The Thriving Small Business

tips for small business

How to Turn Customer Satisfaction into Customer Loyalty

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Organizations that understand the importance of happy customers, need to think strategically in order to build a loyal customer base.

Successful organizations have learned that there is a difference between attracting customers, keeping customers and developing loyal customers.

Devoted customers are not only loyal to the organization, but also serve as advocates and help to solicit new customers by sharing their positive experiences. Read the Full Article →

8 Steps for Creating a Customer Service System

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Have you ever interacted with an organization that provided great service in one area and terrible service in another?

How can there be such a cultural disconnect in the service that is provided by the same organization?

Every interaction a customer has with an organization is an opportunity to win or lose that customer. Read the Full Article →

10 Tips for Dealing with Customer Complaints

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Anyone who has a business has had the experience of dealing with customer complaints.

While listening to a complaining customer is not something most people enjoy, a complaining customer can be an organization’s friend if they try to learn from the complaint.

There are lots of things customers can complain about – communication breakdowns, process failures, faulty products, rude employees and unclean facilities, just to name a few. Read the Full Article →

How Do You Define Customer Service?

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Customer service is a common term we are all familiar with which means “one who aids or provides help to the purchaser of a good or service”.

Customer service is seen in all industries and across all demographics. It is important because if the purchasers of our goods and services don’t feel like they are taken care of, they will soon find another organization that can, and will take care of their needs. Read the Full Article →

5 Reasons You Should Welcome Customer Complaints!

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The sad fact is only about 4% of dissatisfied customers complain. If a customer does not complain and has an issue that is not resolved, they are likely to go to the competition.

The worst part about this is that the organization isn’t even aware that there was an issue. The other sad fact is that a dissatisfied customer is more comfortable telling their friends about a bad experience than the organization. Read the Full Article →

Managing Customer Expectations

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A customer service strategy is the best first step in creating a culture that supports great customer service.  This requires having a good understanding of who your customers are, what they want and creating systems and processes to meet their needs.  This is the foundation for a strong service organization.

Another important aspect of the customer experience is helping to manage their expectations. Read the Full Article →

7 Things Most Customers Won’t Tell You – Unless You Ask

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I worked with someone from Britain a few years ago and I was often shocked at how honest he was.  I used to tease him and compare him to Simon Cowell, the infamous direct communicator – which he did not find very humorous.

Anyway, I learned that culturally honesty and being very direct is just a communication difference between us and the Brits. Read the Full Article →

Free Customer Comment Card Template

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Businesses rise and fall based on their ability to understand the experience and expectations of their customers. This is why so many businesses use customer comment cards to get immediate feedback.

Organizations spent the time to assess their customer’s experience to help them manage customer satisfaction.

There are several ways to obtain customer feedback – focus groups, customer satisfaction surveys and text analytics. Read the Full Article →

7 Customer Service Tips

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We can all relate to good customer service. And we can all give examples of a poor customer service experience.

Customers have choices and data shows that loyal customers are those who have their needs met and expectations that are exceeded.

Let’s begin with a definition:

Customer is defined as “a person who purchases goods or services from another”. Read the Full Article →

Do Your Employees Feel This Liberty?

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As organizations, we are (or should be) always looking for ways to engage our employees.  Employee engagement means that an employee is bought in to your mission and has a passion for what your organization is trying to accomplish.

They are so bought in that they take it upon themselves to be the advocate and even salesman for your cause.   Read the Full Article →

8 Things About Customer Service You Can Learn from Bed, Bath and Beyond

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I recently went to Bed, Bath and Beyond (BBB) to purchase a wedding shower gift for a friend’s daughter and was pleasantly reminded about how good they are at so many things.  It made me think that there are several things we can learn from their approach to customer service.

I know I’m a woman, and BBB is definitely more of a woman’s store than a guys place, but they have things figured out on a pretty high level. Read the Full Article →