Customer Service and Retaining Business

“I’m just not sure what to do!” I was talking with a business owner about the best marketing strategies for dealing with the recession. We agreed that gaining business was important, but retaining business was tantamount to survival.

We laid out a number of tactics for selling more to current customers and some ideas for promotions and special packages that might entice hesitant prospects by overwhelming them with value. Good stuff (which I’d love to discuss with you, too!).

I asked when the last time was that he spoke with his customers. He had built the business based on relationships and although there were reps and project managers and others involved in delivery, most of his best clients were brought in by him. You might guess the answer.

We get busy. We have a team. We start to manage rather than engage the customer. Those are all good and right things as a company grows, but in this recession, it is important that customers can count on what they bought. If what they bought is the owner’s ideas or confidence or inventions, then it might be time to get the owner involved in customer service.

It might be as simple and informal as a direct contact email or call asking how the customer is doing. Or it could be as formal as an open letter that reinforces the stability of the organization and its commitment to the customer, signed by the owner or top management. No sales pitch, no promotion.

This is also the time to be sure that the customer service process is tight. Some things to consider:
Are employees trained in not only resolution of an issue, but questioning techniques to uncover ways to exceed expectations?
The level of service that the brand, unique selling proposition and marketing message convey...does the actual level of service meet the perception?
Does the owner review customer service issues and insert him/herself based on the issue, its severity, or the customer involved?
And there are more...That third one; back to the owner’s role. There may be no better way to show the value of the customer to that customer than for the owner or top management to get involved in a customer service issue. It brings loads of value and usually only costs a bit of time. Usually time well spent.

This is the kind of strategy you’ll see in Marketing in a Downturn as well as our monthly subscription service. We’re trying to provide you with the best information available for you to deal with the recession in a positive, pro-active way. A way that can continue no matter what the economy is doing.

If you have a question about how to link your service, brand, selling proposition and message (aka integrating the customer experience), let’s talk. Email me and we’ll set up a time.

SLE