Home-Based Businesses

It's All About Service

Good customer service is at the heart of any business. It always has been, but customer service is even more important today, since on the Web it's so easy for people to find and connect with your competitors. Your competitors aren't just local any more either; even small businesses can offer their wares to the global community. This evolution in the customer relationship has even led to changes in terminology. It's really the same thing, but some people go so far as to refer to "customer service" as "customer care."

Whatever you call it, customer service is a key element in building customer loyalty, and customer loyalty is what underlies repeat business. Customer loyalty is about establishing a relationship, which is what happens when businesses listen and engage in "conversations" with their customers. There are real bottom-line impacts here - acquiring a new customer is much more expensive then selling to an existing customer.

Customer loyalty is also a long-term proposition. Promotions and pricing discounts may bring in new customers, but repeat business is a function of how well the customers were served. A Purdue University study found that 92% of U.S. consumers base their opinion of a company on the quality of service. The same study showed that 63% of consumers will go elsewhere if they have a negative service experience. [1]

Meeting Expectations
Every customer touch point must be designed to create value, and every chance to interact with a customer is important. Every interaction can either strengthen the customer relationship, or weaken it by making customers feel frustrated. That's why it's important to develop an integrated view of customer interactions (which includes your Web site, email, live support and in-person contacts). In a business transaction, no one likes surprises. Because of the Web, customers are coming to expect real-time information that can be accessed 24x7. Customers want to know the status of their orders, the location of their shipments and the expected dates of delivery. Email can be a great tool for keeping customers informed, but every email should also provide the option of speaking to a live customer rep. If you only communicate with your customers electronically, it will be much harder to develop a solid, long-lasting relationship.

The Web is getting better and better at delivering an experience that's personalized for each individual. Web applications and Web 2.0 technologies are making customer information more readily accessible.

Data integration tools can pull together past purchases, identify buying patterns and recognize personal preferences, thereby assembling the framework for a very targeted sales campaign. This kind of personalization also contributes to customer loyalty, in the same way it once did for neighborhood shopping. Everyone likes to visit a place where "everybody knows your name."

Your Web site is an important component in your overall service program, since it serves as your virtual "front office." One study found that 74% of consumers "regularly or occasionally" conduct online research before making purchases offline.2 So even if you don't actually sell through the Web, your site should be easy to navigate, easy to understand, and provide multiple communication options (such as live chat, opt-in email lists and feedback submission forms). It's even possible to provide an "Extranet," a portal through which registered customers can sign in to gain access to special, personalized content.

Customer loyalty is about establishing a relationship, which is what happens when businesses listen and engage in "conversations" with their customers. There are real bottom-line impacts here - acquiring a new customer is much more expensive then selling to an existing customer.

Your Web site can be an invaluable tool for understanding how your customers think. You can use it to conduct regular customer satisfaction surveys, or allow customers to post comments and product suggestions. Some companies provide full-blown discussion forums in which customers answer the questions asked by other customers. That provides a kind of customer-support function without drawing on your own resources. Keeping an eye on these candid customer conservations is a great way to gain insight into how people really feel about your offerings.

Tips for Success
It's important to establish some mechanism for sharing customer data across the entire company. Data sharing can be low-tech (with a written customer log) or high-tech (with data-sharing applications). However it's implemented, data sharing is what will let your company understand each customer, and speak with a single voice. Customers want to feel that your company understands them, and you want the relationship to be with the company, and not just with an individual sales rep.

It's also important to pay special attention to issue resolution. Resolve issues as quickly as possible, and if it can't be quick, be sure to keep the customer informed throughout the process. Consider a live-chat application; it can let customers ask questions and gather information, the way they would in a retail store. Studies have shown that customers who feel a problem was handled well are actually more loyal than those who never had a problem in the first place. Despite the Web, some customers still prefer a telephone contact; most will at least want the option. Every time one of your employees speaks with a customer, it will help or hurt the long-term relationship. Customers who are on a first-name basis with a designated contact point are happier and therefore more loyal. Be careful about bottomless call routing systems and never-ending message loops; these are key factors in customer dissatisfaction.

Loyalty is a matter of customer engagement, and that means making the relationship a two-way conversation. Be sure that each touch point exploits its potential to learn something about the customer. Be aggressive about gathering feedback. On-line surveys can be useful here. Do direct follow-up calls to find out how your customers feel about your products or services.

Always add a personal touch, even off the Web. A person's name always catches their attention; people can pick out the sound of their own name even in a noisy room. Interestingly enough, research at Cornell found that waiters and waitresses received bigger tips when they addressed customers by name. [3] Some retail stores are capitalizing on the power of personalization, instructing their sales staff to make note of the name on a customer's credit card, so they can say "Thank you, Ms. Jones."

In Closing
Many things have changed, but some things stay the same. Today's technology provides new ways to deliver on customer expectations, even for small to mid-sized companies. The expectations themselves, though, are the same ones customers have always had. Customers want to be served well, and treated with respect.

Through the intelligent application of affordable, Web-based technologies, even small companies can deliver a customer experience that is on par with some of the world's largest enterprises. It's another example of how the Web has leveled the playing field in the world of business.

Sources

1. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=113058&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=358361&highlight

2. www.bigresearch.com

3. http://people.cornell.edu/pages/wml3/pdf/megatips.pdf

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