Do your customers see you as a brand to which they expect to stay loyal for months or even years? Unfortunately, many customers might only opt to buy your business because it happens to offer the specific product they need at the specific time they want it.
You could struggle to develop a strong and easily sustainable model on the back of such fleeting customers. So, how can you tell when you or your staffers aren’t doing enough to tempt these people into becoming regular customers of your business?
Your workforce’s morale is dropping
Naturally, everyone wants to be on a winning team – and, when things are indeed going well, this can have a snowball effect on your workers’ optimism. Conversely, though, their enthusiasm could dissipate if they find themselves constantly having to deal with rude or dissatisfied customers.
If many of your staffers seem somewhat lethargic, consider training them in customer service essentials on a bi-weekly or monthly basis, as SmallBizClub suggests. When you show stronger dedication to your workers, they could easily start doing likewise to customers.
You are struggling with customer retention
If you often attract customers but stumble in attempts to keep them, your customer service system could be to blame. If it’s a bad one, with workers mistreating customers or showing little interest in them, the customer will likely pick up on this quickly.
As you train your workers in customer service skills, you should get across how important it is that customers are treated well and made to feel as though they matter to your business.
A blame culture has taken root
It’s natural to want to blame someone else for something bad you are accused of being responsible for. However, in the corporate world, playing this kind of blame game can be disastrous in the long run – as it means that many customer complaints could simply be left unheeded.
Even when a customer seems overly dramatic, you should focus on doing what you can to address their concerns. After all, without customers, you won’t have a business.
You are being overly ‘salesy’
Yes, you obviously want to make money with your business. However, you don’t want customers to perceive you as so financially driven that you are more interested in aggressively pushing a product into their hands than explaining how this product could genuinely help the customer.
Try to keep your marketing materials informative and educational rather than just, well, spammy. Using a digital platform from a brand like ON24, you could hold online events like webcasts and webinars – events that your target audience probably doesn’t readily associate with salespeople.
Customers aren’t leaving feedback
Whether or not you ascribe to the philosophy that ‘all publicity is good publicity’, you should be concerned if your customers aren’t reporting back to you about their experiences – whether positive or negative – with your company.
As Talented Ladies Club warns, customer feedback “is the only way you know whether your customers are satisfied, or if they have any recommendations for improving your offering.”
