We don’t have to tell you the importance of customer service. You already know how vital it is to the success of your business. But did you know it is crucial to your bottom line as well? Businesses spend a lot of time and effort trying to cut expenses and increase profits. However, a December 2014 article on
Taskle.com says that a 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%. Therefore, companies need to focus a lot more on improving customer satisfaction.
The best part of increasing your customer satisfaction levels is that customers keep coming back. These retained customers cost less than new customers. Why? Because you aren’t spending marketing dollars trying to get them in your stores – services you’re already providing are convincing them to come back.
Just what is that returning customer worth? According to an online article on Lireo.com:
- Increasing customer retention by 5% can increase your profits up to 125%
- Loyal customers are worth 10 times as much as their first purchase on average
- Companies who make customer service a priority make 60% higher profits than their competitors
How to Improve Your Customers’ Experiences and Retain Them
- Ask your customers for feedback. When you show that you care and that you’re willing to listen to your customers, they will appreciate it and want to give you their business. Really listen and try to implement their suggestions and
feedback, and then show what changes you have made based on their suggestions. - Offer a good mix of products. Make sure you have the products that your customers use the most on-hand for the time of year and the animals’ nutritional development.
- Keep your store easy to navigate. Keep your aisles clear and set up a good flow. Keep like or complimentary products together so your customers don’t have to go from store corner to store corner to get the two products they came for.
- Train your employees to handle complaints better. Negative interactions spread to twice as many people as positive interactions. If an employee handles a complaint well, the chance of the dissatisfied customer spreading his or her discontentment decreases.
Customer service – it is something we strive to perfect each day, but now that you know it can help your profits, be sure to give a little extra attention to the customers. Your customers will surely notice, and your bank account will too.
Sources:
http://www.taskle.com/how-does-customer-satisfaction-affect-sales/
https://www.lireo.com/how-customer-service-can-impact-your-business-infographic/#keytakeaways