Regardless of the industry you’re in, your client relations will be an important factor to your success or failure. The best way to build strong client relations and improve customer service is through proactive customer service, which means that instead of responding to customer complaints after they happen, you proactively reach out to clients and fix problems before they arise. In this guide, we’ll go over what proactive customer service is and how it can help your business create lasting relationships with your clients that lead to more sales.
Keep the Right Mindset
Keeping your clients happy isn’t always about solving their problems, it’s about how you solve them. By having a customer-centric mindset (as opposed to a process-centric one), you not only put your customers first but also save yourself from countless hours of pointless back and forth.
Set Up the Right Systems
It’s one thing to be available for your clients when they need you, but it’s another thing entirely to make sure that your availability is well-documented and easy for others to access. Set up a customer service system that documents everything from next steps to standard operating procedures so that you can reach out proactively when necessary. You’ll improve client relations, and client retention, as well as mitigate any complaints in advance — and before they grow into full-blown issues.
Understand the Customer Experience
It’s important to be where your customers are, whether that’s in-person or online. Start by asking yourself what your clients want from you and how you can deliver it most effectively. Do your clients prefer text messages or emails? Is it easier for them to call you or fill out a form on your website? Keep asking yourself these questions until you develop a personal customer experience strategy.
Invest in a CRM Platform
In order to provide proactive customer service, you need a tool that can help you keep track of all your interactions with clients. Client Relationship Management (CRM) software allows you to categorize and store information about your clients, their interactions with your business, and their buying habits — so you can quickly and easily identify exactly which products or services would benefit them most. Choose a CRM system that will work well for your company, from either an on-premise model or a cloud-based solution.
Hire Dedicated Personnel
One solution to improve client relations is to hire dedicated personnel. This allows you to step away from front-line customer service positions so that you can concentrate on providing your customers with all of their needs. You don’t want to keep your staff in a reactive state for long periods of time; it leads to burnout and job dissatisfaction, which will impact their work quality and productivity. Hire a team of people who are trained in proactive customer service strategies, and allow them to take care of most client issues. This frees up your staff to focus on larger-scale projects and tasks that require more attention and effort.
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