Businesses or companies that are obsessed with their clients tend to achieve more success especially with customer retention. These businesses go the extra mile to take client support to the next level by providing good personalized experiences, amazing perks and high-quality products.
According to reports, businesses can boost revenue between 4 and 8 percent above their market when they prioritize better customer service experience. But to effectively provide excellent customer service, businesses will have to first identify their customers needs and take the right actions towards creating a seamless experience.
Have in mind that happy clients generate return business. You will be surprised that 58 percent of clients are willing to spend more on businesses that offer exceptional customer service. Indeed business is nothing without clients. We all understand that, but sometimes it is easy to forget. It is easy to get caught up in the day to day goings on and forget who your business is there to serve.
In a competitive market you are expected to do everything possible to be one step ahead of your competition. This is where simple customer service and doing that little bit extra will help you succeed. Always note that clients remember exceptional service, especially when it is not directly related to making a sale.
Delivering exceptional customer service can take time and resources but it has to be seen as an investment in your company’s success. Just consider your own experiences as a customer, the chances are that when a company does that little bit extra for you, it really made you happy.
Going the extra mile for your clients is a simple principle and it works. After a while your brand will become associated with exceptional customer service and you will stand out above everyone else in your market.
Top Reasons to go the Extra Mile for Your Clients
In this age, clients are becoming more and more spoiled with reliable services and good business attention. They are no longer contented with a good product or a friendly smile. They want everything to be better, faster, and cheaper.
Note that with expectations getting higher and so many choices available for a customer, it is very imperative to find ways to go the extra mile. Delighting a customer and going beyond expectations is hard, but it is more important than ever and below is why it is very important;
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Marketing
Going the extra mile simply means doing something above and beyond. It entails doing something unexpected…in a good way. Most times, these small unexpected experiences are what sticks out most in a customer’s mind.
You can spend days perfecting the perfect recipe to serve to your customer, but what they will remember most was the 10 seconds it took to ask them about their day or that free product sample you offered them. These small moments are remarkable and when something is remarkable we share them with friends and family.
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Loyalty
The competition is fierce and customer expectations are massively high. Therefore, to keep a customer loyal to your business, it is very imperative to consistently find ways to differentiate yourself by creating an experience that goes the extra mile. Have it in mind that it is 10 times more expensive to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.
Reports have it that the chance to sell to a new customer is only 5 percent to 20 percent but the chance to sell to an existing customer is 70 percent. So you can take that extra step so often to put a beautiful smile on your customers face and keep them coming back.
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Impact Others
Note that just your sheer commitment and diligence towards your work will definitely encourage others to follow in your footsteps. Set a great benchmark for yourself which others will aspire to. Strive to become a positive influence and make a concrete difference. Help to build a stronger workforce.
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Improve your knowledge of your Customers
By going extra mile you tend to get the chance to know your customers better. Ideally, clients will always cherish personalisation. Therefore, strive hard to dig deep into understanding how their business works day-to-day, any problems they have encountered and how you could resolve them.
Where relevant, you may also choose to take note of any conversations exchanged so that you are able to refer them the next time you talk. Go the extra mile and make them feel like they are your only customer.
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Higher Spend
Also note that happy customers spend more! Not just visit more, but spend more per visit. Harvard Business Review cites that “customers who had the best past experiences spend 140 percent more compared to those who had the poorest past experience.” It is hard and challenging enough to get a customer through the door so go the extra mile to make it worthwhile.
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Feel Good Factor
If there is one obvious reason to go the extra mile, it is to ensure that you feel better about yourself. Normally, we all want to be that person who looks in the mirror in the morning and know our reflection is of the professional employee – who does a great job every time.
Who doesn’t enjoy the praise from a client, from a manager or co-worker when you have worked hard and gone above and beyond what was expected of you? Note that by going the extra mile you are bringing a sense of purposefulness to your working life.
Ways to Go the Extra Mile for Your Clients
Your clients or customers are more or less the reason your business exists, therefore, it is crucial they have a high opinion of your organisation. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if you treat your clients well, they are more likely to stay, treat them poorly, and they’ll likely leave.
Aside that, in the age of social media, customers are exercising their buying power, readily telling the world what they think of your business – be it good, bad or indifferent. To help make sure your clients stay happy, here are four ways you can go the extra mile…
- Listen
You have to make sure your clients are heard. Record all client feedback, and most importantly, put a process in place to so that it is received by its intended audience and doesn’t just stop once it hits the ears of your complaints team.
Take your time to gather as much feedback as possible by leaving comment cards at jobs or incentivising customers to fill out online surveys. Finally, consider doing a regular search on your company name through social media sites to see what your customers are saying about you, and be proactive in addressing any situations that need to be put right.
- Be Easy to Talk to
Always do everything you can to appear available to your customers. Offer them plenty of ways of getting in contact: online, via telephone or social media and even by good old fashioned snail mail. Do not forget that what works for some may not work for others, so make sure you have got all the bases covered by offering multiple avenues for communication.
- Throw in Perks, as Standard
Note that this can be an incredibly affordable way to leave a good impression after every customer interaction. Consider any little, additional extras you can surprise your customers with each time they use your service. For instance, if your customer requests a car to take them to the airport – they may not expect bottled water, mints, fresh fruit and anything else that make their journey more comfortable.
Have it in mind that providing free perks like this can not only increase customer satisfaction, but also helps your business to stand out from the competition.
- Keep an eye on your Assets
For instance, if your business depend on fleets, it is essential to know where they are. Should your driver run into trouble on the road, or a situation out of his or her control is likely to cause a delay, a robust vehicle tracking solution helps you keep your customers informed ahead of time or quickly and easily re-route your drivers if necessary.
Conclusion
Have it in mind that half of U.S. customers are no longer making decisions on the basis of price or product selection. Instead they access what a brand says, do and stand for thus creating good and bad customer service examples. The customers are ready to spend extra for brands that have created exceptional customer service examples and express brand loyalty by referring it to friends and relatives.
However, the best way to offer service to your customers is to first know what they are looking for and listen attentively to their experience with your brand. Monitoring all the channels your company is active on is equally important to know what customers say about your business.
There may be no shortcut to keep your customers satisfied, so upgrade your quality of customer support. Hopefully, the article above can help you pick up tips to apply in your business to create excellent customer service.