Marketing Commentary from interlinkONE
Marketing. Web-to-Print. Warehouse Management.
5 Customer Service Tips For Your Business
Posted by 
on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 
at 5:11 PM 
in I recently wrote about some marriage tips to use for marketing strategy and those bullet points only scratched the surface of some of the similarities between marriage and relationships that businesses build with their prospects.
I am sure you’ve read articles before about how marketing is like wooing your dream date. It’s all about trying to reach the target market (aka dream man / woman) and getting them to fall in love with you. But what happens after the wooing? After the big deal?
Surely it’s not over. You want a long term relationship. You want things to work for the long haul. And, as anyone who has been married or in a long term relationship can tell you, it takes certain things to make it work.
So what does this have to do with customer service? A whole lot. Because we can learn a lot from those gurus who tell us how to foster and nurture our relationships. Because most of us are in it for the long haul with our clients (or we certainly hope to be). So here are five typical marriage improvement tips that should be used in your long-term customer service efforts:
Communicate – Strong communication skills are vital to a long lasting relationship. You can’t possibly know what is going on with your client if you don’t talk (or email). Make sure you stay in contact with your clients. Let them know you are thinking of them. Send them some resource materials. Mention that article you found online that you thought would be of interest. Whatever you do, stay in touch and let them know that you are available and interested. You want that virtual door to remain open so that your client can feel completely comfortable coming to you.
Show the love – Everyone likes to feel appreciated. How do you show your clients that they are truly appreciated? Do you provide them with special discounts? Do you send them notes or tokens of appreciation from time to time? It’s important to show that you care for your clients and are grateful for the business.
Be faithful – Yes, we are usually the ones who want our clients to be faithful, right? We don’t want them falling for the next best thing that just happens to be a few bucks cheaper, a little shinier…But the same goes for us. We must be faithful. Faithful to our marketing messages, with which we must stay consistent and reliable. And we must be faithful to our clients in providing them top notch service that they can depend on.
Be supportive – If you don’t provide support to your clients, you will see them leave. One by one. Because everyone wants support. No one likes to feel like they are not listened to, or that they have no one to lean on. Once the sale is made, now you must provide the support necessary to show that you really care and that yes, you are there for your clients. 110% there.
Have fun – Don’t forget to have fun with your clients. As you get to know them, understand their likes and dislikes, then make sure to incorporate that into your phone and email contact. Business doesn’t have to be stuffy and impersonal. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Your clients are people too. And they have senses of humor and interests. Use this to further develop your relationship and let them know that your business has personality too!
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