Christianjoint venture marketing
If the purpose of a joint venture is to increase your customer base and your sales, you need to prepare your customer service staff for the changes that you are expecting. New customers, who are checking out your business for the first time, want to know that your company is ready and willing to meet their needs. We have five things to teach your customer service reps before your joint venture becomes a reality.
Service with a Smile
An increased customer load may stress out your customer service staff at first, so remind them that service with a smile is at the core of your business success. Even if a customer has to wait in line for a few minutes, getting to the front of the line and meeting a smiling face will do much to diffuse their impatience. Model the behavior by greeting employees and customers with a smile yourself.
When Apologies Work
There are times when it is completely appropriate to offer an apology to a customer after a prolonged wait for service or when the item they ordered is not delivered on time as promised.
Teach your employees that in addition to an apology, customers want to know what you’ll do to make a situation right again. Empower employees by allowing them to offer a discount or other perk to disgruntled customers that might bring them into your business again.
Follow-up is Key
When a customer has a question or complaint, efficient follow-up is the key between keeping a customer or losing him to the business down the street. Teach your staff that once they begin working with a customer, they “own” that customer until the problem is resolved. This gives accountability to the situation and improves your customer service at the same time.
Handling Complaints
More customers means increased complaints, so teach your employees how to handle angry customers with grace and efficiency. Customers sometimes need to vent their frustrations before listening to the possible solutions. Show your staff how to listen actively so they can correctly identify the problem and offer effective solutions the first time around.
The Value of the Cross-Sale
When new customers come into your establishment, they will be more likely to become regular customers if they purchase additional products or services from you. Explain to your staff that cross-selling is not merely about increasing sales. It involves tuning into a customer’s specific needs so the products or services offered will make their life easier, more convenient or more pleasant in some way. Customers who realize you are looking out for them in this way will be more likely to frequent your business when subsequent needs arise.
The purpose of a joint venture is to bring more customers into your business. Be ready for the increased load by training your customer service staff to offer the highest quality service to every new customer who comes through your door.
christian fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A joint venture marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.
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