Did you know that 68 per cent of customers who leave your business do so because of the indifferent attitude of a company employee, and only 9 per cent are won over by the competition? If you are a business owner, what are you doing about that?
I recently visited a friend in a rather large country city and she gave me the names of three businesses to visit, as they were the types of shops that I like visiting. I was astounded by the complete lack of service or greeting in the first two places I visited.
In the first shop, there was a young girl yawning behind the counter. She didn’t greet me or even attempt to leave her seat. In the second one, a lady was buzzing around but once again there was no actual greeting. In the third business, I was greeted and asked if there was anything I was looking for and if I needed any help.
Later that day I was telling the story of my visits during the morning and of course I told more people about the bad experiences than the good ones. The saying is that you tell 10 people about a bad experience and only a couple about a good experience. However, this has now changed thanks to social media.
The world hears about the bad experiences and sometimes the good ones. Successful businesses, small or large, make customers a part of their team – the real reason a business exists. It is not enough to be delivering on your service promises, you must also be seen to be delivering on those service promises.
Ensure you show your customers that they are valued by keeping them informed and ask them for their feedback to help you continuously improve the level of assistance you provide. Let customers know when you make a change. Make customers feel that you are on their side. Take responsibility for meeting customers’ expectations.