Are You Listening to Your Customers?

Dave Thomas

December 17, 2015

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One of the main components to running a successful small business is paying attention to the needs of your customers.

Whether you run a small brick and mortar shop, an online business, a small business office or myriad of other options, your customers must always come first. Failing to remember the importance of customers is a proven road to failure.

With that in mind, what are you doing as we head into 2016 to make sure your customers are first and foremost in your thoughts?

Customers Truly Do Matter

In order to get the pulse of your customers, it is important that you have regular contact with them in one form or another.

Among the ways you can do this includes:

Phone
Email
Social media
Surveys

Stop and think for a moment about the last time you reached out to your customers.

Was it just when a problem arose or was it simply to ask how they’re doing and what more you possibly might be able to assist them with?

Whether you sell office supplies, home furnishings, directspecials.com, financial services or a host of other products or services, it is important to always keep the customer at the top of the food chain. Failure to do so can easily result in lost business and perhaps even some bad public relations for your small business.

As the calendar gets set to turn to 2016, keep the following tips in mind:

Customer interaction – Don’t be a stranger to your customers. Regularly interact with them as noted earlier, letting them know how important they are to you. It is easy to just converse with them when there is a problem with a transaction, but interacting with them regularly shows you care;
Be a problem solver – If a customer comes to you with a problem, don’t put It on the backseat. Addressing it quickly and professionally goes a long way in successfully bonding the relationship. When customers see you and your small business as meeting their shopping needs, you benefit over time;
Train your team – If your small business involves more than just you, make sure your staff is properly trained in how to deal with customers, especially when there are issues. Nothing turns a customer off faster than an unpleasant experience with a business. Sure, some customers can be a handful to deal with, but remember that they are in essence helping sign your paycheck;
Spread the word – If you have 400 happy customers, why not make it 401 or 501 and so on? When you do a good job with customer service, many of those customers are apt to spread the word in-person and via social media to their friends and family, thereby opening the door to potential new business for you.

If you haven’t been listening to your customers recently, make one of your New Year’s resolutions to change that.