One of the greatest benefits of the Free Enterprise System is that it provides opportunities for both large and small businesses to grow and succeed. Each type of business has its challenges. However, there are certain challenges that are unique to the small business; especially when it comes to the task of customer service. In this blog, we’d like to take a look at the three brick walls of customer service that the small business owner typically comes up against and offer some solutions that may help “get them over the wall” and on to success.
THREE BRICK WALLS
Often, small businesses find that product development and marketing often come together easily while the task of providing a consistent level of quality customer service can be more of a challenge. In a small business environment, it is not uncommon for staff to “wear many hats” and therefore be spread a bit thin during the course of day. An on-going challenge for any small business owner is staying on top of the day-to-day tasks without losing sight of the importance of serving the customer. Here are the top three customer service brick walls facing many small business owners:
- Defining Customer Service Goals: This can be an often-overlooked aspect when it comes to running a small business. It’s natural to focus on product development and sales but it is equally important to define and set goals for your customer service. What are your expectations for how employees deal with customers? How do you want customers to see you? These may seem like obvious questions. Everyone wants their customers to see them in a positive light, but it goes deeper than that. When they see or hear your product mentioned, what is it that should come to their minds?
- Invest in Employees: As a small business, you invest in your product and your marketing and investing in employees is equally important. Train them to deal with customers. Invest in equipment that will make their job easier and enable them to perform better. Remember, investing in your employees is investing in your customers. If your employees know the expectations, are equipped to achieve them and are offered performance incentives, you can trust them to treat your customers well. Happy customers are loyal customers.
- Stretching a tight budget: Every business, large or small, must manage budgets well, however, this is critical for a small business. It is also essential to ensure the limited staff is NOT over-worked, yet all the tasks need to get done. If there is more work than staff, then outsourcing can be a good solution for your business. Outsourcing allows you to hire a team of trained agents who can pick up the slack and perform certain functions that your in-house staff may not have time to do, thus protecting your customer’s experience.
Here at Centris, we work with many small businesses to help them streamline their operations and lower their costs. We often begin on a small scale and then increase as needed.
If you are a small business owner looking to improve your customer service while lowering your operating costs, contact us. Our solutions will help you get over the “brick wall” and onto even greater success.
