Gaining and Keeping Customers through Exceptional Service

In times where choices are endless, consumers have a powerful and loud voice. Businesses can’t afford to be average and expect to stay afloat. Exceeding your customers’ expectations on every interaction is how brands develop a strong, loyal and long-term customer base. At my franchise company, we make it our first priority to treat our customers like our guests and keep them feeling comfortable and satisfied each time we interact with them.  Our focus is on 100 percent total customer satisfaction.

Most businesses will tell you that about 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your customer base. A very important component of this is repeat business. Clients and customers who continue to visit your business are your most valuable consumers on so many levels. First, they are usually the people buying multiple product lines and entering your store on a continuous basis. Second, they are your brand ambassadors. Loyal customers are your best form of advertising. People trust their friends’ and families’ opinions more than any other form of advertising or media. If you are pleasing your customer base through exceptional quality of product and service, then you should be attracting the people closest to them, or at least ask for the opportunity to do so.

It is extremely important that your team understands the importance of putting the extra effort on every single customer interaction. This effort is key to growing and keeping a strong business and converting your customers into loyal, raving fans. This same thing goes for interactions through social media sites. When building an online presence as a way to connect with your customers, you must keep in mind that this is representing your brand. Each contact and interaction counts. After building your virtual web presence on Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc., you cannot just forget about it and revisit it once every month—this is definitely worse than not having a site at all. Comments, interactions, and questions must be immediately responded too, especially dissatisfied customers. While it is great to get feedback, it is important to make sure you utilize customer comments and respond to them where appropriate.

I feel that customer service is one of our strongest competitive advantages. It is what we can offer compared to our competition that keeps our customers happy and continuously coming back for more.

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