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Customer Service Information |
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Be A Resource
What is one of the greatest ways to add value to your business? Nope, it's not giving away free merchandise, offering special discounts, or even creating a preferred customer club. One of the most valuable commodities that you can provide your customers is INFORMATION. WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? Think about it. In this society, we are faced with an overwhelming sense of information OVERLOAD. There is so much "junk" out there cluttering up the landscape that it can be hard to find the one bit of data that is really useful to you. How many times have you gone onto the internet or searched through the database at your local library for one very specific piece of information -- only to come up with hundreds or thousands of documents that are completely unrelated to the topic at hand? All of this informational garbage has become known as DATA SMOG, and it clutters up our heads as much as atmospheric smog clogs up our air. WHAT'S THE SOLUTION? As a business owner, this is where you can really be of service to your clients. It doesn't matter if you sell life insurance or organize people's offices or prepare wills -- you can be a valuable RESOURCE to your clients. Just listen the next time that you are talking with one of your customers -- you will recognize a lot of comments that indicate a NEED. When you hear things like, "I'm having a problem with?" or "I wish I could find a good?" or "I really could use some help with?" you are hearing an opportunity to help someone out. WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED? So what difference does it make if my client needs legal help or is looking for a good place to buy a used filing cabinet? That's not my business! Well, maybe not -- but you will immediately gain CREDIBILITY in your client's eyes. You are no longer seen as a mercenary business owner who is only interested in making the next sale. You are now a generous, caring person who goes out of his or her way to make sure all of your client's needs are taken care of. You have developed a rapport with your customers, and they will reward you with their LOYALTY -- as well as referrals to other potential clients. And it takes very little time or effort to locate a resource for your clients, as you will see a little later on. GET TO KNOW YOUR CLIENTS It's much easier to serve as a resource to your clients if you get to know them PERSONALLY. Ask about how their families are doing, what's happening in their businesses, and what new projects they've gotten involved in since the last time you spoke. The more you get your clients to open up, the more likely they are to mention a need that you can help them solve. And it's amazing how easy it is to get people to talk about THEMSELVES if you just ask -- it's most people's favorite subject! MAKE NOTES You might be thinking to yourself, "There's no way I can remember all of these 'needs' that each of my clients has!" And you are probably right -- unless you use some sort of a TRACKING SYSTEM for keeping notes about your customers. I always take a pad of paper with me to appointments for recording these "resource-related" to-do's. That way, when I get back to my office, I can respond quickly to my client's requests. Try to get into the habit of setting aside just a few minutes each day to take care of your "resource duties" -- just like you would do with making phone calls or returning e-mails or any other MARKETING activity. Because that's what this kind of customer care is -- marketing both you and your business. SEARCH THE WEB I find that, as a fairly computer-savvy individual, I have a talent that can benefit my less technically-inclined clients a great deal -- I know how and where to look for things on the INTERNET. When one of my clients mentions needing administrative help or a personal coach or even a good place to buy shelving, I can find an online resource for them quickly and easily. Rather than telling my customers, "I'm sure you can find this on the web," I send them an e-mail with LINKS to the appropriate sites. This not only helps my clients find the products and services they need, but I come out of it looking like a real hero. DO YOU ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT CLIENT SUGGESTIONS? It doesn't do any good to ask for a client's feedback if it's just going to get pitched into a file or left in your e-mail in-box. You actually have to move that idea into some form of ACTION -- clarify (or even change) your policies, implement a new follow-up program, offer specially-priced sale packages, make an addition to your marketing materials -- whatever it takes to keep your customer happy. And when you do follow-through with a bit of client feedback, be sure to send that customer a letter. Tell them how much you appreciated their opinions, and point out how you have put their suggestions into action. You will always come across as a hero. CLIP AND SEND I love flipping through a catalog, magazine, or newspaper and coming across something that I know a client of mine can use. I don't go out of my way to subscribe to tons of extra PERIODICALS -- I just keep an eye out for interesting subjects in my everyday reading. But if you have clients who always seem to need help in a specific area -- finances or technology or parenting -- you might consider getting a few additional SUBSCRIPTIONS (and count it as a business expense!) I've sent clients articles on everything from caring for elderly parents to creating a business plan, and I'm always clipping pages from catalogs that have new and interesting organizing products that meet a particular client's needs. It takes only a few minutes to tear a page out and pop it into an envelope, but the impression you make lasts forever! MAKE CONNECTIONS Finally, one of the easiest ways to serve as a resource for your clients is through NETWORKING. As you network, you will meet people in other fields who might be of use to your clients down the road. Remember, you never know what kinds of products and services your clients might require -- and the more people you get to know outside of your own industry, the more likely you are to say, "Hey, I know someone who does that!" when a client mentions a need. Nothing feels better than successfully connecting two people who can be of service to each other -- and in the process, you create two loyal sources of REFERRALS for your own business. Ramona Creel is a Professional Organizer and the founder of OnlineOrganizing.com -- a web-based one-stop shop offering everything that you need to get organized at home or at work. At OnlineOrganizing.com, you may get a referral to an organizer near you, shop for the latest organizing products, get tons of free tips, and even learn how to become a professional organizer or build your existing organizing business. And if you would like to read more articles about organizing your life or building your business, get a free subscription to the "Get Organized" and "Organized For A Living" newsletters. Please visit http://www.OnlineOrganizing.com or contact Ramona directly at ramona@onlineorganizing.com for more information.
MORE RESOURCES: Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Business Wire JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList™ for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKiosk™: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: It’s huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan Community advocacy group accuses RG&E of shutting off service to record number of customers in 2024 Spectrum News Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net Customer Support | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf 311 - Birmingham’s Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University Delta’s annual profit-sharing day spotlights ‘people first’ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Contact Reverb Support Reverb America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™ PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permits–customer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf How Intercom Achieves 86% Resolution Rates with Claude AI: A Customer Service Revolution - Anthropic Office of Developmental Programs Governor Tom Wolf |
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