It’s amazing what you can learn from your customers.

The people who come to your business or your website are looking for something.  The question becomes – will you take the time to find out what it is, AND supply them with the solution?

Businesses often say they supply ‘exemplary customer service’ or that their customers come first. But these can often be empty words. What is to be gained by a solid customer service desk?

To understand the importance of supplying great customer service you need to see the potential which lies in these efforts.  Your customer service person – or team – is the first point of contact when things are not working or when something isn’t understood. Once a problem has been solved or a customer’s concerns are listened too, the person listening becomes their guardian angel. They form a bond. In the world of cyberspace where real flesh and blood bonds are hard to come by, the person on the other end of a support ticket or live chat can be their lifeline.

Let’s take this a step further.  Once a customer service person develops a bond there is a trust factor that has been established. Trust is a key factor in sales. So it’s very easy for the customer service person to move into soft sales.  Now, they are a confidant who is recommending products or services that they know are needed because of the bond they have with the customer.

This is why it’s important to encourage engagement with customer service representatives and customers. Engaging them in questions… “How’s your business going?” “Tell me a little bit more about what you have lined out for in the first quarter?” “Do you have a plan in place to meet those goals?”  “What else can I help you with?” “Are you having any other challenges that I can help you find solutions for?”  You can see where leading the conversation can help develop interest in other products.

Now – this type of customer service requires knowledge of your systems and products. Which means you need to take the time to train your customer service team. It’s not just a script they read from, it’s adding in the human factor; learning to relate to the customer so they can help them – which in turn helps your business grow.

When you have a good customer service team they are not only your first line of defense… they are your lifeline to the dreams of your customers. Learn to tap into those dreams and you will have a constant stream of ideas for business development and a target market that you can duplicate.