In today's fiercely competitive market, no business can long survive without satisfied customers. Some companies already understand this, and have incorporated a full commitment to service superiority because they all know that major strategic weapon is added value to the customer through superior service.

Customer service can be used as a powerful way to set company apart from competitors. It's one of the strengths a small business has, and by emphasizing customer service, you can compete with larger companies who may offer more variety, lower prices, and other perks you can't afford.

In the meantime, there are five maxims to make sure you leverage your small business status to provide the best customer service possible.

• Apologize, Don't Debate - If a customer has a problem, apologize and fix the problem.
• Feedback Keeps You Focused - Ask your customers to rate your service on regular basis.
• Stay Flexible - You must be flexible when it comes to your customers and clients. This means doing a project for a client in a pinch
• Always Say "Yes" - finding a way to help customers with their requests.
• Under Promise, Over Deliver - Make your customers believe they are important to you by always appearing to go the extra mile.

In addition, surveys are an excellent way to find out how your customers feel about your business. A survey will tell you what your customers expect of you and your company, and clarify how well you are performing in their eyes.

The tips below will help you create an effective survey:

• Start with clear objectives
• Give customers a compelling incentive for responding
• Ask questions that are important to customers
• Keep the survey brief
• Use a confidential self-mailer to generate higher response rates
• Ask compelling easy-to-answer questions
• Encourage customers to give their opinions
• Test survey before mailing it
• Focus your surveys on your best customers
• Preview survey with postcard arousing curiosity

Finally, the key to making your customer service successful is not only to soothe the angry customer, but also to turn this person into a loyal customer. It is possible to use this situation to your advantage to show your customer how far you are willing to go to keep his/her business.

Customer service experts look at this as a four-step process:

• Step 1: Acknowledge -- let the customer know that you've made an error.
• Step 2: Apologize -- state clearly and sincerely that you regret making the error.
• Step 3: Rectify the problem -- fix any mistake you've made, no questions asked.
• Step 4: Go one better -- don't just fix the problem; go the step to make sure you give the customer incredible service.

Best Customer Service Web sites:The Right Answer: Training Tips
http://www.therightanswer.com/tips.html
This site describes the basic principle of training to provide employees with the information necessary to effectively conduct business with customers. Effective training ensures that employees know what these standards are and how they are expected to implement them.

Is Everything OK? Improving Customer Service -
http://www.sideroad.com/cs/column6.html
This site explains three rules to follow when asking your customers perceptions of your service for improving customer service. 1. Allow time to listen, don't just go through the formality of asking. 2. Ask specific questions, not general. 3. Use a superlative that you want to be identified with to customer.

Sprint Chairman Takes to the Phones: Now that's Customer Service -
http://www.indy.net/~robo/chairman.htm
Show a key player in the global telecommunications industry. In this site, Sprint thinks that keeping in close touch with customers is very important. In addition, this site also explains Sprint's customer service as better in all nine key service categories.

Calvin Jackson on Customer Service -
http://smartbiz.com/sbs/columns/jack6.htm
Describe the new idea of the advent of the "superstore" concept to satisfy customers need. For this ides, customer service means knowledge of the product or service from which you want your customer to benefit.

"Customer Service First," Says the New Voice of OERI -
http://www.ed.gov/bulletin/spring1996/cust96sp.html
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) is building on the Department's vision with a customer service plan that plays up OERI's unique role in U.S. education. Through its Customer Service Standards Team, the Department has issued "A Commitment to Our Learn." This is to improve customer service in three ways.
 
 
 
 

By Juthatat Skulratana