This past week, the MeloTel Blog has focused on the concept of customer appreciation. You might say that we feel that you can never do too much to thank your customers for their patronage. But then again, you might also be able to say that less is more. You wouldn’t want to go overboard and make any of your clients feel uncomfortable.
On CustomerServiceManager.com, Ingrid Cliff explains that some business owners do their best to provide great customer service but end up making some costly mistakes in the process. Today, we’d like to take a look at a few of these mistakes in hopes that we can help you (and ourselves) to avoid them!
One of the top mistakes that business owners make, according to Cliff, is being “one hit wonders”. Many of them “go all out” to attract new customers by spending a lot of money on expensive marketing campaigns. But as soon as the new customers come through the door, they feel like their jobs are over.
What about maintaining those customers and working to ensure that they return? Don’t assume that just because a customer has visited your store once that he or she will be back without encouragement from your end to do so. At MeloTel, we work diligently to build long-lasting relationships with our clients.
Get to know your clients by name, extend your hand of friendship and discover what things about your business you can work on to keep them continually satisfied. With that being said, Cliff warns not to provide too much information. This is another common customer service pitfall.
Keeping in mind that you want to remain in touch with your customers, you want to be careful not to bombard them with too much information. Three emails per day is a definite example of overdoing it. The act of coming on too strong has never been an attractive trait in any situation, be it personal or professional.
At MeloTel, we like to exhibit a healthy mix of give and take. In other words, we enjoy reaching out to our customers through our Facebook and Twitter profiles as well as our blogs on a regular basis. This allows our clients to come to us when they feel obliged to do so. Direct contact should be done moderately so as not to potentially push people away.
However, the last thing you want to do is provide the silent treatment, says Cliff. When a client has an issue and he or she contacts your business with this concern, sending out a “thank you for your feedback – your opinions are important to us” message will not do the trick. Show that you care and personally respond to the comment. Keep your promises and you will keep your customers!