In today’s marketplace, it’s all about creating the most positive experience for your customers. You need to engage with them in a way that is unforgettable and helps them remember your business the next time they are in need of the products and services your company offers.
That’s why we asked 12 successful entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:
Q. What is one way you can create an unforgettable customer experience without making a huge financial investment?
1. Be friendly, truthful, and respond quickly
Seriously, a lot of time all you have to do is be quick to respond, friendly and truthful. Those are all free, except maybe responding quickly. But you need to have a system in place to respond via email within the same day (ideally within the same hour). You need to have instilled into everyone at the company that they be truthful and friendly to clients. —Peter Boyd, PaperStreet Web Design
2. Make eye contact
Simply making eye contact during conversations with clients immediately opens a human connection. It’s amazing how frequently we move through the world without truly connecting with people. —Rachel Beider, Massage Greenpoint, Massage Williamsburg
3. Personalize the response
When customers reach out for help or support, it’s often because they are facing some type of problem. Rather than using a generic response, my team takes the time to respond to customers by name, acknowledge their concerns, and assure them their problem will be taken care of promptly. Being the one to initiate follow-up goes a long way in ensuring customer happiness. —Mark Krassner, Expectful
4. Build rapport
If you want to connect with people, then it pays to know a little bit about them. Building rapport and talking to clients or customers on a personal level displays your commitment and authenticity. It’s cheaper to keep an existing customer than acquire a new one, so building a long-lasting relationship should always be a focus of your customer relations. —Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com
5. Smile and mean it
Customers don’t actually expect as much as you think. They’ve been put in a position where they accept unfriendly customer experiences to some degree. However, simple things—like smiling and meaning it—make an incredible difference and don’t cost anything. —Serenity Gibbons, Calendar.com
6. Create a ‘surprise and delight’ moment
A cheap but impactful way to create an unforgettable customer experience is to create a “surprise and delight” moment for your customers. It can be something very small that they are not expecting. It should be thoughtful, but doesn’t have to be much. Some examples are freebies included in their order or a personalized “thank you” note. —Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure
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7. Implement their ideas
One way to stand out from the pack is to listen to your customers and implement their ideas. Some of our best product features have come from our customers. If you use a customer’s idea, thank them and let them know when it’s been successfully implemented. You can even create an ideas exchange, where customers submit and vote on ideas, allowing the best ones to float to the top. —Syed Balkhi, OptinMonster