good word of mouth is everything. The easiest example for this is of course the restaurant business. If you visit a new restaurant and are amazed by the quality of the food and the service you probably will tell your friends and family about this experience. 

This can premise can work for almost any business. Besides just offering an excellent product, giving excellent customer service will make your clients to refer your business to other potential clients. Increasing your customer base in the process. 

Excellent customer service should be part of your brand

In an earlier article how to start as a freelancer I wrote why working on your personal brand is very important. Your brand is the service or product you offer. Your personality (which is overlooked). And offering excellent customer service. 

The type of service you can offer of course depends on your business. For instance, when you’re a copywriter you’re known for processing feedback on your work as fast and diligent as possible.

Whatever your business is, make customer service an integral part of your brand.

Honesty is the best policy

In my opinion an often overlooked part of customer service is honesty. Be honest about what a customer can expect from your product. Manage expectations to the best of your ability. Trust the client to realize when a certain problem can’t be fixed. There are times when being honest isn’t well received by a customer, but that maybe that person isn’t the best fit for you.

In my experience most clients are quite reasonable people who will recognize and even reward your honesty.

100% money back guarantee is perfect for an online business

When you’re running an online business trust is something you have to earn. People don’t know you, why should they buy from you?
One excellent way for you to earn this trust is the 100% money back guarantee.  I will write later on the exact mechanic of this. But putting large buttons all over website with the text  100% money back guarantee  is great for signaling you can be trusted and part of your customer service. That way when your customers aren’t happy with a product they’ve bought on your website they know they can return it and won’t be scammed.

There is of course a difference between selling digital products and physical products. If you sell digital products such as e-books or software the return policy is an automated process. You can install different plugins on your website for that. 

With physical products such as clothing you have setup a more intricate return process.

Next to your own ‘money back Garantee’ you can use other methods to get the trust of your audience. For instance you can list positive reviews, such as platforms like Trustpilot.

Conclusion

So, to summarize, whether you offer a service as a consultant or people buy products from you website, excellent customer service shouldn’t be an afterthought.

Great service to you clients will mean a better reputation, a good personal brand, repeat customers and in the end more money!