CARING ENOUGH TO KNOW

If you didn’t know your child’s favourite sport or remember your mother’s birthday, what would that say about your commitment to the relationship? Really, not as much as you might think. You might be preoccupied or mistaken. But you know that, to your child or your mother, it might seem like you aren’t paying attention.

As business people, we have very good intentions to bolster the evidence that shows our customers that we are paying attention. If we care enough to remember details about their business, their purchase history, past requests, even their birthday, they might feel like we are paying attention. If we are paying attention, then maybe we are making our relationship with their business a priority. Caring enough to know means that we pay attention to what they need, and that’s what will reinforce the business relationship into something sustainable.

INFORMATION IS EASY

If you are a busy person, you probably have an organizer in your smartphone, and on it is a function that reminds you when you have an appointment, when it is someone’s birthday, or even when your favourite stock hits a specific price. You can keep all the information you have about family, friends, and customers organized to your advantage and translate that into being incredibly aware and detail-oriented in all your communications. You already have the information in your pocket!

LEVERAGE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

You know how much your smartphone can tell you about people, and you know how much you can glean from social media. Enter Customer Relationship Management, a type of technology system that allows a business to integrate everything they know about a customer; billing, purchase history, representatives who have interacted with them, even their birthday. There are also apps that can give social media insights so that you can tailor advertising strategies to what the customer is really interested in. When you are on the phone with the customer, it’s possible to have all of this information at your fingertips, and you can use their previous experiences, likes, dislikes, and other preferences to offer the best customer service they have ever experienced.

BE THERE FOR THEM

In any relationship, there needs to be excellent communication. Whether family members or business partners, don’t people always complain if they can’t reach each other, and often react as if the oversight were intentional?

Again, today’s technology makes it easy. Giving customers your personal cell phone number can be a touchy thing unless you have a dual SIM or two smartphones, but having a VoIP phone solution directs your office calls directly to your phone. No more, “sorry, I missed your call.” No matter where you are, it’s as handy as being in the office and ready to take a call at your customers’ convenience.

AUTOMATION LETS YOU FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER

Automation is a beautiful thing. Just as we have more time for our loved ones because we have appliances to take care of simple drudgery, so automating office tasks give us more time to give great customer service. Automated workflows mean that once your customer clicks “submit” on a web form: • the sales team is notified to follow up • accounting is alerted to invoice the order • the order is updated into the CRM system All without a human being having to do any manual intervention. You have more time to focus on the personal touch that shows customers they are your priority.

USING THE RIGHT TOOLS TO STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS

Technology is just a tool used by human beings to fulfill their intentions. If your purpose is to strengthen your relationship with your customers through optimum customer service, there are a plethora of tools available to empower you to do that. If you can automate and integrate information so that the customers feel like you really understand their needs, and consistently make yourself available to communicate, you will demonstrate to each customer that your business considers your relationship with them a top priority. That’s a great way to keep your customers happy! 

To find out more about using automation and custom software to facilitate communicating with your customers, feel free to reach out to support@stepsoftware.com for a no-obligation discussion to get you on the right path.