With companies like Amazon offering next day, or even same day delivery, it’s no wonder we have become so impatient when we have to wait for a package, especially if it’s longer than a few days. I recently placed an order online from a small shop and the shipping got all screwed up (and this wasn’t the merchant’s fault, but a mistake by USPS) and the package actually made it from Idaho to Indianapolis (where I live) to Tennessee and then back to Idaho. This caused a little frustration, though I knew it wasn’t the company’s fault, but, they made it their problem to solve the issue for me.
Here are a few tips I learned for taking on your customer’s problems and how it makes all the difference:
Mistakes happen
Just like my package being shipped all over country, mistakes happen. The company that I had ordered from could have easily apologized and moved on knowing they weren’t at fault, but they accepted it as their own and dealt with the problem. Mistakes are going to happen, but it’s what you do with them when they happen that really counts.
When email fails, call them
When things got to the point that I was emailing a woman who worked at that company back and forth tracking my package, it got rather repetitive. When my package was nowhere to be found, I received a call, and a very sincere apology. She had told me that she wanted to personally apologize on the phone and let me know that they were going to be sending out another package ASAP for free. Which brings me to my next point….
Free now, returning customer later
Giving away things means losing money, but the company I was dealing with wasn’t worried because they knew that by shipping out another item for free, and refunding my money from the first package that I would feel more inclined to order from them again. Great customer service sometimes means doing what’s right in the moment in order to encourage future purchases. This company did just that.
“Make every purchase a big deal by treating everyone like they’re your best customer.”
Make it a big deal
I’m sure by now you’re thinking that the item I ordered was some expensive thing with all the apologies and refunds that happened, but that wasn’t the case. The item was a lemon pepper blend that was no more than 10 dollars (including shipping), but this woman from the company treated me like I was her best customer. Make every purchase a big deal by treating everyone like they’re your best customer. Everyone is a customer so everyone deserves great customer service. This little bottle of lemon pepper was such a small item and yet for me and my fiancé this pepper blend was a memory of when he lived in Spokane right before the two of us got together.
This just goes to show that even the smallest of things can have the biggest meaning, so never belittle even the 10 dollar purchases.
I can tell you with 100% certainty that, by this company making my problem their own, they made me more than a one-time customer and made me feel like I had in fact spent hundreds of dollars on some big item.
How can this apply to video?
A perfect example is this video from Extra Space Storage because its main focus is solving a problem that their customers’ may have instead of solving a problem that’s directly related to their company. Or let’s say you work at a hotel chain, an easy and helpful video to create could be one about traveling from your hotel to the airport that’s full of tips on how to make that process simple for your guests. This problem isn’t directly related to staying at your hotel, but it still helps to solve your customers’ problems with traveling. The key here is to find out what problems your customers’ have and finding a way to solve them (even if it’s not about your company).
What are some ways your company excels at customer service? Post it in the comments below!
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Make Your Customer’s Problems Your Own Problems
More Sales & Marketing articles from Business 2 Community:
- How Your Sales Team Can Identify Their 4 Buyers On LinkedIn
- 5 Core KPIs Every Content Marketer Should Know
- Top Factors Impacting Tomorrow’s Customer Experience
- Increase Loyalty Using Drip Marketing Campaigns
- Spring Cleaning for Digital Content
