One of the cornerstones for small business marketing is customer service. This area is being given more attention these days and most of us know it is a simple way to attract and retain our customers.
I was reading an article yesterday on the Sydney Morning Herald Small Business Blog by Kristen Le Mesurier about returns policies and I noted the friendly customer service approach by Freedom that allowed customers to return anything in saleable condition within 7 days to receive their money back.
As Kristen noted some customers will want to return products. To me, Freedom simplified this process and made it easier for customers to shop at their stores without the worry of making the wrong purchase choice.
The article reminded me that by looking at our customer service policies and making it a little friendlier and easier for customers can make all the difference to the relationship.
An example of this is Pet Care 200 Warehouse. My cat had just turned 1 so Charlie needed to change to a different type of cat food. I tried one and normally he eats like a dog and woofs the food down pretty quickly. However he just was not taking to the new cat food.
I went to Pet Care explained the situation and after listening they suggested another type and to see how he went for 3 days. If he still was not eating like he used to I just had to bring back the rest of the bag of cat food and my receipt and they would give me my money back. There are not too many stores that will offer to take back a bag of food that has been opened and some of it consumed. Great customer service and so simple.
Do you have any tips or examples for making customer service policies friendly for your customers?
Making it easier for the customer will be key to a companies longevity.
Nice Blog.
Customer service is one of the most powerful means of retaining happy recurring customers. Offering incentive programs, customer loyalty programs, and sales incentives ia another powerful way to build a powerful customer relationship while branding your company as a success.
Montgomery, I agree about making it easier for customers and I think this is being more apparent these days when we have to work a little harder to strengthen our customer realtionships. Thanks for your comment.