Will they come back? Customers will come back, but here’s one of the main reasons why. Because they were treated well. That’s right. Research shows that beyond product loyalty or even the purchase price, they often return because of customer service.
Not only do you want your customers happy with what they’ve purchased from your business, but you want them to be so happy that they’ll come back and bring their friends and family with them. What can we learn about this type of customer service that works so well? Let’s find out.
What Makes Them Happy?
First of all, just like in romance, that first impression is what encourages a relationship to begin. That connection should be the aim of any business. In some ways, customer service romances their clients – greeting them with a cheery hello or friendly email – and suggesting other products or services the person might enjoy. You get to know the people, and you’ll learn what they like. People nowadays aren’t friendly enough – so genuine contact makes such a difference. It’s best to maintain those customer relationships, because it’s easier on the budget to keep them on board than it is to find new ones to replace them.
Here’s some encouraging news: statisticians tell us that 80% of the customers out there are generally satisfied with the customer support they get. Work on that first impression and show that you care.
Why Do They Come Back?
Maybe it’s easier to figure out why they DON’T come back. You’ve experienced this. You are put on hold after responding to a series of questions – and then you find out that the person who finally comes on the line doesn’t know any of those answers provided. You have to tell the customer support person all over again! Or people treat you rudely when you ask questions or want to return an item. Whatever happened to the maxim that the customer is always right? When we expect a certain kind of customer support and we don’t receive it, we generally turn our backs on that company.
We like smiles. We like encouragement. We like a thank you and a chance to provide feedback. All of that is what keeps us coming back. If we have a question, usually we don’t mind if we get that answered with a phone call or an email or even a LiveChat session. We just want to know the answer. Customers come back when their questions are answered in a timely fashion, completely and honestly. Work on customer retention by responding to them as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
Why Do They Tell Others?
You might think that customers will tell their family and friends about your business after months or years of interactions. Not according to customers surveyed. Surprisingly enough, 75% of them said it was based on ONE encounter. Yikes! That may be the only chance you get – that first encounter. Based on that, people can quickly become loyal to your brand. They often actually do your advertising for you. It becomes anecdotal. They talk about your business as if it’s a story with a happy ending.
So that’s the first impression again – such an important encounter. What else? Repetition makes a stronger argument perhaps, because here it is: when their questions are answered to their satisfaction, that’s something else they talk about. Here’s an encouraging statistic: when a customer is happy, 11 people will hear about it – and there’s a good chance that one or more of them will check out your business. Work on finding out what your customers are saying.
We’ve got software that will help you answer those questions about customer support. With Online Sales Pro, if you don’t get back quickly to a new lead, you’ll get a push notification on your phone, reminding you that you need to make contact. OSP is a leading-edge way to build an online business. Use this software to treat your customers well with quick responses and excellent customer service. Click on THIS LINK so that you can see how OSP works. And guess what? If you have a question about it, we’ll provide a quick response!
