Your customers are the greatest asset of your business. If you don’t protect them as such, you could lose them to the competition. Thus, regularly wowing your customers becomes the priority.
Here are a few ways to do it:
1. Exceed expectations
The late Tony Hsieh (founder of Zappos) was one of the most innovative entrepreneurs of this generation. Not only was he one of the leaders of the early days of the internet (founding an advertising company that he would sell directly to Microsoft in 1998 for $ 265 million), but he found a way to take a shoe business. online and manufacture this is one of the most exciting brands on the planet. One of the ways he did this was to exceed customer expectations in every way imaginable.
Once, when a sales rep found out that a death in the family caused a customer to forget to return a pair of shoes she had planned to return, the rep sent her flowers and told her to take his time. (This customer has become a lifetime customer.)
In another situation, Hsieh ended up in Santa Monica during a shoe conference. And after a night spent shopping around the bars, he and his group found themselves in their hotel room wanting to order food. Unfortunately, room service had stopped serving several hours previously.
When they couldn’t find a place to deliver food to them, Hsieh convinced a friend of his to call the Zappos hotline. The friend asked for help finding food delivery locations still open in Santa Monica. The cheerful (but confused) rep put them on hold for two minutes and returned with several nearby pizzerias that were still open.
Flowers and pizzas – they have nothing to do with selling shoes. But Hsieh was one of the first entrepreneurs to realize that the best way to impress customers is to do things they would never expect. It won’t look like your business, but how can you exceed expectations so that one-off customers become lifelong customers? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
2. Streamline transactions
It’s not as sexy as ordering pizza, but streamlining transactions is another easy way to impress your customers. If you can make the buying process easier, people will notice. (The one-click and two-click ordering options on Amazon.com are a great example of why people love to shop on the site.)
If your current processes leave something to be desired, try introducing a modern ERP solution in your company. A simple system that unifies and organizes your different departments (including accounting, sales and inventory) can be a game-changer.
3. Offer the right guarantees
One of the easiest ways to get sales and simultaneously impress customers is to offer generous guarantees. Examples include money back guarantees, lifetime warranties, try-to-buy warranties, and best price guarantees.
The key to making a promise like this is being prepared to back it up. And when a customer offers you one of these guarantees, you can’t be a jerk or a pushback. You must take your correct medicine. This, more than anything else, shows customers that you care.
4. Express your gratitude
Customers have a lot of choice in the market. The fact that they choose to do business with you is not something to be taken lightly. Show your customers that you are grateful by expressing their gratitude on a regular basis.
Expressing gratitude can be as easy as sending an automated thank you email, or it can be as complicated as sending a handwritten note. Make a plan and be constantly on the lookout for ways to express your gratitude.
Keep your customers happy
Ultimately, there is a sure-fire way to build a profitable, sustainable business that continues to deliver good performance year after year. The model is simple: satisfy customers.
There is nothing better than a happy customer. Happy customers don’t clog your customer service lines, tend to make repeat purchases, refer other customers to your business, and say nice things about your brand online.
By wowing your customers every step of the way, you dramatically improve your chances of cultivating happy customers. Apply some of the tips outlined above and see how they impact your business in the future.
Interesting related article: “What is customer experience?” “