Customer Service

What would you be willing to do for your customers if they were willing to pay you more for it? A recent study found that 52 percent of customers would pay more for “good” customer service. Even better, 66 percent would pay more for “great” service. And to top it all off, 75 percent of…

We’ve all seen businesses offering special incentives for new customers. If you’re a loyal customer to one of those companies and you see one of these offers that’s not available to you, how does that make you feel? You’re likely to wonder, “Isn’t my loyalty worth something?” Consider the message you’re sending to existing customers…

Sometimes, you want to have a gap—a gap between you in front and your competitors far behind. But other times a gap is dangerous, particularly a gap between the service you think you’re providing and what your customers actually think of your service. Surveys have found that as many as 80 percent of companies think…

Everybody knows about the importance of a good first impression. But the last impression matters, too—because it’s often a lasting impression. A good last impression will leave your customer feeling good about you and your business, and ready to come back to you when they need your services again. In this video, you’ll learn about…

You may feel the temptation to charge a little extra to your customers for little things that will help your bottom line in the short term. But don’t make the mistake of forgetting about the long-term value of a customer. Nickel-and-diming your customer violates their trust, especially when you change the rules in the middle…

Sometimes, what seems like the most obvious advice is the most important. That we should be responding more quickly to our customers when they call or email sure seems like something everybody “knows”—and yet people still need the reminder! A slow response time continues to be one of the most common complaints in some professional…

Have you ever had a problem, and tried to communicate that problem, only to receive an explanation or excuse instead of a solution? It doesn’t feel very satisfying. Many customers are more likely to make a negative statement than make a formal complaint, but in reality they’re exactly the same. If a customer says something…

I’m a big believer in the “One Thing Question.” Ask your customers just this one question: “What’s one thing you can think of that would make doing business with us better?” The secret is, you can also use a variation on that question with your employees to make your company an even better place to…

Have you ever considered the way that business is like show biz? If you run a retail store, the retail floor is the stage, and your employees are the actors. But it’s not about following a strict script; it’s more like improv, where your team has to engage with customers and respond appropriately. The best…

No matter what your business is, what industry you’re in, things are changing. Technology is constantly changing the way we do things, and what our customers expect. So you have to keep up with the times, or watch other businesses pass you by—or even have to close your doors. In this video, I share 5…