The secret weapon for growing your business? Customer service ...

With competition fierce between companies to win business, customer service is one of the most overlooked weapons in your arsenal. I read many articles about growing a business, many of which point out that referrals and word of mouth often generate the best leads, yet they still tend to stick to tactics designed to winning new clients.

Customer service is something which you should think about all the time. If you get this right, you will always succeed in business and build an invaluable network of people who think you are great at what you do (which is worth its weight in gold). If your design work is top notch but your bedside manner has people running for the exit, a designer offering better customer service will find themselves with a new client sooner rather than later. This is true of projects where alternative designers cost the same as you, but also of companies that cost more. Example: If you had a choice of a coffee from a seller who was rude and made you dread entering the shop versus a cup costing 10p more from someone who smiled and chatted each time, where would you shop? And when it comes to more important and long term provider/client relationships this becomes true to a much larger scale. Companies have to feel comfortable working with a designer and good customer service is at the top of the list for ensuring you are that person.

A client needs to trust that the designer cares about the project, is on the ball and can deliver good results. If you take 4 days to answer an email asking for a project update how will they feel you have treated the rest of the project? It sounds obvious, but it is surprising how many people forget how important the client is and to treat them how they themselves would like to be treated. I should point out I am not talking about becoming a ?yes man? here but rather that whatever you have to say, you say it with both your and the client?s interests in mind. Example: Can?t do the additional work on the site as it would mean they miss their all-important launch date and blow the budget? Let them know the time and cost implications and offer it as a potential future project after the launch ? saying this can actually show you care about the client?s project and know what you are doing more than saying ?yes? and then trying to deal with the consequences.

So, what are my top tips for customer service?

Always answer and acknowledge emails and calls from your clients. If you don?t know the answer or need more time let them know when you will get back to them and do so on time.

Make your quotes and invoices clear and easy to understand ? blinding the client with jargon or vague words will only lead to confusion on both sides.

Set realistic deadlines and then always meet them. If something unexpected occurs call the client as soon as possible to apologise and agree a new deadline. If you cannot complete the work and the deadline is both urgent and imminent ? take reasonable steps to help the client find another provider rather than leave them in the lurch.

Be polite! Always remain polite and try to understand their point of view even if your answer is no. If someone is abusive simply say you will speak to them another time and exit the conversation. You can never know why someone is being rude and what is happening in their lives, politeness or walking away are the only two ways to deal with any form of rudeness.

Be clear and do reiterate points when needed. If you assume the client knows what you mean and recalls a phone conversation from a week ago you will inevitably find discrepancies between your and the clients expectations. Follow up calls with an email to give them notes on what was decided and any deadlines. This also means you have the information in writing which can prove useful at a later date for you and the client.

Send regular updates and requests. Been working on something for a while? Be sure to send the client a regular short update letting them know you are still on track, asking for any additional or outstanding items and generally touch base and keep them in the loop. If they ask for additional work or hours which will affect their overall cost then keep them up to date with a running total of how much they have spent. Remember, this is their project too.

Received a complaint or seen negative remarks online? Talk to the person ? their complaint may be valid or may be due to a miscommunication. Ignoring or defending aggressively only adds to the fire. And, if you are wrong, always admit it and apologise; to err is human, to get defensive is just plain daft.

Not spoken to a client for a while after you have finished their project? Send them a follow up email or call them and ask how they are getting on. You never know, they may need a few more pages on that website or those flyers re-printed.

Need more work? In a competitive area? Why not offer your current clients a small discount for them and their friend if the friend takes up your services.

All of these things lead to happy customers and repeat business, which is the easiest and best way to grow your business and good reputation. As many of you will know, there is no better client to work with than a happy one and if someone is a repeat customer it is usually because they are happy. Simple eh?

Not only that, but a happy customer is the best sales person you can every have for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are not on the payroll which has the benefits of their being free (yay!), but also that anyone they mention you to will know they are unbiased and genuine in their praise. Secondly, if they like you enough to recommend you to others they will also come back for more business themselves either with their current employer / project or their next one.

Overall, just treat your clients fairly and how you yourself would like to be treated. If you take these as your basis you will soon find yourself with more repeat work and referred clients than you can handle ? all without costing you a penny.

Got any good stories of how good customer service has helped your business grow? Have any extra tips to add to our list? Add your comments below.

Source: http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/go-freelance-guide/the-secret-weapon-for-growing-your-business-customer-service/

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