Caring for Customers

It doesn't take a business genius to figure out that customers are your key to success. Without customers, no business can survive. Just as having customers means the business can function, caring for your customers means that your business can grow -- sometimes exponentially. We live in an increasingly stressful world. Downsizing, shaky economy, and the threat of terrorism preys on our minds and adds to the disquiet we experience every day. Coping with road rage and gridlock, taking care of children plus elderly parents, having to pull in two incomes to make ends meet, being fearful of the next disaster -- all of these things erode our confidence and our peace of mind. As a society, we've never been more beleaguered than we are now. More people are depressed or ill, taking time off work, and burdening the health care system. Productivity suffers as workers drone on, just trying to get through the day. We are desperate for human touch in this high tech world, and we crave companionship, intimacy, and love. Your business success will rise dramatically if you start to offer customers small gestures of caring. Hair Color Xperts (HCX) focuses on color, cut and care for their customers. When their salon visit is over, every woman is given a rose. The day after their appointment, someone from the salon calls to make sure they are satisfied with their experience, and gets customer feedback on anything that can be improved. At that time, the customer is also asked to book a next appointment or asked for referrals. Just the simple acts of giving a flower and calling to follow up, set HCX apart from the crowd of hair salons. Aveda salons offer a free hand or face massage while the customer is waiting for their color to set or hair to dry. When a stressed woman is looking to make her next hair appointment, what kind of establishment do you think she'll choose -- one that seems to genuinely care about her wellbeing, or one that wants to get her out of the chair as quickly as possible to make room for the next customer? Men are not above needing care and compassion as well. While it may be a bit more of a challenge to think of ways to express caring concern in manly fashion, it's not impossible. The solid, two-hand handshake, or hand on the shoulder can work, along with a sincere voice and eye contact. The point is to express care for that person. Do your call center personnel have instructions to deal with customers as quickly as possible? Or are they instructed to listen to the customer and do whatever they can to solve that customer's problem and meet the customer's needs? What caring touches can you add to your business, to strengthen your customer relationships? Follow up notes or calls; small gifts; savings coupons for spas or personal care products; something unique to your industry? All it takes is the mindset that your company cares for and about its customers. A company that cares about its customers is a company that grows by word of mouth and repeat business. Tags: Business, Marketing, Communication, Growth, Small Business, Relationships, Customers