Providing exceptional customer service is critical to survive in today’s tough world of retail. Here are 5 tips that will ensure your customers leave with a positive feeling and are likely to return and tell others.
1. Effective communication is critical for providing great customer service. Training your team to ask questions and listen is essential when interacting with customers. Repeating back to show understanding is such a powerful technique team members need to use more often.
2. Looking at ways to go the extra mile makes a huge difference. Encouraging your team to come up with ideas to do what it takes to exceed customer expectations is a great way to secure their buy in. Small acts of kindness can make a big difference in the customer experience.
3. Another important aspect of customer service is being empathetic and understanding. Reminding your team to put themselves in their customer’s shoes and show compassion and understanding towards their situation or needs is super important.
4. Ensuring there is a timely response on requests and issues is crucial. Team members need to always be prompt in addressing any customer issues or complaints. If a customer’s problem is not resolved quickly and efficiently, it can lead to frustration and a negative experience.
5. Gathering customer feedback is a simple way to help understand what customers like and dislike about their experience, and make changes accordingly. Feedback is the key to understanding customer needs and providing the best service possible.
Effective communication, going the extra mile, being empathetic, timely responses and gathering customer feedback are my top five customer service tips that every retailer can use to improve their customer service.
Roger Simpson – CEO, The Retail Solution and Author of “The Ultimate Retail Sales Experience” With over 35 years’ industry experience, Roger Simpson is recognized as Australia’s #1 Authority on customer ROI in the retail industry and as a global expert on staff coaching, customer service, and selling skills.
