Do You Have Happy Customers?

When I started in sales, I was told to plan for 20-25% customer attrition each year. That sounded really high to me. “Why would they cancel?” I wondered. “Why would they stop doing business with me?” “Couldn’t I make them happy enough to want to keep doing business with me?

It’s no secret that happy customers buy more and renew more easily. If you sell to businesses, being a resource by providing knowledge, help and industry information will go a long way to positioning you as a source of business advantage. You can choose to be a salesperson, or you can choose to be a business consultant that happens to sell.

My experience has taught me that GREAT customer service is not that difficult to achieve. Use the acronym HAPPY:

H - Be Helpful. Greet them when they arrive, return calls quickly and make sure your customers know they are the reason you are in business. Don’t make them feel like an interruption or inconvenience in your day.

A - Be attentive. Develop a relationship. Start by learning and using the customer name. Look for ways to make unique connections.

P - Be personal, not pushy. People are looking for guidance; they are not looking to be sold. They enjoy the process of buying and no matter what the product, they always have questions or concerns that will need to be addressed.

P - Be Proactive. Say thank you, smile and show customers that you truly appreciate they are doing business with you. Make them feel good about their decision. If there are concerns or complaints, address them immediately.

Y - Be yourself. People like doing business with people – real people. Show your personality – be real. Smile and have fun engaging with your customers. Your positive attitude makes a huge difference.

This is a critical time for your retail businesses, and they need help, information and ideas. This information is designed to help you create and retain happy customers. Do you think your retail clients could benefit from having this information to share with their sales teams? What do you think would happen if you shared it with them?

Providing WOW customer service is even more critical today, as people move forward to a new normal. There exists what economists are calling “pent-up demand,” meaning people have money to spend and they want to spend it. Is your company providing great service to your customers? As a source of business advantage, are you providing helpful information to your clients on how they can super serve and make their customers HAPPY?

Jeff Schmidt is RAB SVP of Professional Development. You can also connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.