Recognize and Appreciate Your Customers

Recognize and Appreciate Your Customers:

This past weekend, my husband and I had brunch at one of our favorite local restaurants. This place is almost always crowded, but it’s well worth the wait, so we braved the 11 a.m. brunch traffic. As expected, the place was packed. After finding a table, we placed our orders and anxiously awaited our brunch dishes.

When our food arrived, I found that my eggs were over-cooked. This was very disappointing , but I wasn’t going to say anything. After all, we’ve had so many great experiences there. As it turns out, I didn’t have to say anything because the restaurant manager came over and said: “I know you guys come in here frequently. I’m sorry you had to wait for your food and I see your eggs were over-cooked. I want you to know I appreciate your business, so here are two coupons for your next visit. I can also make you another entree if you’d like.”

Talk about excellent customer service! While the freebie was nice, I think what really made the difference was that the manager not only recognized us, but expressed an appreciation for our loyalty.

Isn’t recognition and appreciation what we all want?

Follow these steps to let your customers know you recognize and appreciate their business.

1. Be observant: Notice when you have frequent or repeat customers; on the phone, via email, or in person, be aware of the number of times a customer is touching your business and your customer service department. Observe their habits. Do they talk about the same concerns? Do they have products they are loyal to? Let your customers know you recognize their buying habits.

2. Face Issues Directly: When there is a source of conflict or a potential source of conflict, don’t wait for your customers to point it out to you. Be diligent and address the concern head-on. Not only does this save your customer from complaining, it also shows that you really do try to view your company/product/services through the lens of your customer.

3. Apologize: Sometimes a bad situation can be turned around with a simple apology. Regardless if you think the customer is right or wrong, the customer feels they have been wronged. Take a moment to give a sincere apology.

4. Show Appreciation: Everyone wants to feel like they matter, so take a moment to show your customers how much they do matter to your business. Showing appreciate builds brand loyalty and trust. Trust = more sales.

At Manta, we’re working hard to show our customers that we recognize and appreciate their business. To that end, we want to hear from you.

Share with us a time when you’ve been dazzled by a customer service professional or team, and you could be featured in one of our blog posts.