“The customer experience is the next competitive battleground,” said Jerry Gregoire. Is your small business well suited to perform on said battleground? Sure, it may be impossible to have door greeters like Wal-Mart or give free samples like Sephora, but certainly there are little moves that can make a dig difference in regards to your customers’ experiencing.
Unfortunately, a business only hears the gripes of 4% of their unhappy customers. That means that for every complaint you receive, there are about 19 other people who just didn’t have it in them to berate you. Don’t be fooled. Their experienced is still sullied and they might not come back, you just didn’t have to hear about it. Companies that make customer service a priority make profits 60% higher than their competitors. this is partly because customers are likely to abandon a purchase if they can’t immediately get their concerns answered. So how exactly do you accomplish that in your small business? A small business telephone answering service is one way to start.
By using a 24 hour answering service, you are giving your customers the chance to get a hold of you based on their schedule, not yours. For example, if you have a health food store with limited hours, when someone thinks about doing a diet cleanse, all their questions may strike them at 11 PM. A virtual receptionist services can offer them a few details to tithe them over until regular business hours resume. If you don’t catch that sale, someone with a small business answering service just might.
Lucky for you, the customer service industry will grow more than 10% in the next 10 years. That means there will be plenty of well-qualified people to man a 24 hour answering service. Keep in mind that while not everyone who is dissatisfied by your business lets you know, they still let their social circle know! People are twice as likely to spread the word about a good customer service experience than a bad one.
