In the last post we outlined the first secret to building a solid customer service plan and how to establish your vision for your business.

Today we will discuss the second secret in elevating your satisfied customers to raving fans. It is imperative that you know what your customers want. Familiarize yourself with who your customers are and you will know better how to serve them. Demographics are extremely important here. An upper-class woman in her 30’s is going to have completely different expectations than a blue collar worker in his 50’s.

You need to do the following four things in order to determine what your customers want when planning your customer service strategy:

• Listen to Your Customers;
• Ask Your Customers Sincerely;
• Offer More than Just a Product and/or Service;
• Know When to Ignore Them.

These are all important when deciding what your customers want out of their shopping experience.

Listen to Your Customers

You need to listen to both what your customers say and what they don’t say. Customers may say they want one thing and really mean something else. For example, if you customers are indicating they want lower prices, you may discover that the real priority is speed of delivery upon further exploration.

Also, be sure to listen to your “silent” customers. These are the customers who don’t bother to complain because the service is so bad they have just given up and don’t feel like their voice matters. They feel unappreciated and when a competitor enters the market, they will be lost forever.

Finally, you need to listen to customers who only respond with “fine”. These customers are similar to the “silent” customers in that they have become so conditioned to poor customer service, they can’t be bothered to provide their true opinion.

Ask Your Customers Sincerely

If you aren’t sincere when you ask a customer their opinion, they are going to see right through you. You may be thinking, “What about the customers who aren’t saying anything?” You need to ask them sincere questions that prompt them to consider their experiences. Make them feel like you really care about what they thing, because you should!

Offer More Than Just a Product and/or Service

Your customers are looking for much more than a simple product or service; they are looking for an experience that makes them feel good. They grade you on every step of the process. When you take this into consideration and treat them like they are valued, they will become loyal to your company.

Know When to Ignore Them

You may think this goes beyond providing good customer service, but in reality, you can’t please everyone and it would be impossible to fulfill every need of your customers. You have to set limits and adhere to them. If your company and its vision doesn’t meet the needs of the customer, they are most likely not a good fit for your business and would be better suited somewhere else.

These are the steps and tricks to figuring out what your customers want and how you can use them to work on your customer service vision and plan.

If you get stuck, reach out to me to help you through the process.