Customer service, in today’s market, can be an enormous ally to a company’s sustainable, long-term strategy. Or, if the right measures are not taken, they can deal a cruel blow to a business’ life expectancy. For aspiring and current businesses, the onus is on them to initiate positive customer interactions, promising to provide courteous treatment and guidance.

Oversights are usually costly lessons, reflected in the profit margins. City Beat News is always on the look-out for companies that are worthy of their prestigious Spectrum Award of Excellence in Customer Satisfaction, and has published three legitimate reasons why companies must endeavor to achieve excellent customer service standards.

Word of Mouth

Despite the familiar expression, the customer might not always be in the right, but they certainly have a right to their opinion. Their view will circulate, reaching family and friends who, if the company was unpleasant, will likely issue a grave warning to their own inner circles. A computer savvy individual won’t stop there; social media and online forums allow a discouraged customer to present their negative review to whole new, separate flock of people.

On the flip-side, with tremendous customer service, this domino effect can propel a company’s ascent and ensure that new clients are constantly being reached. Do this by considering their feedback, both online and in person, addressing complaints fairly and giving them a sensational vibe that warrants a return visit. Staying on good terms with your customers will help business boom more than any marketing scheme.

Loyalty

Poor customer service can lead to many of your patrons jumping ship, scrambling and trying their luck in a new setting because of your business’s shortcomings. Call it old-fashioned, but taking care of present customers, the ones who have ventured to your company time and again, is the first priority. After all, it is easier to lose a consumer than it is to gain one. Show your gratitude by putting a reward system in place, notifying them of special offers that they are qualified for and creating an environment that is more akin to a friendship than it is a business transaction.

Some customer grievances maybe to be blown out of proportion, arising due to no fault of the business itself. Good handling of these situations relays a meaningful message: your company can aptly take care of a consumer at their worst mood. City Beat News feels that showing empathy in these scenarios will only strengthen the customer’s belief that they are cherished by such a company.

Good Publicity

Magnificent customer service begins at the top, with the owner, and trickles down to the manager and everyday employees. By creating and enforcing policies that outline how to deal with consumers, the bar is officially set. According to City Beat News hiring superb employees and properly training them will not only establish a high-functioning system, but also allow the company to brainstorm new benchmarks in customer service. Sustaining this set-up over the long haul will possibly get your business coverage in a newspaper, magazine or website, irrefutable evidence of the hard work and dependability that a customer will receive.

While social media posts can be a tad exaggerated, traditional media outlets typically display an impartial tone in their articles, making the commendation, all the more impressive. Publicity of this sort will speak for itself and the company’s reputation will generate a buzz within the community. Be sure not to let it get to your head though because sloppiness will only produce an abrupt collapse.

Originally published on Medium.com