Request our "FREE Guide to Exceptional Customer Service Strategies" "Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents, and then later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other's kindness, how can it be in ......the middle that we would neglect kindness towards others?" Dalai Lama Action of the day: Exceed your customers expectations with kindness! 1. Know your customers Create forms on your web site for customer to let you know what their needs and preferences are when signing up for your newsletter. Link a computerized database to this information so you can retrieve it whenever you need it. This information helps you keep in touch with and serve your customers. 2. Inform your customers Say you own a wine store and you just received a shipment of Cabernet Sauvignon. Go through your files to see who buys Cabernet Sauvignon and send them an email about it. Reference the fact that they’ve bought this from you in the past, then offer to hold some for them for a few days. Since you’re loyal to them, they’ll be loyal to you. 3. Help your customers Write a monthly, quarterly or even semi-annual newsletter and post it to your web site to keep customers or clients informed about issues that might relate to them. Changes in the tax code, computer-software compatibility problems, whatever. Give people information they can use and they will think of you as a resource. 4. Surprise your customers Send your best customers a gift Certificate in the off-season or a useful premium with your name on it. Since they haven’t asked for this and haven’t “earned it” through some points program, they are surprised and delighted. 5. Delight your customers Send a friendly email to wish them a happy birthday or happy holidays with a nice card personalized to them. 6. Thank your customers “Please” and “Thank you” may be the most powerful words in the English language. Use them in email. A sincere thank-you letter following up a purchase is always appreciated. Say, “Please let me know if there’s anything else we can do for you,” and customers may take you up on your offer. 7. Reward your customers Call it a “Membership Card,” take some personal information before you give it out, and use email to take the rewards program to a higher level. Maybe send members of the program a card on their birthday, with an offer of a discount or free gift. The card becomes a symbol of a more personal relationship. How to delight your customers. There was a time when a woman could walk into a store and be greeted with “Good morning, Mrs. Jones. Those jelly beans that Junior likes came in this morning. Should I pack some up for you?” 8. Free Advertising Ask your members to share success stories, helpful tips or valuable information that you can then add to your web site with a link back to their business. |
