It can be all too easy to get caught up in perfecting the internal operations of your organization, causing you to ignore or even neglect your organization’s ability to interact with external parties. Regardless of the quality of work produced, your organization cannot be performing at its full potential if it doesn’t come across well to others. The following guide provides 5 traits that your employees should embody in order to establish strong employee-customer communication and keep customers satisfied and coming back.
Provide adequate attention to your customers. Customer service 101 tells us that paying attention to your customers is one of the most important and effective ways to satisfy a customer. No customer appreciates an employee who is so distracted or uninterested that they make the customer feel like an inconvenience. Simply acknowledging the customers’ needs and questions can drastically improve their satisfaction.
Treat the customers’ concerns as if they are your own. One mistake that employees often make in regards to customer communication is that they underestimate a customer’s complaint or concern, thereby not addressing and solving it in the best manner. Here’s an example: A hotel employee listens to a customer excessively complain about his or her accommodations; instead of taking them seriously and fixing the problems, the employee just assumes that the customer is in a bad mood or is just excessively picky, making the employee less likely to quickly and effectively solve the customer’s problems. Establish a level of trust towards your customers in the sense that you believe all of their concerns are legitimate and deserve to be attended to.
Watch what you say and how you say it. We’re not just talking about presenting yourself in a professional manner; there’s more to it than that. Oftentimes, a customer may not know what he or she truly needs, which is why the employee is there to help. However, some employees take it too far, exhibiting signs of annoyance or frustration towards a customer that lacks sufficient knowledge about a certain product. No one likes to feel less intelligent, including customers. This issue is often seen in technology or healthcare fields that require specific and extensive knowledge, but that doesn’t exclude it from other business settings. In any field of business, be sure to guide the customer in the right direction without making them feel stupid for not immediately knowing what product is best for them.
Customers like to know that someone truly cares. This goes a step above providing the necessary attention and acknowledgement of a customer’s situation. Showing a customer that you truly care requires understanding, patience, and some compassion. Even if a customer’s situation is beyond your control, show them you understand their distress by offering help or compensation for something that you do have the authority and means to provide.
Instill a sense of flexibility and conformity towards helping customers. A customer’s request may require you to adapt to a new method in order to help them. Be able to adapt without negatively affecting your quality of work. Make sure, however, that whichever method you choose still conforms to your organization’s rules and practices. Your organization’s preset methods are in place for a reason; not only can they help you get on track to effectively achieve a result, but there also may be legal stipulations in place that require you to abide by means approved by your organization.
Making your customers happy is the number one way to drive more business for your organization. These guidelines will help your employees make the right decisions to achieve optimal customer satisfaction and make your organization a more desirable choice in the consumer market.
