We often assume that we know what is important to our customers. Or, we try to guess. 

Why not go right to the source, and ask them what is important. This will not only provide you with valuable information, but will also leave your customers with the impression that you actually care what they think! 

Here are five great questions to ask your customers. 

If you’re like me, you hate conflict, especially dealing with an angry customer. But it happens. Sometimes it is really important to placate that customer because you need to maintain the revenue, others it is important to make them happy so they don’t shout negative comments about you from the rooftop. Either way, here’s a five-step process to soothe that angry customer (or anyone else for that matter!) 

As the holidays roll around, we think about giving gifts, but you should be sending “gifts” to your clients and prospects throughout the year. This single act will set you apart from the competition. 

It is fortunate that many organizations limit what their employees are allowed to accept because that gives you the opportunity to give them one of these no-cost gifts that will keep you top-of-mind/. 

If you’re over 30, you probably remember when Holiday Inn used the tagline: The Best Surprise is No Surprise! Well, that might be true if you’re checking into a moderately-priced hotel. But these days, one of the best ways to snag customers is to give them a sweet surprise every now and then. 

One of my favorite vendors knows that I love green and always sends me a St. Patrick’s Day card. No question that she’s got my business for life! 

There’s a flip side to everything. Last week, we listed five phrases that can enhance your relationship with clients. Here are five words you should shy away from in all communications with clients or prospects. 

Who are your five best customers? If you can’t answer that immediately, then you better rethink the way you’re running your business because the one thing you can’t do without is customers. 

Ok, once you’ve got your Top Five in mind, ask yourself, “What would it feel like to loose one of them? Or two…or three?”

Use these five steps to avoid that dreaded “we’ve-found-someone-else” call.

If you’re like me, you critique other businesses that fall short of their product or service claims. You fume about slow websites, mazes of voicemail, products that aren’t quite what you expected.

But what about your own business?  What does it look like through the eyes of a customer?

Here’s a simple way to analyze your business from the customer’s perspective. For real success, don’t just implement this plan once and forget it, but add it as a quarterly recurring task to your calendar.

Customer service is doing what you say you’ll do and treating people the way they want to be treated. That definition of customer service is required just to stay in business these days. But to really move ahead, you need to deliver untouchable customer service.  What does that look like?

Satisfying difficult customers can be a real challenge. One of the issues in these situations is determining what they want, what they are willing to pay for, and how you can support their needs without giving away the store. 

After all the work that it takes to close a new customer, losing an existing account makes you want to pull your hair out. Here is a five-step process to help bring that lost customer back into the fold.