Nothing is more critical to the success of your small business than customer satisfaction. Typically considered a key indicator of performance, customer satisfaction is simply the percentage of your total customers who report that your service meets or exceeds their expectations. If you’re in a competitive industry, customer satisfaction is what sets you apart.
In small businesses, effective communication serves as a vital component of your customer service program and ongoing customer satisfaction. Poor communication can lead to confused customers who don’t receive the service they expect. To make matters worse, that same poor communication can mean you never get the customer feedback to enable you to fix problems.
Poor communication can eventually kill your sales. To keep that from happening, focus on three key areas for your communication: print, broadcast and online; in-person and phone; and internal.
Print, broadcast and online
Your website, print advertisements, TV and radio ads, email marketing and social media presence should effectively communicate your brand promise. That is, they should make it clear the benefits your product or service offers to customers, how you’ll deliver those benefits, and what you’ll do if customers aren’t satisfied.
Poor communication in your advertising and marketing channels can lead to customer confusion about what to expect, notes the Houston Chronicle. For example, an unclear returns policy may lead to customers stuck with products they don’t want.
You can also commit poor communication by omission. After a sale, it’s critical to reach out to customers for feedback about your products or services. With this valuable information, you can make improvements and upgrades that help you increase sales.
For online customer service, superior communication skills are a must. Staff members who respond to customers in writing must be strong typists, and their grammar and spelling must be excellent. They also need the ability to effectively handle complaints and questions while remaining pleasant and professional.
In-person and on the phone
When customers and prospective customers call your business, make sure they aren’t trapped in select-a-number prison and can reach a live person. Once they’re talking with a human, they should receive courteous, prompt service.
Your company representatives should have strong customer service skills, including active listening and the ability to speak professionally and clearly. They should be empowered to solve problems up to a certain level; beyond that level, supervisors should be accessible to step in.
In-person customer service certainly can present challenges. Customers can be irate, unfair and even verbally abusive. Your customer service staff members must have thick skins and strong problem-solving skills. Understand that poor word-of-mouth can cost you, and be prepared to issue refunds sometimes even when the customer is at fault.
Internal communications
Often, customer service personnel feel that they’re between a rock and a hard place. They may have strong communication skills and work hard to make customers happy — but poor communication from management leaves them without the information they need to achieve customer satisfaction.
Make sure your staff are up to date on all policies and procedures, particularly those that affect customers. A company intranet should include all current information, and any changes should be highlighted through emails and memos posted in visible locations. Managers also should verbally reinforce important information with staff.
Your company can have the most customer-friendly policies possible, but if the information isn’t shared with your front-line people, it won’t matter. Make sure staff members are equipped with the information they need to provide the best possible customer service.
Don’t let poor customer communication damage your sales
As customer service increasingly moves online and goes mobile, communication is more important than ever. Take steps to ensure that online, in print, via broadcast and in person, you clearly spell out your brand promise — and follow through.
