How Proactive is Your Customer Service?

Providing outstanding customer service is the goal of every small business. Unfortunately, even small businesses that are truly committed to excellent customer service often come up short when it comes to being proactive.

So what exactly does it mean to be “proactive” in terms of customer service? Simply put, it’s a decision to do everything you can to solve a customer’s issue – often even before a customer realizes that there is one. It is making sure that you are aware of any product or service issues in real time so that you can either inform customers of the problem or – even better – rectify them before a customer is impacted.

Some examples of issues that can be handled proactively include things like a shipping or billing error or a product malfunction. Instead of waiting for the inevitable storm that will occur when more and more customers are impacted and get upset, proactive customer service involves notifying customers of a problem that they are likely to encounter and letting them know what is being done about it.

Of course, in order for this to happen, a small business must always be prepared. This means understanding that most customer issues don’t happen in a vacuum. For example, if a few customers are complaining about late shipments, chances are more customers will soon be impacted. 

Being proactive also means that you are able to quickly divert resources and staff to address any issues.  While you never want your customers to experience even minor annoyances, a full-blown crisis will require more manpower and resources to get it solved. This could include things like a product malfunction.

 

Knowing the specifics of any issue allows a small business to pinpoint customers who are most likely to encounter the problem and come up with an adequate solution. The scope of the problem also will determine how customers are contacted. If a small number of customers are going to be affected, reaching out personally by phone to those customers shows a high level of commitment and will be appreciated. However, if it is more widespread, alerting customers through email, social media or other methods may be necessary.

Providing outstanding customer service is critical to the success of any small business. Proactive customer service takes things a step further and lets customers know that they are valued and that their needs are always taken seriously.

At GoLeads we aim to provide the best customer service possible. If you are looking for help with your marketing campaign, give us a call us today at (402) 334-1824 or visit us online at goleads.com to learn more. Follow our blog if you liked this article!