Customer service should always be a top priority for any business, but especially for the service industry. It is simply bad business not to ensure that you have efficient customer service systems in place. You want to be that business that is known for setting high customer service standards. Put simply, a lack of strong client services will lead to a lack of business. Here are a few suggestions to strengthen your customer relations:

ONLINE:

• Make the business able to be easily located and accessed online
• Build a professional website
• Index the website on the most popular web search engines
• Make the website easy to navigate from desktops, tablets and smart phones
• List your business on popular directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc.
• Establish your business through social platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook

PHONE:

• Make sure customers rarely get a busy signal when trying to reach your business by phone
• If you can’t hire a full time receptionist, consider hiring an answering service
• Install a hosted phone system such as VirtualPBX or Grasshopper so you can receive alerts when a call is received
• Have a system in place to record when calls are received (a simple Excel spreadsheet would work just fine)
• Always return phone calls

The most important aspect is to always be available and accessible. Keeping in touch with your past customers will most likely lead to continued service and loyalty. This will make your customers want to write good reviews online, refer you to a friend, and generally create a positive buzz about your services.

To read more about the importance of smart customer service, click here