If you run a business, there is one thing that is probably always on your mind: namely, keeping your customers happy. Their happiness is essentially like a currency which your business can look to to be sure of how it is doing, and as such it is hardly surprising that most business owners would be so concerned with this particular thing. If you are wondering how you can make your customers happier, the truth is that you will need to approach this issue from a range of different angles. Only by having this kind of all-round approach can you hope to really keep your customers happy, and it is essential to understand all of these aspects in as much detail as possible.

In this post, we are going to help on that front. First of all, we will look at what it is that it means for a customer to really be happy, and what it looks like. Then we will discuss some of the practical in-house things you can do as a business to make it considerably easier to look after your customers and deliver on your promises. Finally, we will look at the value and importance of seeking feedback as a means to improving your customer relations.

What Does A Happy Customer Look Like?

If we are to actually get to the point where we are keeping our customers happy, we first need to be able to identify when customers are happy and when they are not. Hopefully, they will always feel able to tell us when they feel things could be improved, but it is of course much better not to even let it get to that point. And the best way to make sure of that is to think about what it is that a customer needs in order to be satisfied and happy. As it turns out, this could be quite an extensive list.

Probably one of the more important factors in customer happiness is that they receive the service that they expect and deserve. If you are consistently failing to give them what you promised them, then it is unlikely you will be able to hang on to them for very long. There is a well-known trick which you can employ here, which we will look at in more detail later, known as promising low and delivering high. That is powerful, but so too is ensuring that you are just generally delivering the kind of service that you think any reasonable person would expect. If you do that, you’ll have much happier customers.

Another hugely important concern for all customers is pricing. They obviously want to feel that the pricing is fair, and that is something that you might find you need to work on for a long time before you get it right. You will find it hugely important for this reason to pay attention to the pricing of other similar businesses and products, so that you can be sure that you are pricing your own in a fair manner – while of course still ensuring you remain competitive and make a profit. Pricing analysis can be a tricky business, but it is a hugely important way of ensuring that your customers feel they are getting what they deserve. Similarly, you should make sure not to hike up the price too much or too often, as this never goes down well.

One other hugely important concern for customers is always going to be that they feel your business is communicative. If they are always able to get hold of you, that will mean that they are going to appreciate the service considerably morte, which is bound to result in them coming back for more and even recommending your services to their friends and families.

Practicalities

If we are to gain these kinds of happy customers, we will of course need to make sure that we are doing things as well as possible in order to get there. So what are some of the practical concerns that you might need to think about if you hope to make your customers as happy as possible? As it happens, there are a huge number of things here which you might want to think about, and you might be surprised as to how extensive it can truly be. Let’s dive in and look at some of the practical things which you can do in-house in order to end up with considerably happier customers on the whole.

A good place to begin is from the top-down, with regards to how you actually approach the whole issue of the customer in the first place. If you have some kind of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system in place, you will find that every aspect of dealing with your customers is considerably easier to engage with, so this is one of the first things that you might want to look into. Choosing your CRM is hugely important, so it’s a good idea to go for a trusted name like Copper CRM to make sure that you end up with something truly useful. Having this kind of software on board means that your customer relations is likely to be considerably more successful, and from that can often spring many other fantastic results as well.

Beyond that, you should think about how you actually approach the customers when it comes to your customer services. This is one of the most important concerns of all, as it is one of the things that customers find to be the most important in terms of whether or not they are happy with your service. There are many things you can do to improve your customer services, and one of the most important is what we alluded to earlier- namely, promising low and delivering high. While this seems to be strange on the face of it, it is actually a hugely valuable thing you can do, as it basically means that your customers are going to be much more delighted with your service on the whole, and feel that you are always going above and beyond. Of course, you should also genuinely aim to go the extra mile, and as long as you are doing both you should be keeping your customers really very happy indeed.

Training up your customer service staff regularly is hugely important for these purposes too, and that’s something you should think about if you hope to keep your customers happy in the long run. As long as you speak to them in the right manner, they will almost excuse a less than perfect product – although you should of course make sure that you put a lot of effort into your product too, as ultimately if that does not come up to standard then it doesn’t matter what else you might do – they still won’t be happy on the whole. As you can see, the holistic approach is what works best here, so make sure that you are doing exactly that.

Feedback & Why It Matters

Finally, we are going to take a look at the matter of feedback: what it is, what it isn’t, and why it matters to seek it out. Simply put, a business which constantly seeks feedback from its customers is always going to be one which delights them much more, so this is absolutely something that you will want to think about if you are hoping to make your customers as happy as possible. So how should you be seeking feedback, exactly, and what should you do with it once you have it?

You need to bear in mind that nobody likes being asked for their opinion all the time, so you should avoid badgering anyone for that reason. But you will find it hugely beneficial to be able to get their opinion on how you are doing, and they won’t mind if you ask occasionally, so that’s how you should approach it instead. When you do seek feedback, make sure that you make it as quick an non-intrusive as possible, so that they are not going to be too annoyed by it. You can do it by sending them a quick email or text, but generally phone calls will not be appreciated for these reasons. Of course, you should try it all out and see what works for your customers, and what doesn’t. The important point is that you should seek their feedback regularly, but not so much or in such an annoying manner that it frustrates them.

Once you have it, you should make a point of actually acting upon it. This is the important part: and once your customers see that you are actually acting on their feedback, you will find that it makes them much more delighted with the service, and more trusting in you in general.

Keeping your customers happy is hugely important, so make sure that you take on board all of the above if you hope to do so as well as possible.