|
|
| Customer Service Tip | Skills | Information | Articles |
|
It Is All About Customer Service!
In this day of terrible customer service, it should come as no surprise that serving your customers, also known as visitors to your web site, must be a top priority. Forget about return on your investment, how your site looks, keywords, meta tags, and the like. Are they important? Yes, of course. However, they mean nothing if you cannot attract and retain visitors to your site. In 2002 I built a niche community for corporate flight attendants. I started off with a message board and then added web pages six months later. Traffic was decent with just the message board but it really took off when I created the web pages. The key? Customer service. In order to attract and retain my customer base I added a resume posting service. In fact, I allowed people to send to me a copy of their resume and I posted it on my site. I took the time to reformat each copy and added attractive backgrounds to each page. Next, I linked it to my site. How much did I get paid for this? Nothing! Why did I do it? Because it showed my customers - the visitors to my community - that I had a stake in their success. When you care about people, they will care about you and come back. And tell a friend. And click on your ads. And generate money for you. I have also run contests where I have given away books, magazine subscriptions, and music CDs. The goodwill generated by the contest has strengthened my relationship with community members. I have come to know quite a number of my members personally, and have met some at conferences or have been in touch with them via email and phone calls. My members have helped me as much as I have helped them with advice that has thrust my community to the top. Who has time for top notch customer service? You do! Push away from your keyboard and brainstorm how you provide superior customer service. Then, make a point to implement your plan on a regular basis. Do you answer all your emails from members? Are you even that accessible to members? Plan on responding promptly [within one business day] to all inquiries from site visitors. Always answer their questions to their satisfaction and thank them for their inquiry. NEVER come across as impatient or bothered. Hey, they do not have to visit your site, no matter how much of a niche you think you provide. Altogether if you become more customer focused you will set yourself apart on the internet and that is where your success will ultimately come from. Customer service is sorely lacking in the business world, give yourself a leg up and make your site visitors happy by providing exemplary customer service at all times. Matt Keegan is a webmaster and internet marketing guru. Matt runs the Corporate Flight Attendant Community at http://www.corporateflyer.net and http://www.cabinmanagers.com as well as the Aviation Employment Board at http://www.aviationemploymentboard.net. Both communities are strong performers in their respective categories.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Managing Your Business When One Client Takes Alot of Your Time How often has your schedule been thrown out of whack because of a client's needs? Marketing as a Spiritual Practice "Marketing as a spiritual practice." It sounds contradictory ? how can sales and promotion possibly be considered spiritual? But the secret is, once you truly understand that marketing isn't all about struggle, jargon, tricks or gimmicks, spiritual practice is the very root of success. One of the Secrets of a Great Customer Experience A few weeks ago we conducted our annual "Customer Experience Study Tour" in London England. This is where we take delegates to visit a number of leading Customer Experience companies for a behind-the-scenes look at how they approach the task of building a great Customer Experience. Companies include Prêt-a-manger, Virgin Atlantic, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Dell Computers, T-Mobile, Lexus Cars, AOL and Microsoft. As we travelled around these companies on the luxury coach, I pondered what the common traits are of companies who provide a great Customer Experience. Undoubtedly one of these traits is "attention to detail". Create Win-Win Deals With Your Competitors In the competitive world of the 20th century, we generally viewed competitors as the enemy. And a competitor was anyone who sold to the same target audience as us - even if they sold a different item. After all, since there was a finite group of customers and a limited amount of money, if they spent it with your competitor, there was less for you. You MUST Sweat the Small Stuff It's The Little Things That Make or Break a Small Business How to Win the Hearts of Your Customers and Friends Those of us doing business over the internet have to become especially adept at our listening and speaking skills since we don't have the luxury of talking with our customers face to face. It's especially important to give those on the phone extra attention - listening to their voice, because that is the only thing you have to go on, to sense their emotion. You can't observe their body language or their eyes like you can in person. They have the same limitations in listening to us. A great method to use when talking on the phone to come across as being really interested is to raise your eyebrows and smile as you talk. It will give you voice a lift. Try it on one your friends. It really works. It makes you sound very cheerful, etc. The thing is, they can't see you either, so you have to work a bit harder to let them know that you're really with them. They can't see you smile, so they have to hear the warmth of your heart through your voice. If you practice, it'll start to come naturally to you. Take Care of Yourself Before You Take Care of Your Customer One of the most important questions people ask when they are focused on improving their quantity and quality of business is: "What is my competitive advantage? What makes me unique, memorable, special? what truly sets me apart from the rest?" How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service Having been in business a number of years, I'm amazed at the number of people who don't have the slightest idea of what customer service is. Customer service is not a way of doing things ? it's an attitude. Top 10 customer service tips 1. Hire people who have a service attitude. Some people simply enjoy serving others, their organizations, and even their communities. The spirit of service dominates their personality. This attitude of service has nothing to do with money or background, and people who have this attitude are not necessarily the most outgoing or bubbly. This type of person will move your business forward. These people make the best salespeople as well. 4 Easy Steps to Better Online Customer Support Customer support is very important when you're running a business, whether your business is on or off the net. If your customer support is hopeless, you'll soon find your customers running away from you and worse, telling others to stay away too. CEM Can Improve Customer Loyalty 'A 5 percent increase in customer retention increases profits by 25 to 95 percent.' How to Succeed in Business Without Compromising Your Integrity I spent some twenty years in the corporate world, for much of it I was not particularly interested in spirituality. It was a world where profits reigned supreme, often with little respect for the rest of society. Making Your Contacts Work For You The best way to explain this concept is to tell you a story. While calling for lease purchasing property, I spoke with an older widowed woman. I went through my script and when I asked her why she thought her home hadn't sold, she said to me, I just don't know, I put it in the paper. I then asked her if she had a FSBO sign in her yard, or if she had posted any flyers around the neighborhood or in the nearby markets. She said, why no, I haven't. To make a long story short she said she would ask her granddaughter to help her do just that. She thanked me profusely and I told her to call me if she needed any help! Develop Loyal Customers for a Lifetime ? part 2 (11 ? 20) Traditional marketing strategies encourage business owners to continually grow their businesses by adding new customers. In today's competitive world of business, it is more important than ever to aim for more transactions with existing customers by using the power of customer follow-up and attention to good service. Small Business Customer Service Can Work Against You Is the special treatment you designed specifically to keep customers coming back working against you? Turning Customer Mistakes Into Raving Fans When you make a mistake with a customer, should you write them off as lost -- never to return again? Quality vs. Quantity There is a battle in Call Centers. The teams are Quality vs. Quantity; two performance factors that don't seem to get along. How Not to Get Stiffed, Improving Your Collection Procedures Some businesses have slow paying customers or past due balances because they didn't "train" their customers in the beginning. Who Says the Customer is Always Right? We all know the old adage, "The Customer is Always Right." If you are an online business owner or offline for that matter, you are on both sides of the subject almost everyday. Treating the Customer Dissatisfaction Epidemic: How to Go Beyond Simply Masking the Symptoms Corporations in every sector are spending more than ever before in an attempt to improve their customer service levels. Every year they pour hundreds of millions of dollars into new systems and training programs that promise them the ability to win customer loyalty. Despite their efforts, however, customer satisfaction results continue to fall. Why aren't these massive efforts paying huge dividends? One would think that by now the organizations that have committed these vast resources would have a large cadre of satisfied, loyal customers, but in most cases just the opposite is true.
|
|
|
| Home | Site Map | Salesmanship Ebook | Motivational Ebook | Job and Resume Posting| Affiliate program | |
¡¡ |
| 2006 All Rights Reserved. by Mp.sg Term of use and service for the articles and information |