How do you make sure your clients are taken care of in the best possible way?

I love what Seth Godin has to say about this topic, “The only purpose of ‘customer service’ is to change feelings.” Click to Tweet

You want your clients to feel ecstatic about your business. So how can you do that?

Here are five ways you can improve your client care and grow your business at the same time.

1. Show Your Appreciation

Make it personal and when someone buys something from you send a thank you note in the mail. You can also send an ecard or a little gift.

2. Ask About the Experience

Once someone makes a purchase from you, after sometime check in with your clients to find out about their experience of your product or service. Ask how are things going and if they have questions.

You can also ask them to complete an evaluation about their experience with your product or service.

3. Give Unexpected Shots of Value

Keep your clients in mind and as you come across things that could be interesting for them be sure and share them. Think about things like: articles, books, resources, events, or introductions to people in your network.

You can also promote and share their updates on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

4. Manage Expectations About Your Availability & Response Time

Availability

Be sure to communicate to your clients when you’re ‘in the office.’ This includes days of the week and times of day. Be sure to make it clear which time zone you’re in, especially if you have clients around the globe.

Email

If you answer all of your email yourself, and you know you won’t have time to reply within a day or two, you can activate your out of office message to let people know you got their message and when you will reply.

And unless you’re planning to answer email while you’re on vacation always turn on your out of office reply.

I let my clients know at least two weeks before I go on a holiday when I plan to be away so they aren’t surprised by my out of office message. This is also stated in my client agreement that I will inform my clients when I’ll be away.

Meetings and Networking

After a networking event or meeting with a client, if you promised to send additional information be sure to deliver on this quickly and when you say you will. Business is based on trust and trust is built over time by keeping your word.

Phone Calls

Respond quickly (same day if possible) to missed phone calls and voice mail messages. I have a friend who mentions in his voice mail recorded message that he will return your call within 24 hours. You can also respond to a phone call with an email. The point is to respond as quickly as possible.

5. Gracefully Resolve Complaints

We’re human, sometimes things go wrong. Be willing to readily admit when you’ve made a mistake. Apologize and ask how you can make it right. Speak from you heart and avoid generic terms and clichés.

Go beyond what’s needed to fix the situation and do something extra, something memorable that will not only repair the mistake but build and strengthen the relationship.

And please, whatever you do, don’t say: “I’m sorry *if this may have* inconvenienced you.” If you’re apologizing, then it’s because you did inconvenience someone so simply say that, “I’m really sorry I wasted your time.” For more on tips on how to give a real apology, read this.

So why should you bother doing all of this besides that fact that it’s the right thing to do and it feels good. There are also benefits for your business.

3 Benefits of Treating Your Clients Well

1. Referrals – Clients will tell other people about your business

2. Loyalty – Clients will give you repeat business

3. Standing Out – Your business will get noticed and receive more attention than your competitors

I hope you’re starting to see how upping the level of your customer service can have a big impact on how your clients feel about your business and consequently an impact on your bottom line.

Make the changes that will make a difference to your clients and have fun delighting your clients with amazing customer service.

© Stephanie Ward

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER, BLOG OR WEBSITE? You can, as long as you include this information with it: Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to create meaningful and prosperous businesses. Grab your FREE copy of the special report ’7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus business building tips, at: https://www.fireflycoaching.com.

What do you do to make sure your clients have a great experience with your business? Share your tips below in the comments section.