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Customer Service as a Marketing Tactic

No matter what marketing you have done to bring people into your business, it all boils down to one thing, GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE! A customer being happy with the quality of your products/services is only half the battle. Without good customer service, what is there to keep them coming back for more?

The most expensive marketing you will ever do is the marketing involved with finding new customers. You must first find these people, then get their attention, educate them as to what you have to offer them, then you need to earn enough of their trust to motivate them to go to your business.

That is a lot of work to go through just to get them in the door, but you still haven't gotten a sale! Sure, they are there . . . but they haven't made the decision to buy yet.

Good customer service is an extremely powerful marketing tool. It is an opportunity available to you all throughout the cycle of the customer's experience with you. Often it is the least expensive marketing to implement. So, just what is good customer service? Here is  a list of the major points . . . in no particular order:

• Personal Interaction
  • Smile
  • Always be polite & respectful
  • Speak clearly
  • Speak with proper grammar
  • Speak loud enough to be heard, but not so load as to be overheard
  • Listen well
• Ease of Shopping
  • Keep your sales floor/office clean and organized
  • Make it easy for the customer to find what they are looking for
  • Have prices clearly marked
  • Make it easy for the customer to navigate throughout your store
  • Make sure they can identify who is an employee and who is not
  • Consider non-traditional ways of providing a better experience for the customer . . . online shopping, online chat, toll free telephone, accept credit/debit cards, etc.
• Comfort
  • Let the customer know that their satisfaction is your number one concern
  • Let them know that they can ask any question they may have
• Quality
  • Offer Guarantees
  • Don't pass off poor quality products/services onto them,
    quality counts!
• In Home Service or Delivery
  • Be quiet
  • Be respectful, this is their personal space
  • Clean up after yourself
  • Ask if you should remove your shoes
  • If you damage something or make a mess that requires professional service to clean, be responsible and take care of it.
  • Don't do or say anything that may bring safety into consideration for them . . . they should always feel and be safe!
• Complaints
  • Make it easy for the customer to bring issues to your attention
  • Be thorough in dealing with complaints, no matter what the outcome is
  • Have processes in place that are easy to follow and stick to them

One very important part of good customer service is frequent and open communication. Visit with your customers, listen, and learn. Find out how they perceive the level of your customer service. Find out what is important to them, then take all this information and fine tune your customer service OFTEN.

Good customer service will keep your customers coming back and even get them marketing for you. Referrals cost you nothing and are the most effective advertising around!

Can a business be successful relying on new customers to generate income? Possibly, but it is alot more work and a very expensive way to succeed!

• Marketing Management
• Marketing Plans
• Graphic Design
• Web Design
• Printing Services
• & More!

We are a full service Marketing Firm. From creating a marketing plan to layout, design, and seem less execution, our goal is to help you make the most out of your marketing!

Some of Our Current
Clients

• 3-D CNC *
• ATHC
• BigBoysBid.com
• CrowRiverGlass.com
• Dominion Realty
• Fitzloff Photography
• Szachowicz, MD - Facial Plastic Surgery*
• Girl Scouts Peacepipe Council*
• Summer Haven RV Resort
• Hutch Sport Shop
• Innovative Audio Inc.
• Jay Malone Motors
• Marceau Drafting
• McLeod Alliance for Victims of Domestic Violence*
• Minnesota Valley Investments
• Name Your Frame & Photography*
• Oakdale Golf Club
• Peterson Juergensen
  Hemmerick & Co.
  (In development)
• Picture the Pages
• Professional Training Services
• Rental Link.com *
• Schweiss Bifold Doors*
• ShopHutchinsonMN.com
• SpamKillerNow.com
• Storms Welding

Note: Clients without a link are
under construction.

*Denotes Clients using our hosting services for websites previously designed with another developer.

News from Inside

Business After Hours

Please join us on May 10th, 2007 for our business after hours in association with the Hutchinson Ambassadors.

• 5 - 7 pm
• Prizes
• Refreshments provided

See you there!

Get to Know Your Neighbors*

www.shophutchinsonmn.com  Hutchinson area business directory that offers businesses the opportunity to market to targeted audiences. Free online classifieds available for the community at large. Currently in BETA version, this website is going to be huge!

Additional Links of Interest *

www.duediligencechecklist.com  This is a website that offers checklists for sale. Ever wonder what you are forgetting to check for or take care of? They have lists for just about everything.

www.mobi.dada.net  On Dada.net you will find the latest and hottest ring tones from popular artists for your cellular phone.

* By providing these links we are not endorsing the services or products being offered. We are only offering links to other websites that may be of interest to you.

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