Running a business takes a lot of work. Many sleepless
nights, no sick leave, your boss turns out to be a horrible procrastinator that
doesn’t pay very well and your benefits are nonexistent. However you have a lot of freedom and your
ideas are always used. It’s a great balance, life and work, no sleep and well
in the end you know it will pay off.
However a large part of being your own boss, that which
takes most effort once she’s off and running is customer service. If you
provide any service and you most likely do whether it is a physical item,
support, or resource in which you connect to people. All businesses provide a
product or service, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that having a solid customer
service is important. But really what is customer service?
Customer service is described as ‘the assistance and
advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or
services.’
Providing quality customer service is essential
to making your business run and for many of us in the crafts community it can
make or break us. So how can you the seller deal with customer complaints and ensuring
you are providing the best service?
Always
get feedback on your product before you sell it. This can take a while depending on what your
market is but if you handmade jewelry, for example, you want to ensure your
product is perfect. A major issue for
jewelry is metal allergies. Most people that are allergic to nickel aren’t
afraid to pay a little more to ensure they aren’t seeing their doctor more than
they would like to. Always test the product before selling this is a quality
check.
Build
a relationship. Being
kind and courteous should come natural, and being able to help people even when
need will show others you are willing to help them out with any issues they may
have. Having a personal and kind tone to
any replies even if it is it a review, email or comment is a great way to build
a repertoire with your customer base. It also lets them know, especially if you
acknowledge them by name that you recognize them, that they are just like you –
a person.
Time
limits when responding to communications. Response time is
important when dealing with customers. Most international and national businesses
respond within 24 to 48 hours. However, they can have hundreds of people contacting
them all at once and that’s a lot of work with a team. So how can you do it all
you’re only one person? Prioritize. Have
a customer complaint? Deal with this as soon as you can, even if you have a
family emergency letting your customer know your situations upfront and get
back to them right away when you are available.
Have customer questions? Save the most
often asked ones in an FAQ section to save some time, but don’t hesitate to
answer new ones.
These are just a few things to help
build your customer service to make it helpful to both you and your customer. Keep following along for part two!
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