Why do businesses exist?
Businesses exist to produce goods and services that satisfy and meet customers’ needs without which the business will have only the option to close down. The Customers have to interact company’s employees to learn more about its products and services. Therefore, the employees have to know and appreciate customer care guidelines and how to apply them when interacting with customers.
What is customer care?
Customer care relates to the treatment of customers with respect and kindness so that they get that unique or memorable and positive experience when they interact with the brand of the company. A brand, therefore, is the unique or memorable experience that customers get when they interact with the company, its products and services, and its employees. The experience is unique because it is different from that being provided by the competition.
Why customer care?
Customer care is necessary because a unique customer experience is the only distinguishing factor when a business is in the marketplace facing competition. Competition tends to be stiff in businesses offering the same products and services as the competition. This is the case with supermarkets, grocery stores, fuel stations, banks, and hotels among others. Customers can only return to the same business depending on the experience they received during their last visit.
Role of staff
All staff in the company exist to provide that unique customer experience with the brand when they interact with the customers. Therefore, the key role of all employees is to provide that consistent unique experience when they are attracting, serving, and retaining customers. Whatever employees do should enhance the unique experience customers get when they interact with them.
Customer care center
The customer care center should be manned by highly trained customer care staff whose role is to manage the relationship with customers. They should promptly address or attend to customers’ concerns which include answering calls and emails and providing appropriate assistance and advice to the customers.
A happy customer
A happy customer is someone who feels at home whenever he or she is interacting with the brand of the company. This is so because he or she enjoys that wonderful experience that the company offers and does not mind repeating the enjoyment of the experience over and over.
Benefits of good customer care
Good customer care offers a lot of benefits all resulting from the uniqueness of experience enjoyed by customers that contribute to the company’s revenue growth. The following are some of the benefits derived from good customer care;
- Repeat business from existing customers;
- Increases customers’ trust in your brand;
- Business referrals from current customers;
- Favorable comments in newspapers or online;
- Saves money for the business as customer retention is cheaper than new customer acquisition;
- Customers are willing to pay more for the products and services because of unique customer experiences;
- Reduction of customer complaints because they are happy interacting with wonderful employees who represent the brand;
- Reduces labor turnover because staff enjoy their experience with the brand;
- Unique customer experience enhances the growth of lifetime value and
- Customer care service improves the brand and image of the company.
Red flags in customers’ relationship management
Red flags show challenges in the area of customer care and may include the following among others;
- Customer complaints about the brand represented by the company, its products and services, and the employees;
- There are no adequate tools to monitor customer relationship practices leading to customers’ complaints remaining unattended to;
- Not getting regular customer feedback;
- High labor turnover;
- Weak social media strategy;
- Lack of attention to comments on the brand in the media;
- Reducing repeat business from existing customers;
- Reducing referral business from existing customers, and
- Lack of value addition to customers at the expense of maximizing profits.
Conclusion
The customers are the reasons why businesses exist without them businesses will go under. The customers will continue buying products and services of the company provided they receive a unique experience whenever they interact with the brand represented by the company, employees, and products and services.
Therefore, become a winner in the market by offering your customers that unique experience different from that being offered by the competition.