Are You Running a Professional Business?

If your business is up and running are you running it as professionally as you can? New business owners sometimes neglect certain things due to the lack of start up funds. While seasoned business owners can sometimes get lazy and let things fall by the way side. Neither of these things is going to help you create a solid first impression with new customers.

One of the most critical areas that you should always pay attention to with any business is your customer service area. You need to set up a solid foundation for this and then always follow through with any issues.

Customer Service

No matter what type of business you run you need to have a way for customers to request help or to get an issue resolved. This can include providing more instructions on how to use a certain tool. Or maybe the customer was unlucky enough to buy a faulty product and needs it replaced.

How do your customers connect with you?

Of course you will have phone support and possibly email support. Does your phone have a voice messaging capability? If you are busy with another customer when the phone rings, you don’t want to leave them standing there while you take a call. If you have voice mail they can leave a message and you can get back to them.

Even if you have this in place do you listen to your voice messages regularly and do you make a point of calling them back, even if you know they have a complaint? Regardless of their concern it is only good business to return your phone calls.

If this is a first purchase from a customer and they have run into an issue, having good customer service in place is crucial. Their first impression may have gotten dampened because they purchased a defective item. If you respond to them and get this issue taken care of their first impression will be restored. They will be happy to recommend your company to their friends.

On the other hand if you don’t respond and tell them to contact the manufacturer, their first impression will be a negative experience. They will advise their friends and family not to do business with you and this can snowball out of proportions. One person tells 5 people and those 5 tell their friends and before you know it hundreds of people have heard negative comments regarding your business and your lack of customer service.

Is this any way to create a good first impression?