Six steps to enhance customer service at stores

We get a lot of advice about how to deliver great customer service. Many of the tips are reminders of what we already know (but we occasionally forget). And these are useful. But sometimes, we need more than a reminder. Sometimes it's helpful to have a system or, at least, some steps to follow.

Here is an easy yet valuable road-map. It's easy to understand but it can be effective in keeping us on track so we consistently deliver what our customers want from us.

This is critical. This is where we establish rapport and begin a relationship with our customers. Connecting means you're building trust that runs both ways. Do this by engaging your customer. Start by giving them your name and asking theirs. Be interested in them and what they want. Ask questions. Listen. Respond appropriately. Have a conversation with them. Be genuine.

People know when we are genuinely interested in helping them or not. If we are, they are more likely to respond positively to us and to develop trust with us. If you are really not interested, they'll sense it and you'll have a much harder time developing the trust you need to help them.

If we have a genuine conversation with our customers, we will discover what they want. They don't always know what they want. Or they might have trouble expressing it. Often people know what they want but they're unsure how to get it. That's where we come in.

By asking relevent questions and paying attention to the answers, we can discover a lot about our customers. You can help guide them to getting what they want. That's the role you fill and that's how you keep customers coming back.

We can't always give the customer everything they want. Sometimes they want what we can't do. Other times, it's something we choose not to do.

Every business has a niche to fill. That means doing what the business is best at doing for the customers it can serve best. This step is about "picking your battles". It's about choosing the customers who best fit what you can do well by knowing what you do best.

This sounds easy and maybe it should be. But it's where many businesses fail. we fail because they don't manage the process of planning, doing, measuring and monitoring well.

To execute well we need to be able to measure what's important. What gets measured gets done. So, convert your customer's wants into actions you can measure. Then setup a system to measure the outcomes and the actions that produce them.

For customers, this is icing on their cake. It's true for us too because it's easy to do yet it pays huge dividends in customer loyalty.

As we plan our execution phase, make sure we plan a follow-up contact. Follow-up by phone, email, letter, visit, whatever works. The more direct and personal the better but make it work for our customer and our company. This thrills customers because very few companies do it consistently.

This often gets forgotten. Or it gets treated lightly. Too often when we hear a "thanks you" it sounds phony, forced or robotic. People often say it out of habit but they put no feeling or authenticity into it.

So, when we thank our customers, be real about it. Make it genuine. Thank them in multiple ways, not just once. make sure they know you are grateful for their business.

Follow these six steps with every customer and we'll find our level of customer service will increase dramatically. Lets Coach our employees to understand and work through these steps (every time) and we'll see our customer loyalty and customer retention go through the roof.