As published in “Southwest Florida Business Today,” September 2021
The last year and half (and counting) has been a very difficult time for businesses. But no one needs to tell you that – you’ve been living it as a business owner, employee, or customer. Or all three. As businesses have re-opened and worked to recover to pre-pandemic levels, more and more obstacles are emerging that are thwarting progress. Supply chain shortages and delays, price increases, workforce hiring challenges, and ever changing COVID regulations are just a few of the many hurdles hindering business recovery.
Sadly, one of the areas that seems to have lost emphasis during this crisis is customer service. Unreturned phone calls and emails have suddenly become commonplace, as have missed schedules, delays, and inconsistent quality. If you are a business owner, beware! Customers have long memories. Statistics indicate that a dissatisfied customer will tell as many as 15 people about their experience, but will only tell a handful about a successfully resolved issue. Worse, more than 95% of customers will not complain about an issue at all, and then 90% of them will leave and not come back. These are sobering statistics.
Don’t let this happen to your business. Remember, in this new age of social media, customers have an immediate avenue to publicize their frustrations – just peruse Google, Trip Advisor, Amazon or other sites and look at the reviews. These reviews are a powerful tool and people read them.
Now is a critical time to revisit customer service and re-emphasize its importance to your success. Here are a few simple do’s and don’ts to consider:
Do establish a commitment to return all phone calls and emails within one business day, or sooner if possible. Set aside time every day to get back to customers and stick to it. Consistently. Nothing is more important than communicating with your customers.
Do contact your customer before the delivery date and let them know if you are going to be late. Apologize, and give them a date that you have confidence you can meet. Don’t compound the problem with an unrealistic commitment. We have all experienced the airlines’ unfortunate practice of announcing delay after delay after delay. Death from a thousand cuts! Customers may not like that you’re late, but they will deal with it if you communicate with them effectively. If you then deliver a quality product or service, the memory of the schedule issue will eventually fade. However, customers cannot deal with not knowing. They will remember how you treated them. Another statistic to consider – customers are 4 times more likely to go to a competitor if the problem is customer service related.
Do call your customers periodically with progress reports – it really helps to know someone is working on the problem.
Do try to be realistic. These are challenging times and many things are not getting done as quickly as in the past. Account for it. Maintain a professional and pleasant demeanor. Rather than making promises you can’t meet, under commit and then over perform.
Don’t make excuses or complain about the circumstances. Never say things like “sorry, we’re really busy”. When someone tells me that, all I hear is that I am not a priority for this business. That’s not a message anyone wants to hear.
Don’t ignore phone calls and emails. Embrace them – each one is an opportunity to connect with your customer and strengthen your relationship. Remember, it takes 6-7 times more effort to get a new customer than retain an existing one.
Don’t accept the barriers that have emerged. Look closely at how you do business and brainstorm changes, workarounds and temporary procedures that will mitigate the current challenges.
Finally, have faith – this pandemic will be over at some point, hopefully soon. When that happens, the businesses that served their customers most effectively are the ones that customers will remember. And they will flourish. Be one of those businesses.
Mind Your Own Business. No One Else Will. 