How to keep your customers and attract new ones PLUS 20 BONUS TIPS SATISFY your customers 101 ways to really 101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS ALSO BY ANDREW GRIFFITHS 101 Ways to Market Your Business 101 Ways to Boost Your Business 101 Ways to Advertise Your Business Secrets to Building a Winning Business COMING SOON 101 Ways to Balance Your Business and Your Life 101 Ways to Network Marketing 101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS ANDREW GRIFFITHS First published in 2002 This edition published in 2006 Copyright © Andrew Griffiths 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: info@allenandunwin.com Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Griffiths, Andrew, 1966- . 101 ways to really satisfy your customers. Rev. ed. ISBN 978 1 74175 008 9. ISBN 1 74175 008 3. 1. Consumer satisfaction. I. Title. 658.812 Set in 12/14 pt Adobe Garamond by Midland Typesetters, Australia Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Getting a handle on customer service xvii Section 1: Understanding your customers 1 #1 Always put yourself in your customers’ shoes 2 #2 What do your customers expect from you? 3 #3 Hire a mystery shopper to evaluate your business 5 #4 Observe your business objectively 7 #5 Take the time to talk to your customers 8 #6 Encourage your customers to give you their opinions 9 #7 If you ask for opinions, be prepared to listen to them 11 #8 Start a customer satisfaction survey immediately 13 Section 2: Your working environment 16 #9 Is it easy for people to visit your business? 17 #10 Is the entrance to your business inviting? 18 #11 Does the layout work? 20 #12 Instil confidence in you and your products 21 #13 Are there ways to speed up your customer service? 22 #14 Is the background music too loud? 24 #15 Cleanliness is essential 26 #16 Appearances deteriorate over time 27 v Section 3: Your staff 30 #17 The meet and greet—first impressions last 32 #18 Treat your customers with respect 33 #19 Appearances count 35 #20 Take care with personal hygiene 36 #21 Communicate confidently with customers 38 #22 Ensure that your staff are knowledgeable about the products they are selling 39 #23 Smile! 40 #24 The basics are no longer basic—start at the beginning 41 #25 Take your staff to your competitors’ businesses 43 #26 Take your staff to a business that you admire 44 #27 Have regular brainstorming sessions 45 #28 Debrief staff after good and bad experiences 47 #29 Encourage your customers to tell you if your staff give outstanding service 48 #30 Reward staff for outstanding customer service 49 #31 Ask a customer to come in and talk to your staff 50 #32 Give your staff experience in other areas of your business 51 #33 Teach your staff how to sell 52 Section 4: Making it easy for your customers to buy from you 55 #34 Offer the right products 56 #35 Make sure that your pricing is correct 58 #36 Make it easy for customers to pay you 60 #37 Eliminate all obstacles to making a purchase 61 #38 Are your trading hours customer-friendly? 63 #39 If necessary, go to them 64 Section 5: The personal touch 67 #40 The sweetest sound is your own name 68 #41 Reward customers for coming back 70 #42 Be one step ahead of your customers 71 101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS vi #43 Show that you are proud of your business 72 #44 Remember important dates 73 #45 Make a visit to your business memorable 74 #46 Start a VIP club 75 #47 Be patient and courteous with your customers 76 Section 6: Face-to-face customer service 78 #48 Be welcoming 79 #49 Be organised 80 #50 Be prepared to make a recommendation 81 #51 Talk to the customer, not through the customer 83 #52 Do something unexpected 85 #53 Remember to say ‘thank you’ 87 Section 7: Telephone customer service 90 #54 Ensure your automated answering service is user-friendly 91 #55 Answer the phone with a positive attitude 93 #56 Speak clearly, ask questions and give useful answers 94 #57 Change recorded messages frequently 95 #58 Keep background noise to a minimum 96 #59 Ensure that messages are passed on 97 #60 Eliminate the need for callers to have to repeat themselves 98 #61 Keep a pen and paper by every phone 99 Section 8: Promotional material 101 #62 Plan your promotional material from the customers’ point of view 102 #63 Answer the most commonly asked questions 103 #64 Avoid using technical jargon 104 #65 Make it professional—inspire confidence 105 #66 Make your contact details easy to find and easy to read 106 #67 Keep text to a minimum—stick to the facts 107 CONTENTS vii Section 9: Customer service and the Internet 109 #68 Make your website user-friendly 110 #69 Use your website to answer questions 111 #70 Respond to emails quickly 112 #71 Don’t ‘shout’ or use abbreviations 113 #72 Use photos of real people 114 #73 Make automated responses simple and professional 115 #74 Keep text on websites to a minimum 116 #75 Ask your customers to review and rate your website 117 #76 Update your website regularly 118 #77 Beware of spam 119 Section 10: Following up on a sale is good customer service 122 #78 Discuss the sale on the spot 123 #79 Make a follow-up call 125 #80 Explain what to do if there are any problems 127 #81 Contact customers that you may have lost 129 Section 11: Internal customer service 131 #82 Work closely with other departments 132 #83 Don’t let the customer suffer because of internal bickering 133 #84 Follow up on calls from people within your organisation 134 #85 Give your customers a contact number for outside normal hours 135 #86 Don’t keep your customers waiting on hold— offer to call them back 137 Section 12: Maintaining a personal commitment to customer service 139 #87 Write a mission statement for customer service 140 #88 Be consistent in all you do 141 101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS viii #89 Read books and magazines to look for ideas 142 #90 Look at other successful businesses for ideas 143 #91 Don’t discuss politics 144 #92 Know when to take a break 145 Section 13: When things go wrong 148 #93 Have a clear and concise policy, but be flexible 149 #94 Dealing with telephone complaints 151 #95 Dealing with written complaints 153 #96 Dealing with a third party complaint 154 #97 Always have a solution 155 #98 You just can’t please some people 156 #99 The importance of following up a complaint 157 #100 Get it right the first time 159 #101 Make one person responsible for monitoring customer service 160 Bonus section—20 more customer service tips 163 #102 Be aware of cultural differences 164 #103 Always think about your customers 166 #104 Visit your customers’ businesses 168 #105 Embrace new technologies 169 #106 Invite good customers to special, exclusive events 171 #107 Keep databases accurate 172 #108 Package so as to be remembered 173 #109 The little things make the difference 175 #110 If you go to the customer’s home, clean up after yourself 176 #111 Run an outrageous promotion 178 #112 100 per cent satisfaction—guaranteed 180 #113 Avoid being overly familiar with customers 181 #114 Avoid the biggest mistake—not delivering on time 183 #115 Go shopping at the competition 185 #116 Set up a customer hotline 187 #117 Simplify your paperwork 189 CONTENTS ix [...]... customers Encourage your customers to give you their opinions If you ask for opinions, be prepared to listen to them Start a customer satisfaction survey immediately 1 101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS 1 Always put yourself in your customers shoes To be really committed to customer service, you need continually to put yourself in your customers shoes This simply means that you need to look at every... customer service complaints is that businesses don’t listen to their customers We all need to take the time and energy to listen to what our customers have to say We have to look for ways to make our customers feel comfortable, and to tell us their opinions on what we do well and which aspects of our business we need to improve This first section of 101 Ways to Really Satisfy Your Customers looks at ways. .. things that will make your business stand out 9 You must deliver what you promise 10 You must treat your customers with respect xxvii 101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS You will be reminded of the importance of these themes as you progress through the book xxviii CHAPTER HEAD xxix 101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS xxx CHAPTER HEAD xxxi 1 Understanding your customers Customers are the one... out what your customers expect from you, what they like and dislike about your business, and how to use these opinions to improve your overall level of customer service #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 Always put yourself in your customers shoes What do your customers expect from you? Hire a mystery shopper to evaluate your business Observe your business objectively Take the time to talk to your customers Encourage... Really Satisfy Your Customers the bonus section contains a further 20 of my favourite tips on customer service They are some of the best pieces of advice that I have encountered regarding customer service and are a combination of all of the topics covered in 101 Ways to Really Satisfy Your Customers Blank forms that can be adapted for use in your business In 101 Ways to Really Satisfy Your Customers the... satisfying your customers needs and exceeding their expectations It is a broad field with many variables that have been broken down into simple categories in this book The three secrets to really satisfying your customers 1 Take the time to find out what your customers expect from you 2 Always meet these expectations 3 Always try to exceed these expectations Understanding your customers and their needs As customers, ... 1 You need to know and clearly understand what your customers expect from you 2 You need to know what your competitors are offering 3 You need to meet and, where possible, exceed your customers expectations 4 You need to think like a customer 5 You need to make customer service a priority 6 Your customer service standards need to be reviewed regularly 7 You must communicate with your customers 8 You... customer service Section 8: Promotional material Section 9: Customer service and the Internet Section 10: Following up on a sale is good customer service Section 11: Internal customer service xv 101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS Section 12: Maintaining a personal commitment to customer service Section 13: When things go wrong Bonus section—20 more customer service tips In 101 Ways to Really Satisfy. .. don’t really inspire a customer to use the business If you don’t really know how your business is superior to your competitors’, why should your customers prefer to deal with you? I suggest that you visit your competitors Introduce yourself and tell them that you just wanted to drop by and say hello and have a look around A lot of people feel intimidated by this, but it’s a useful thing to do Talk to your. . .101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS #118 #119 #120 #121 Using reply paid mail Start a local campaign encouraging customer service Introduce a free service Don’t let customer service stop when you are busy 190 191 193 194 Appendix: Blank forms that may come in handy Your mission to customer service What do your customers expect from you? Competitor analysis form Customer satisfaction . How to keep your customers and attract new ones PLUS 20 BONUS TIPS SATISFY your customers 101 ways to really 101 WAYS TO REALLY SATISFY YOUR CUSTOMERS ALSO BY ANDREW GRIFFITHS 101 Ways to Market. Your Business 101 Ways to Boost Your Business 101 Ways to Advertise Your Business Secrets to Building a Winning Business COMING SOON 101 Ways to Balance Your Business and Your Life 101 Ways to. customer service and are a combination of all of the topics covered in 101 Ways to Really Satisfy Your Customers. Blank forms that can be adapted for use in your business In 101 Ways to Really Satisfy