Customer Service Tips to Help Your Business Stand Out

Good service is vital in any industry to make sure your business is successful and grows. Making the customer feel comfortable and appreciated is now more than ever important in this Covid era. Businesses must adapt to get through these challenging times. Good customer service also means a good reputation for your business, with more chance of word of mouth reviews. In this blog post, we will give you some tips on how you make your business stand out. We will also explain why good reviews matter so much, and how you can conduct your customer service to abide by social distancing rules.

Tips

After not being able to go to physical establishments during the initial period of lockdown, making a good first impression on customers who may be coming to your business for the first time can make all the difference. Something as simple making sure your staff look smart and that their name badges are on straight can be all it takes to make a good impression.

Knowing what you are selling and providing is important to make a good impression on your customers. If you are serving in a restaurant, know your menu, know the popular meals, or what your favourite is. This will bring more personality to your service and make the customers trust you more because they believe what you are saying.

Why a good review matters

Reviews have always been important, especially within the hospitality industry. A good meal and service can easily secure that valuable review. Reviews don’t just influence customers decisions; they can strengthen a company’s credibility. But, with the advancements in the digital age, online reviews have become very important. Studies have shown that 91 per cent of people commonly read online reviews, and as many of 84 per cent of people trust them more than personal recommendations. In 2017, customers read as many as seven reviews before trusting a business. Having a substantial amount of customer reviews online whether it be on your own website or a third-party review website makes your business seem more credible. In the hospitality industry, this is even more in the hospitality industry as 60 per cent of consumes read a review about a café or restaurant before going there.

Socially distanced service

Trying to create good customer service while in the middle of a pandemic can be hard. Your business must abide by the government’s regulations and rules, including social distancing. This can make customer service seem like an unachievable expectation. We are here to give you some tips on creating good customer service even in a pandemic.

Talk to your customers. This may sound obvious, but with the lack of contact with anyone outside of our households and social bubbles due to restrictions, talking to someone else can be a treat. A simple “How are you doing?” is all some people want and will make all the difference in the customer’s feeling towards you can the business.

Making your customers feel safe and comfortable is must. Taking ideas from other businesses in the industry on how they are coping with social distancing will help. An example of this is handing cutlery to customers in paper bags so they can distribute it between themselves and they know it has not been touched.

Having all communication paths open is vital for the conversation between you and your customers. People may have many more questions then they usually would about your terms and conditions and social distancing measures. Make sure your phone number and social media channels are clearly advertised and checked regularly. When answering, try to have the answers on hand. We know at this time the rules and regulations can be confusing, but answering in the best way you can will be appreciated by customers.

Times right now can be scary and confusing for businesses across all industries. If you can do anything to strengthen your business it would be creating amazing customer service, so consumers want to come again as restrictions permit.

Sources

https://medium.com/revain/why-are-customer-reviews-so-important-185b915d4e5d

https://www.inc.com/craig-bloem/84-percent-of-people-trust-online-reviews-as-much-.html#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%2091%20percent,one%20and%20six%20online%20reviews.

https://www.commbox.io/providing-excellent-customer-service-through-social-distancing/

https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/183956

https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/5-practices-restaurants-can-use-to-keep-customers-safe/576945/

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/providing-excellent-customer-service-2951744

https://www.badgemaster.co.uk/