7 areas to focus your customer service efforts despite the recessionary pressures
My friend Eric Fraterman, has written this communiqué
- Love your loyal customers
This is the time to make sure your loyal and profitable customers have no reason to question your value. Love them and appreciate them. - Distance yourself from unprofitable customers
This is the perfect time and excuse to let your unprofitable customers go. You can no longer afford to waste resources on them. These resources are better served reaffirming your love for your profitable customers. - Review complaints to add value
Look for clues and cues in customer complaints and act quickly to add value to your customers. Added value does not have to be costly. - “How can we help?”
Your customers are facing tough times as well. Speak with them about their problems. Look for ways to help them. They will appreciate the willingness and efforts in these trying times. You will build loyalty and equity in times when other vendors might disappear. - Innovation now
Necessity is not only the mother of all invention, it is also the mother of innovation. Creativity can substitute the need to spend heavily. What can you innovate for your customers quickly that will surprise them? When was the last meeting you conducted to seek such ideas? - Emotional engagement does not cost money
Caring comes from the heart, not from the budget. You can go a long way to build loyalty by simply unleashing the power of emotional engagement. - Training
This is the fastest way to differentiation. Your employees are still the best asset to create a difference. If you have a little budget, use it to train and refresh their commitment and solicit ideas to create a difference for each customer.
