by Sharon Jones

Aiming to always improve your service to keep your clients happy is key if you want to keep them. Providing the best service you possibly can will help you to build a positive reputation, gain more clients, and keep the ones that you have. If you want glowing reviews and testimonials, then you need to use the 11 tips here. Take a look and see how you can offer a better service to your clients:

1. Know Your Product/Service

Knowing your product or service intimately is key. This way, you can know the most frequently asked questions and things that your audience want to know so you can create content that is useful to them. You can create blogs advising them on the best way to use your product/service, how-to videos, and more. Creating content that is useful will show your audience that you truly are the experts, and you may even be able to gain more exposure if you constantly put out quality content.

2. Make Them Feel Valued

It isn’t just about providing a great product or service to your customers. They will decide whether to work with you again or not based on how you made them feel. You need to make them feel valued! Be friendly, and do your best to go above and beyond for them. If you’re providing a service in person, it can be as simple as smiling, using positive body language, and showing them that you’re truly listening to them. Sending a handwritten thank you note or even an email can make a big difference too - just make sure it’s personalised!

3. Make Sure Your Staff Are On The Same Page

If you have staff, you need to make sure they are on the same page when it comes to how to treat your customers. They should understand the way they should interact with your customers and why, so that your audience can receive good customer service throughout the entire experience.

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4. Partner With Businesses Who Also Provide A Great Service

You won’t always be able to provide services alone. You may need to outsource certain services. For example, if you’re transporting or sending goods, you may need to find freight services to help you do this. Ensure that the businesses you partner with are also committed to providing a great service so that you don’t have to compromise on reaching your goals.  

5. Be As Responsive As Possible

Being responsive is a must in this day and age. People want a response from you and they want it now. They have short attention spans and they just can’t wait! When Google can give us the answers we’re looking for in a split second, it’s imperative you aim to answer calls, emails, and even social media comments as quickly as you can. If you leave your audience hanging for too long, it’ll look like you don’t care.

6. Ask For Feedback

When you ask for feedback, make sure you listen. If your customers give you something that you can improve on, make sure you actually take the steps required to improve on it. Feedback can be a huge help when it comes to your growth, so take it on board. Don’t just assume that your audience will give you feedback if they have something to say. If they are unhappy, they might not say anything at all and just make a mental note never to come back. Instead, remember to follow up and enquire about feedback so you can make your service better.

7. Know Your Audience

Do you know who your audience are, really? You should know as much as possible about them so you can create consumer profiles and figure out how to talk to them. For example, you should know their age, family situation, financial situation, and other elements that will impact how they react to you. You should shape your brand and offerings around who your audience are and what they want.

8. Focus On Keeping Customers Rather Than Gaining New Ones

Many businesses end up making the mistake on attempting to gain new customers, rather than focusing on the ones that they have already. It’s a fact that it’s far easier to retain customers who have already chosen to work with you, than to gain new ones. If you focus on giving incentives to your customers to stay with you, you’ll not only get repeat business, they will likely do the work of getting new custom for you by recommending you to family and friends.

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9. Avoid Going For The Hard Sell

Whatever you do, don’t go for the hard sell. People don’t like this and it can put them off from working with you almost instantaneously. It’s much better to really listen to their needs and requirements, empathise, and provide a solution. They will know if you’re really listening to them and trying to help them or not.

10. Use Customer Relationship Management Software

Customer relationship management software can enable you to have better, more personalized interactions with your clients each and every time. You will be able to document interactions with each client, analyze service gaps, improve your service, and more. It can be tough to keep track of everyone's accounts alone, but with this software, you will be able to do so easily and in a way that makes the customer feel more important.

11. Be Transparent

When it comes to your service and pricing, make sure you’re transparent. People will not react positively to unexpected fees and charges added on at the end of your service. They want to know exactly what they are getting, and how much for. Be transparent in everything you do, not just pricing. Make sure you’re transparent in what you are realistically able to do for a customer too. If you can’t do something, say it. They’ll appreciate your honesty and may even choose to work with you because of it.

You should always aim to improve your service, so use the above 11 ways to get started!