Sunday, May 26, 2013

The 51 Best Customer Service Tips For Entrepreneurs

Few things are truly more important to entrepreneurs and small business owners than getting and keeping customers. After all, you’re not even in business unless you have products or services to sell and paying customers to buy them. So for many of us, customer service is no small thing. But we sometimes minimize its importance by dealing with our customers as if we deserve their business.

Newsflash. The days of big business-little customer are long gone. There are far too many competitors in the market for small business owners to handle customers carelessly. Not only that, but digital reputation management is a huge responsibility for entrepreneurs. It’s time to get your best customer service mojo flowing. Poor feedback from even a handful of dissatisfied customers will cost you dozens and even hundreds of would-be customers in the long run.

Here are 51 valuable customer service tips for entrepreneurs that will serve your customers extraordinarily well. Included in this list is everything from attitude to body language to thank you cards . All of it matters.

1. Sit up straight and smile. 

When you are face to face with a customer, good posture and a sincere smile will change your disposition and that’s change customers can feel.

2. Use active listening. 

One of the best experiences customers can have is to know they are understood. Listen to your customers. Let them know you have heard them by rephrasing and communicating what they have told you. This makes sure you and the customer are on the same page and lets customers know they’ve been heard. You both win!

3. Let them rest assured. 
Customers want to feel confident in your ability to guide them through the fray. Let them know that you have their best interest in mind. Be present, communicate often and always follow through.

4. Dump the script.