Reaching the Inner Customer

“Reaching the Inner Customer” might seem like a strange statement, after all, isn’t it the vendor’s responsibility to make the relationship work? While a vendor must go the extra mile, the customer also has obligations in making a vendor relationship effective.

The same qualities apply to a good customer as to a good employee, a good friend, even a good spouse: trust, mutual respect and appreciation, and sharing that shows that each is committed to the success of the partnership. So how do you reach the inner customer?

If we look at just the Trust aspect we find four areas that seem to be the most centric. 

Reliability Do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it. It sounds simple, but many small businesses have good intentions and end up failing due to personnel or inventory issues. My favorite local car wash, always has a full staff waiting when I arrive so the wait times are short and the car ends up looking brand-new. I know that I can count on the company to come through whether I need a regular wash and a hand dry or a complete detailed job.

Honesty Don’t lie about your company's capabilities or hide its pricing from customers. They won't return but instead will share the bad news with their friends. Instead, be up front about how your company operates and why you charge what you do. Customers will appreciate your honesty. 

Competence As a business owner, you need to prove to customers that your firm is the best to get a job done. You can’t do that without constantly improving what's delivered.

Two Men and a Truck International relies on feedback cards from its clients to improve the customer experience. Movers leave the feedback cards with customers at the end of a job. When customers mail in those comment cards, they are sent to the company's headquarters in Lansing, Mich., where they are read and digested. The folks at headquarters compile the feedback and send it to each location. 

If the company can make system-wide changes as a result, it does so. When great results come in, the company celebrates with everyone. This simple feedback system has helped the firm obtain a high referral rate and grow over 20 years from having one truck to using 1,800 vehicles.

Compassion This is an area where small businesses can shine but their larger competitors may not. When you run a small business, you know your customers, their businesses and families. Knowing someone personally and showing interest in him or her goes a long way toward building trust.

Is your company looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is your answer. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
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Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
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