Doors by Catering to Your Clients

Clients? they are the most important influence in the success of any business. It is vital to keep them satisfied and happy.

Clients should be catered to. Their every need should be met and more. We need to make them feel like they are our number one client, as they all are.

Catering to our clients should not be anything new to a professional business person. After all, we all know that exceptional customer service is the key to keeping clients happy which, in turn, keeps them coming back for more and influences them to refer you and your business to others.

Then, why is it that there are so many times that we have to deal with businesses who don't put their clients first? We have all had one (or more) of those experiences, haven't we? And each time I have ever had to deal with someone who doesn't provide exceptional customer service, I am just mystified as to how they possibly manage to stay in business.

Now, catering to your customers does not mean that you should have to sacrifice your integrity or your reputation but it does mean that you have to make them feel like they are the most important customer you have. Whether they spend thousands of dollars on your product or service or they only buy in small amounts at irregular times, they are all important to your success. Every client is a door waiting to be opened and for more business to come walking through.

Catering should result in your clients always being happy and thinking positively about you.

There are some obvious, yet often forgotten, simple tasks that you can do that shows your clients that you care about them and want them to feel your are there for them when they really need you. So, let's revisit some of them now.

First, make sure you always give your very best AND that you provide it to your client when they need it. These two go hand in hand. If you have a great product or service but you can't deliver on time, then you are going to lose clients. The same holds true that if you can always deliver on time but it isn't the best that you have to offer, you are bound to be fielding unhappy comments and questions from those who matter the most.

Next, be sure that you have your client's needs and wants in mind when you are supplying to them. Listen to them when you are discussing the aspects of what they need and be sure to match that and even throw in something a little extra to show you were listening.

When listening to your clients, take note of how you can improve your product or service. After all, they are telling you what they need and it is probably what others need as well. By improving your product or service you are not only catering to your clients, you are also opening up new doors for others who may need what you have to offer but are unsure if you can customize to suit their requirements.

Always provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Everyone wants to be completely satisfied with everything they obtain or purchase. By guaranteeing your product or service, your customer will be more reassured that they will receive exactly what they ordered. And, if you publicly offer a guarantee, more people will feel at ease dealing with you.

Remember to never keep a client or potential client waiting. When you receive an inquiry from an individual, whether it is a phone message, email, or a letter, be sure to respond to it right away. By not providing a prompt response, you are taking a chance that the client will grow impatient and move onto another business to supply what they are requiring.

And finally, be sure to always say thank you to your clients. Send a thank you note to everyone who requests a quotation, signs up as a new client, or an existing client that has a habit of ordering quite a bit from you. This will not only show that you care about them but it will also keep your company fresh in their minds. If you find that your budget is limited, sending an online e-card will project your appreciation just as well.

Catering to your clients should not be a chore, it should be a gesture of appreciation. Most clients will respond to your exceptional customer service by providing you with more business or by referring you to others. It's a win - win situation!

About The Author

Janice Byer is a certified Master Virtual Assistant and owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (http://www.docutype.net). See this and other articles on her website; jbyer@docutype.net

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Customer Service Information:

Related Articles

Dont Forget your Existing Clients
Quest for new clients shouldn't ignore those who pay the billsAcquisition. It's a big word in small business marketing.
Customer Loyalty
Loyal customers are the foundation of almost every business. Going the extra mile to provide outstanding customer service is the first step to customer loyalty.
The Nine Principles of Customer Service for the Travel Industry©
If you want to learn how to get your clients to do your selling for you through excpetional customer service, read on. Learn customer service secrets from tourism professionals, apply them to your business and prosper.
Doors by Catering to Your Clients
Clients? they are the most important influence in the success of any business. It is vital to keep them satisfied and happy.
Top Ten Strategies for Delivering 5-Star Customer Service
Customer satisfaction is valuable, but customer loyalty is priceless. In today's competitive world of business, it is becoming more and more important to deliver customer service that is unbeatable.
Renewing Customer Loyalty
Every business loses customers, but not many do much about getting them back. And that is a big mistake.
Loyalty Programs May Keep Customers Coming Back - But First You've Got to Earn their Trust
Remember trading stamps? If you're over 40, chances are you will. Every time you shopped at a participating grocery store or gas station they gave you stamps to paste into a book.
From Disgruntled to Champion - How to Turn an Unhappy Client Into Your Best Customer
It's a salesperson's worst nightmare- the phone call that comes in from a disgruntled customer. Not only does it create extra work for you, but it cuts into your valuable selling time.
4 Things Your Clients Want From Your Company
Sure, all clients are different. They have different kinds of strengths, weaknesses, cultures and goals.
Customer Conversion Mistakes That Will Cost You
The following are common mistakes that Sales Managers and Owners make in the sales process which could be costing you thousands or even hundreds of thousands in lost revenue.- No system to capture and log prospect information/contact data on incoming ad calls.
A White Paper: Profiting with Kindness
In 2002, there wasn't much interest for Kindness in business, and some business people would question, "What does kindness have to do with business, anyway?" Is this a for real question or just to prove a point? Or perhaps they couldn't figure out what being kind really had to do with business. Or perhaps the word was a jargon word, an unfamiliar language.
How to Win the Hearts of Your Customers and Friends
Those of us doing business over the internet have to become especially adept at our listening and speaking skills since we don't have the luxury of talking with our customers face to face. It's especially important to give those on the phone extra attention - listening to their voice, because that is the only thing you have to go on, to sense their emotion.
We Sell For Less and Our Stores Are a Mess!
What kind of image do you present when marketing your products? Are you professional and well organized or does your store/site/whatever scream, "sloppy!," to those who matter the most: your customers? Let's see how one leading retailer is winning the sales war, but losing an important battle: store organization.WalMart is dominant in so many categories with the various products that they sell.
Customer Service - How Good Are YOU?
At 8.30 am a wealthy client (on his way to make a presentation to the local council at 9 am) walked into a store that sells photocopiers.
5 Ways Customer Service Managers are Implementing to Increase Customer Focus
According to a Forum Corporation survey of commercial customers lost by 14 major service and manufacturing companies:15% found a better service/product15% found a cheaper service/product20% cited "lack of contact and individual attention from the company"50% said; "contact from old suppliers" personnel was poor in quality"These days, it seems that everyone from dog walkers to dotcoms is making "customer service" their mission. Department, discount and convenience stores have all transformed the workers who used to be known as "sales clerks" into "customer service associates"- in theory at least.
Ten Ways to Help You Improve Your Customer Service
1. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis.
Are You A Coward? I Was
Over the last month, I have come to hate emails and answerphones; not because I get 100 emails every day but because emails and answerphones are fast becoming the tool of the coward. At Beyond Philosophy we worked with a client a while ago whose account managers and sales teams never used to speak to anyone! They just used to send emails.
Invalid Excuses for Poor Business Results - The Weather
Note to Kmart: It wasn't about the weatherIn the 1970s Kmart was the retailer to beat. No matter what happened, they seemed to turn profit.
Difficult Customers - Theres No Such Thing
A couple of years ago I had a call from a Customer ServiceManager working in the paper industry. He wanted me to run aseminar for his team, on "How to Deal with DifficultCustomers".
Identify Your Silent Customer Service Message
With the growing number of people in every business sector,doing business requires creativity and ingenuity. Theentrepreneur that understands the importance of thinkingdifferently is the entrepreneur that sees their businessesgrowing.