Jacque Opie
Customers that love your guts will come back! And, they will tell all their friends about you. Some of these may or may not work for your biz. If they don't I urge you to start thinking about what will :)
Ask yourself these questions to really get inside your own head about your customer:
How do you want your customer to feel when they buy from you?
What to do you want your customer to think when they buy from you?
What to do you want your customer to do immediately?
What do you want your customer to do in six months to 1 year?
Once you have the answers to these (and more) questions, you can start to build an image of WHAT you need to do for your customers to fall in love with you.
When I talk about customer service, I mean the simple stuff, like smiling, saying hello, acknowledging people.
By focusing on our customers experience, we think about how they "FEEL" when they interact with us.
Develop your unique customer experience so that when they leave, they talk about you to EVERYONE! Think Virgin, Zappos. Do research and see what your competitors are doing that is lacking, and then fill the gap.
Whether we know it or not, every single interaction is a customer experience, it’s just whether it’s a good one or a crappy one.
Do you know start to finish how things are for your customers? Do you know where the bottle necks are, the frustration points? Do you know how your staff are actually speaking to and responding to your customers? Know this and change what is annoying. Make the experience intuitive, and add some surprises in as well!
Is there a gap in the products or services that you are offering your clients and customers. Have you surveyed your customers and asked them what they want? This could include delivery, methods of payment, opening times etc.
If you are not talking to your customer in some way after they have left your store, the likelihood is that someone else will be. Do something so special for them after an interaction that they can't help brag to their friends and family about how awesome it was. And it does not have to be expensive. For example, if you are a restaurant, send them a thank you for coming email - like you would to a friend after they came to your house for dinner. This is your chance to shine, and add a kiss :)
