It should come as no surprise that customers are the life of any company. The consumer is what makes and defines a company in most economic aspects. Naturally, a business that can serve its customers well will retain and expand its loyal base and earn more as a result. The opposite is true: a company that treats its customers poorly will lose clients and profits.
Behind Consumer Thought: The Importance of Customer Service
According to one study, a single negative meeting with a patron can send up to 90 percent of a business’ customer base running to a competitor. The same study also showed that 86 percent of a purchasing base is willing to spend a little extra for a better experience. This means that a service that costs more but represents itself well to its patrons will perform much better financially than a business that doesn’t go out of its way to make the client feel welcome in order to save itself some money. The adage “spend money to make money” applies here, as does “the customer comes first.” People want to be treated like people, not tallies for sales numbers. In addition, with the massive bloom of service-rating websites such as Yelp, the ability to spread the word about a given company’s business practices and consumer care has drastically increased. Word-of-mouth is now word-of-keyboard, as people will post their experiences to as many social media websites as they can subscribe to. Their bad word spreads faster than ever, which can lead to the deaths of smaller franchises just trying to make a living. However, their praise spread just as fast, and this can draw in customers very effectively. In fact, using the good word of repeat customers is a great marketing tool that latches onto potential patrons’ sense of community instead of just blaring deal after deal out through commercials.
Customer Retention
Retaining customers means repeat business and what amounts to free advertising for businesses, which in turn raises profits and allows the business to serve the customers even more readily. There are a number of ways to make sure the customer feels welcome enough to stay with a company. Assertive investigation into competitors’ strategies and customer satisfaction can open the doors to new ideas. Making sure the employees—the eyes and mouths of the business—are doing their jobs courteously will draw in customers, and listening to those employees’ ideas can show that the business at large cares for people. Social media awareness can really impact a brand. Read what your consumers are saying and make adjustments accordingly. Finally, reward loyalty with worthwhile benefits distributed at reasonable intervals to incite repeat consumption.
About Advanced Communication Systems
Advanced Communication Systems is located in Maryland but serves the country by providing a great array communications knowledge and products. For more information about Advanced Communication Systems, call 1-800-750-3624, visit BuyTelephoneSystem.com, or follow the ACS Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google+ accounts.
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