Taking care of those who take care of you.

There are times battle lines are drawn in a business between being helpful and being right. And there are times when those lines become very blurred.  I’m talking about customer service. Having a good customer advocate on your team is one of the best moves you can make for longevity within your business.

Having a good customer advocate on your team is one of the best moves you can make for longevity within your business.

A customer advocate is someone who can see your business from the eyes of an end user and who helps you sort through and fix any kinks along the way. Your customer advocate also helps with the understanding of deliverables to your clients.

Education should be given to your staff so they thoroughly understand the products and/or services they are supporting. They should be able to walk through the sales process from the beginning to the end so they know exactly what customers see, click on, hear and do to access purchases.

Depending on where you are with your business, whether you are established or just starting out, a knowledge base is just as important for your end user as it is for your support staff. A ‘team based’ knowledge base is full of articles and documents allowing the support team to better understand the products and services so they can better help the customer.  A customer knowledge base is there so the customer can help themselves.

Once trained, an educated and knowledgeable support team can then double as low level sales.  They have listened to and engaged with the customers since they entered into the database. They have been there to answer their questions and steer them in the right direction. They have spent that time building trust.  Trust is the first component in sales. This allows the support team to upsell or direct them to the next step or most comprehensive product.  Your customer advocate will be the bridge to the dreams of your customers.

Train your staff, treat them well and they will take care of you.  BUT, you must also give them the approval to properly take care of your customers.  Customers may not always be right – nor should that be an expected truth. Instead you should treat the customer as the person they are; the foundation of your business.  The expansion of your business. The growth of your brand.