Six Customer Service Tools To Increase Sales
By Shep Hyken, Bestselling Author, Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations
Customer service may be the ultimate strategy when it comes to winning customers, keeping customers and getting customers to buy more.
In my research for the upcoming book, titled: Amaze Every Customer Every Time, I chose Ace Hardware as the ultimate role model when it comes to delivering an amazing customer service experience. They have incredible competition with the Big Box stores, such as Home Depot, Lowes, etc., but still manage to win the retail game. Their strategy is out-servicing their competition. They have successfully positioned themselves as the most helpful hardware stores on the planet.
Advertisement
The following six tactics came out of direct interviews with the many Ace retailers whose insights were shared in my book. While these best practices may seem a little like “Retail 101,” don’t be fooled by the overall simplicity. These tactics are game-changers when it comes to increasing your customer relationships, deepening loyalty, and overall, amazing your customers, every time.
- The Greeting: Engage with a strong welcome. Be it on the phone or in person, this greeting makes your customer feel comfortable and appreciated. This “first impression” is an extremely important interaction as it sets the tone for whatever is to follow.
- The First Question: Follow up the greeting with an open-ended question to understand the reason the customer is shopping with you. Don’t ask a yes or no question, such as “Can I help you?” This is a close-ended question that gives the customer the opportunity to say “no” to your offer, and more importantly, doesn’t give you the information that you need to know about how you can help them. Instead, ask an open-ended question such as, “What are you looking for today?” The best response will give you specific information about why the customer is doing business with you.
- Why: This is a powerful follow-up to the customer telling you what they are shopping for. Once you understand what the customer wants, ask why. Why does the customer need your help or your product? For example, the customer may tell you he or she is looking for paint. You ask why. Why does the customer need paint? In other words, what is the customer planning to paint? Knowing this may reveal other opportunities for you to help or upsell the customer.
- Upsell: Suggest other merchandise to the customer when it is appropriate. For example, if a customer at an Ace Hardware store is buying a can of paint, it is perfectly logical, and many times appreciated by the customer, to ask if he or she needs brushes, rollers, painters tape, or other items to complete a paint project. Imagine the customer getting home and realizing that he forgot to get brushes. One of the goals at Ace Hardware is that the associate asks enough questions and makes sure that the customer leaves with everything he/she needs for their project, so they don’t have to make an extra trip back to the store. Not “upselling” the customer when appropriate is actually poor customer service.
- What Else: Don’t finish the customer interaction without asking what else the customer may be looking for – or what other help they may need. This may be something completely unrelated to the purchase they are about to make, or the reason for their initial call or visit. This may reveal other opportunities to start the process all over again.
- Appreciation: Don’t forget to say “Thank you!” Customers expect and want to be appreciated. A sincere “thank you” is a great way to end the experience. As important as the greeting is to the first impression, saying “thank you” is most important to creating a lasting impression.
Shep Hyken, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and hall-of-fame speaker is the Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations. As a customer service expert, Hyken helps companies build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information about his upcoming book, Amaze Every Customer Every Time: 52 Tools for Delivering the Most Amazing Customer Service on the Planet, go to www.AmazeEveryCustomer.com. Follow Hyken on Twitter: @Hyken
