No matter what your line of work is, it most likely has a customer service element attached. This is increasingly crucial for medical practices where your client base generally contact you in time of need. However, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a huge corporate entity or a small mom and pop operation: Keeping customers happy is part of your job, though that might seem like a stressful realization, consider this: Customer service is the art of keeping people satisfied by meeting a need. No more, no less. Every worker has the potential to help customers feel better about their issues by choosing the right words, going through the proper channels, and most importantly, listening. Because of this, it’s important for every business to use an answering service that takes the art of customer service to the next level. When your client base is happy, there’s truly nothing you can’t do. If you’re still on the fence, here are just a few things great customer service can do for any company, large or small.
It Can Boost Your Reputation
Nothing helps a business catch on like great, positive word of mouth. In the digital age, we’ve seen how social platforms like Facebook and Yelp can make or break a business. Once one bad story gets out about a rude service member or a situation that was insensitively handled, it can spread like wildfire, ruining your reputation not only within your own community but potentially globally as well. It takes years to rebuild a poisoned reputation, and it can mark the end of many a promising company. However, if you take the time to train your staff in phone etiquette, hire a reputable medical answering service and treat all your customers with respect and dignity, you’ll be able to create a brand image that’s friendly, reliable, and beyond reproach.
It Can Bring Repeat Business
One good experience tends to breed another. In the case of smaller local businesses, one negative encounter could possibly sink the whole ship, while one positive experience can bring about a huge difference in someone’s day and can gain you a customer who’s loyal to you for a lifetime. These are the kinds of customers that every business wants. True loyalty doesn’t come from impersonal interactions and cold phone conversations. If you’re trying to gain a core consumer base of loyal, personally invested clients, putting in the extra work is key. Having a smile on your face every day and making sure to greet customers by name is a great way to make your customers feel at home in your place of business.
It Can Affect the Bottom Line
If your business doesn’t take customer service seriously, it can end up hitting you where it hurts the most: Right in your bottom line. Once customers start to get turned off by lazy or rude service, it’s hard to win them back. Even if you’re not concerned about losing a few customers after a bad Yelp review, eventually the snowball effect is going to catch up with your business and make those quarterly reports look a bit different than you’d like. To guarantee that your customers will keep giving you their business, don’t underestimate the effect of warmth and kindness in service.
