by Nigel Hilton
When it comes to being successful in business, one of the best ways to keep customers coming back to you is by gaining their confidence and trust. Impressing your clients and making sure that they receive an unbeatable service, is a one-way ticket to growing from a small business to potentially one of the big players in your industry. But this all sounds easier said than done, so what exactly can we do to ensure we raise customer's confidence, and how do we do it?
Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash
Deliver Promises
It sounds obvious, but there are many companies that just don't deliver what they say they are going to. Of course, things happen, and you end up not being able to provide something because it's out of your control, but those times should be very few and far between. It's a breath of fresh air when we ask for a service or a product to be delivered, and it happens, on time, in excellent condition and with as little fuss as possible. There's a reason so many people will order from certain large companies, and that's because they know exactly what they are going to get and when they are going to get it. The best way to go about this is not to make promises you can't keep to start with and make sure you have all the processes in place to ensure your service is second to none.
Over Deliver
As well as delivering as promised, there is a trick that will raise a customer's expectation and happiness with your business quite quickly. And that is by over-delivering on your promises if you estimate delivery in three days do everything you can to get the delivery done in two days. Include free gifts and money off vouchers for next time and generally treat every customer like they are the best customers you've had. Because let's face it, every single customer has the potential to be your absolute best customer, you just haven't discovered it yet.
Security
If you have a physical site that your customers visit you at then you sound to make sure that every aspect of that site is well maintained and safe, if you sell products you need to ensure that all aspects of the safety of those products are secure and up to date, and if you hold customer information you need to make sure it's secure and safe. To do that you will need to make sure your systems are up to date and as secure as they can be. A company like The Syscomm Group can help you set up cloud storage and network systems to help with that.
Be Open and Honest
Sometimes things go wrong, you can't deliver something on time, or a product is faulty, this is your time to redeem yourself and raise customer confidence, all you need to do is apologise, show that you care about the customers and make it right. If you own your own downfalls and show you are doing your best but will make up for any letdowns, then customers will be much more likely to trust you in the future. Don't be afraid to ask for help in this scenario as well, everyone is learning and sometimes being a business owner is hard.
So whether you've been a business owner for five minutes or five years you can use these techniques and gain the confidence of your customers, it will be one of your best moves, and you'll reap the rewards before long.
