Listening to Your Customers is the Key to Increased Profits

One of the smartest things you can do with your business in these tough economic times is to make your customers happy. This happens by design not by accident. Your business patrons want to feel important and they will reward the businesses that make them feel that way with their strong loyalty.

Think Like Your Customers
This all starts with the attitude of running your organization or department like a marathon, not a fifty yard dash. It is too easy to cut corners on scheduling and hiring when you are trying to save money. That makes the bottom line look good in the short term, but if you are planning on staying in business over the long haul, you have to think in terms of your customer’s best interests.

What Makes Your Customers Feel important?
So what are the things that make your customers feel important? What are the actions you and your staff can take that will make your clients feel like valued human beings? One of the best ways to find out is to ask them. Sitting down with a customer over a cup of Starbuck’s coffee (your treat), can help them give you insights you never dreamed of hearing.

On-Going Communication a Must
Many times the things you think are important to your clients are not. Curiously enough, the list of things that are important may change from week to week or may remain constant. This depends on the circumstances surrounding you customer’s needs and wants. By having an ongoing dialogue with your business patrons, you can keep abreast of their service perceptions and realities.

In this age of increasing technology and the everyday frenzy that accompanies it, slowing the pace down and getting face to face with you customers can be priceless. Investing fifteen minutes to simply ask a few questions and sincerely listening to the responses, can be like hitting the mother lode of gold.

If you are interested in a better career in customer service visit www.customerservicejobs.com


Tom Borg is president of Tom Borg Consulting, LLC. He is a business consultant, speaker, coach and author. He helps companies and organization become more profitable by increasing their value and lowering their costs through the professional development of their managers and employees.