Get Competitive Advantage by Going the Extra Mile for Customers

It’s the little things that matter in life. People appreciate when others put even little time and effort to make them happy and satisfied. It is usually not about moving earth and heaven to meet someone else’s expectation, but rather about showing that you care. And it has application in both private and business life.

Clients will appreciate your personal touch and individual approach in each and every case. Naturally, you are not always able to serve everyone in person, but there are some tricks and ways to make your customers feel special.

Human Customer Service

Nobody likes dealing with machines in customer service. Even though, a significant part of our life is replaced with smart technologies, we still crave for human contact.

Can you think of a situation when you struggled with a problem and the only answer you got was an autoresponder email or voice mail? Or maybe you went to the store and could not find anybody to help you? Probably it got on your nerves and your problem remained unsolved.

Poor customer service is one of the most common reason for making complaints. People are even willing to give up on a better product if the customer service is not on a satisfying level.

This is why customer service should be one of the most important part of your business operation. Don’t trim costs or let your staff destroy relationships with clients. Basically, if you want to go the extra mile for your customers, start with a little things.

Here are just few tricks and habits that you can change to make a difference and improve the quality of your customer service:

1. Provide your customers with an array of distinct communication channels that they can reach to you. Some of your clients prefer social media, while other would choose a phone call. Give them a choice and make it very simple to contact you.
2. Remember about small things like returning phone calls, e-mails and other correspondence quickly. Stay in contact with customers and build positive relationship with them
3. Instead of providing a place where they can find an answer walk them to it. It is a small change that will not cost you much more time, but will make a difference.
4. Use tools to personalize your customer service. Even if you automate most of processes at your company, make your messages sound/look more individually. Tools like Intercom, GetResponse or LiveChat will help you customize your customer service.
5. Internet monitoring will be handy too, as you never know where and when your customers seek for help.
6. Use client’s name often. Own name is one of the most favorite words that we love listening to.
7. Ask questions and make sure that he or she is satisfied with your help.
8. Give acknowledgement and thank to your customers for using your product and service. You should not take them for granted.
9. Create a system that can gather and monitor feedback from your customers. Remember that it is not about value you deliver, but about the value perceived by your customers. This is why you should listen to them and constantly adjust products and services to their needs.
10. Under-promise and over-deliver. It is a golden rule you should follow. Don’t make promises that you cannot keep. It is better to positively surprise your customers that you did something more rather than disappoint them.

Think Outside the Box

Good customer service is a must, but sometimes it is not enough to gain competitive advantage. Nowadays, those who can prove their creativity combined with human customer service are held in high esteem.

It is usually about being in the right place and in the right time. Social media is full of customer service stunts, that went viral and brought good publicity to authors. It is a perfect way to improve your reputation and attract audience, but you cannot forget that your client is still the most important. You should not take advantage of them just to show off. Make sure that they will not feel uncomfortable or intruded. On the contrary, make them feel special.

Deserve Credit

Going an extra mile for your clients is the investment that will pay for itself in the future. There are so many examples of successful companies that benefited from making a nice gesture for only one client. The results of outstanding customer service go far beyond customer retention and loyalty.

Social media users love sharing stories of remarkable attitudes toward individual customers. Thus when you do something that deserves credit, people will share it for certain. But remember that making you story viral should not be an end itself. If you go the extra mile for your customers just to gain acknowledgement, people will recognize that you’re not genuine.

What is more, still not so many companies tend to render service above and beyond customers’ expectations. It leaves the field clear for you. You can stand out from your competition thanks to doing small things for your customers and showing that you care. It will make a difference and bring you long-term profits.

Go the extra mile, it is never crowded.

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