I recently took my car in to get new brakes. I had never been to this shop, so I was a little unsure what kind of experience I was going to have. Happily, the owner was more than helpful. He didn’t just put cheap brakes on my car, he asked me what kind of budget I was working with and explained the different types, gave me his own recommendation and then asked what I wanted.
When I came back to pick up my car I found that he had not only replaced my brakes, but also cleaned my car and fixed a small dent in my hood free of charge. Why? Simply because he would have done the same if it was his own car. Treating my car like it was his own assured me, the customer, that my car was in good hands.
What makes a good customer experience?
This assurance is what made my experience a good one. It isn’t always just the deals or the selection; customer service can make or break the shopping experience, gaining you a loyal customer or a poor online review.
But good customer service isn’t just about greeting customers with a smile anymore. People are looking for a personal connection even in business dealings. By making an effort to form relationships, you start to build the kind of trust that results in repeat customers.
This isn’t like building friendships, though – it’s less about getting to know each other personally and more about caring for customers as people rather than money machines. It can be as simple as offering your knowledge and advice to the customer, even if they didn’t ask for it. If people feel like they are doing business with someone who genuinely cares about helping them out, they are more likely to return.
Every customer is important – treat them so!
Every customer should feel they are the most important one you have. It’s that VIP feeling that will make a one-time customer return again.
Have you ever walked into a store and heard the standard “Is there anything I can help you with today?” greeting? How about someone who not only helped you find what you were looking for, but asked what kind of product you were looking for, gave recommendations and helped you choose something to fit your needs? It’s service like this that makes a good shopping experience because they know they can depend on you to get them what they need.
Pricing and novelty aren’t always the customer’s motivation. Building relationships with your current customers based on the level of service you provide and the way you treat them as people is one of the best things you can do for your business.
Recall the last time you had a great experience with customer service. What made it so great? Use those experiences to start giving your own customers great service.
Have a great customer service story? Share it here in the comments!
Summer usually brings a few of our favorite things – like sunshine, days at the lake, hiking and grilling. This summer also brings the RSA office a few jackrabbits. Not the little fluffy ones that munch on your garden (put down the BB gun!), but rather three lovely summer interns from South Dakota State University.
Kandi Moulder – Account Management, SEM
Kandi
“I may not believe in myself, but I believe in what I’m doing.” – Jimmy Page
Kandi is a senior at SDSU in Brookings majoring in advertising with a minor in art. She originally hails from Jeffers, a small town in Southern Minnesota. She’s not kidding when she says small; there were more people living in her dorm hall at SDSU than in her hometown.
Kandi is a bit of an art addict. Spending the summer without her art supplies – or her cat, Kitty – is going to be tough. She made her first trip to Art Alley a few weeks ago and fell in love. She plans to make it down there a few more times this summer. …Read more »
Yesterday a few of us had the opportunity to attend the first Day of Excellence in Rapid City. Hosted by Leadership Rapid City, the one-day conference focused on fostering personal and professional growth.
We showed up to the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center yesterday, coffee in hand, interested to see if the speakers would have anything to teach us (and praying they would be funny). More than 1,200 people had the same idea, and luckily, we weren’t disappointed. …Read more »
I’ll be driving through eastern South Dakota next week. It’s a drive I’ve made many times, though I’m usually on my way to Minneapolis. This time Sioux Falls is my destination, and I’m pumped.
I’m heading out that way to attend the OTA Sessions–an event that, if you’re a small (or large) business owner, marketer, salesperson, PR pro, or creative in the Midwest, you should not miss.
OTA is the first conference of its type in South Dakota, as far as I know. From the website: …Read more »
"People are in social media to be socially active, not to be sold."
Earlier this week, I attended a Social Networking seminar at Western Dakota Tech, put on by the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce. It was really quite interesting with approximately 85 people from local businesses in attendance.
I was particularly interested in what Adam Beshara (Marketing Specialist at Golden West Technologies) would share about Twitter and then how Realtor Lee Alley (with Prudential Kahler Realtors) would talk about Facebook for business. Both of these presenters impressed me with their realistic take/talk about social media for business in general. So much so, I want to share some of their key (form my perspective) points.
Most of us who are active in social web spaces (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.) do it privately – that is to say, we’re engaging online with friends and family. But what if you’re doing it for a business? How should you present yourself?
It can be difficult to know where to draw the line between the personal and professional when dealing with brands, vendors, clients, customers, etc. After all, you are YOU, and though you may represent your organization, you’re still a person. And people engage with other people.
Look, I “tweet” personal stuff all the time. Granted, I’m not the principle of the organization, or even a high-level operative (so to speak). So although I do represent my company to a degree, I’m safe from being seen as “the company voice.” Not so, for others. Being seen as the representative of the organization can put you in a tight spot where the line between personal and professional gets a little blurry. …Read more »
Social media is all the rage these days. It is no longer just the interest of your 16 year old daughter or the chronicles of life on a college campus. These past couple of weeks, I have had several people (outside of work) ask me about social media – what it is, how to do it, how it works, etc.
Meet Mr. Social. He’s practical, sensible and sensitive.
From my cousin asking about Twitter or my boyfriend’s mother about Facebook, to random people I meet that gripe about social media being a waste of time, it seems to be everywhere I turn.
But why?
What makes social media so special?
Whether you look at it from a marketing perspective or simply as a way to stay connected to friends, family and the rest of the world, social media is quite practical in our modern, speed-of-the-web society. Here are 14 practical uses for social media.
Despite the mass of “What Is LinkedIn?” articles out there on the web, LinkedIn still remains a mystery to many. The main question seems to be “why is it useful?” And that’s not surprising. Our free time is limited, and we hardly want to spend hours on yet another website that offers little value.
The value of a website can be measured by what we each get out of our time spent on that website. So for some people LinkedIn will be a waste of time. For others, it will be the most valuable website they ever used. So how can you find value in it?
LinkedIn is a professional networking destination. If Twitter is the cocktail party and Facebook business casual, LinkedIn is the business suit (h/t @paulchaney). Here are a few brief reasons …Read more »
As my final comment on the South Dakota Tourism Conference -I saw fantastic potential for 2009. The mainstay will be to continue building our tourism network of friends via social networks on the internet. Here are a few testimonials on how the State of South Dakota is using different partner programs to promote opportunity for all tourism-based businesses in South Dakota:
I’m excited – There’s nothing like being around people that are part of a common goal and vision for their industry – It’s great to see tourism friends and hear their perspectives on how their year went, how they are planning for the next year, and especially how their family is doing back home.
Overall, the conference had some excellent speakers for the seminars. My favorites were Garrison Wynn, Beth Terry, and Matt Baily. They were professionals that lead the way by teaching and encouraging an open forum. They also, like any good speaker, had great quotes: …Read more »
