One of my favorite daily marketing fixes on the web is Marketingprofs.com. Here you will find blogs, articles and tips about marketing for your small business. The blog is comprised of contributors that in my mind are the best of the best in the marketing world.
Earlier this week Jane Schulte, author of “Work Smart, Not Hard” submitted a piece titled “Make Nice”. Ms. Schulte illustrates the importance of customer service by talking about Saturn and how they burst onto the new automobile scene not by introducing great new cars but by simply being nice to their potential customers.
Saturn has made their mark by changing an industry standard. They treated their customers nicely and made car shopping, a notoriously a bad experience, into a very good, easy and even fun experience.
This should be a lesson learned for local, small businesses. It is so easy to write in your advertisements that you have good customer service. Now is the time that you back it up. What do you do for EVERY customer that screams “we will take care of you”? What do your customers want? What are their complaints? Go online and read your company’s reviews as well as your competitors. Ask your customers. Ask your family. Find something to incorporate into the service of your customers that will make them tell their friends how great you are. And one last note: Don’t forget to change the mundane “we have great customer service” line in your marketing to something extraordinary. Tell them what you will do for them in delivering great customer service. I just recently went to a dentist solely based on the fact that they advertised that I did not have to feel “embarrassed” or “ashamed” by the fact that I was well past my “regular checkup” deadline.