How much does good customer service matter? A few stats gathered across the web by HubSpot highlight just how important good service is when a customer is making a decision about who to do business with:[1]
- 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company. (Microsoft)
- 58% of American consumers will switch companies because of poor customer service (Microsoft)
- If the company’s customer service is excellent, 78% of consumers will do business with a company again after a mistake. (Salesforce Research)
- A good customer service experience heavily impacts recommendations. Consumers who rate a company’s service as “good” are 38% more likely to recommend that company. (Qualtrics XM Institute)
To ensure your customer service offering ensures satisfied customers, follow these tips:
Learn To Listen: When you ask clients questions – about their health issues, skincare goals, preferences for product use, and more – listen attentively to their answers and observe their non-verbal cues from body language. Never make assumptions about what the client wants. Also listen carefully when clients express concern about a skin treatment or massage or displeasure about something that happened. Give them your undivided attention and concentrate on what they are saying so you can be sure to provide the right information or handle the problem to their satisfaction.
Know Your Client: That starts by asking questions not only of new clients but checking in periodically with your regular clients. Encourage a conversation to find out more about your client’s personal preferences or changes in their health – physical or emotional - that could influence your recommended treatments. As part of checking in with clients, find out if they have concerns or issues about your service. Even a satisfied customer may be dissatisfied from time to time but reluctant to say anything.
Personalize The Experience: When you recommend a treatment or retail product, talk about how it meets a client’s specific needs or preferences. Let clients know when you are having specials that are of particular interest to them by email, text or phone. A special note from you says to client you are top of mind.
Anticipate Needs: Get to know your clients. Over time, you’ll be able to anticipate their needs and preferences. Think how you feel when a vendor or service provider remembers your likes and dislikes. Also, the better you know your customers, the more you can anticipate their needs and avoid situations that could jeopardize your relationship.
Convey A ‘Can Do’ Attitude: Try to eliminate “no” from your dialogue with clients. When they ask for something, unless it’s not reasonable, say “yes” or “let me see what I can figure out for you.” You gain the confidence of your clients when you demonstrate you goal is to solve their problems.
Live Up To Promises: When clients express their expectation about a treatment, be direct and honest about your ability to give then what they want. Broken promises lead to mistrust, which ultimately will send clients looking for another spa or massage business they can count on.
Be Thorough: Being thorough shows that you care about clients and your own professionalism. It applies to every situation that comes up in your spa or massage business from knowing about your retail products to recommending treatments based on the latest industry information.
Be Responsive: Not every client is satisfied interacting with your business via the Internet. Some of them need that personal interaction that comes with a phone call. If a client calls to schedule a massage or inquire about a product, response as soon as possible. Don’t make them wait 24 hours or longer to get back to them. To speed up the response and ensure they get your message, text them if you have permission to communicate with them over text.
Deal With Complaints: It’s true that you can’t please everyone, but if you pay attention to the complaint, you may be able to build a better relationship with clients rather than lose them. If you deal with complaints, they give you a chance to discover issues in your business that need resolving so you can improve your customer service.
Follow Through: If you offer to do something, follow through. If your client mentions a product they are interested in and you offer to check into it, don’t forget. If you discuss something related to health and your client asks a question you can’t answer, promise to check into it and do. You build trust when you follow through on an offer or promise.
Your team also needs to be on board with your commitment to customer service. Provide the necessary training and when you hold team meetings, make customer service a regular discussion topic.