Creating a customer service strategy is one of the most important parts of running a business. Think about the last time you bought a product that didn’t work. What did you do? You probably called or e-mailed the company that either made it or sold it to you. How did it go? If it went wrong, like often it does you spent an hour on hold, and probably told that if you want to return it, you’d have to pay for shipping. If it went smoothly, then it was your lucky day. Your call was answered promptly, and you got what you wanted – probably a refund or they are sending you a replacement free of charge.
We’ve all been through both the bad and the good customer service situations. Nobody likes long waits on the phone, and nobody likes paying for a faulty product. In today’s world, there are usually many service providers or brands of products to choose from.
It is customer service that brings that customer back time and time again to the same company or service provider. Here are three tips to keep your customers coming back.

Tip # 1: Think of customer service as one of your products
When you make a sale, you should also be “selling” customer service. In other words, give your buyer peace of mind that customer service will be there to answer questions, should they have any problems. This is especially needed in the tech world because not everyone buying the latest smart phone or 3D TV is tech savvy.
Tip # 2: Give them what they want
Let's face it, nobody likes wasting time on the phone listening to elevator music only to be finally answered by a rude support agent. Service should be provided promptly and politely. For this to happen, you must hire the right people and enough of them. To keep your customers coming back, handle all of their requests including shipping, and damage claims. Be sincere about their questions and complaints. Your goal should be that when the customer hangs up the phone, they can go about their day in peace, knowing they are well taken care of.
Tip # 3: Be consistent
Shoot for giving quality customer service to everyone, every time. You don’t want to keep only one customer; you want to keep them all. Reliability is key. From my experience, Leupold Optics a rifle scope manufacturer offers a lifetime warranty and they back it up. My father has sent two of their products in for repairs. They were able to fix one of them, and they replaced the other that was beyond repair. Both the repair and the replacement scope were free of charge. I don’t buy rifles often, but the next time I purchase one, a Leupold scope will be mounted on it.
Copyright 2016 Viral Solutions LLC
by Rob Carpen
Rob is a content writer and editor, specializing in a variety of fields. He helps B2B and B2C clients with blogs, social media, press releases and web content that create more value for their marketing campaigns. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He played Club Rugby at IUP for four years. He loves Rugby and recently attended the Rugby World Cup in Newcastle, England – New Zealand All Blacks v. Tonga Match. Rob is passionate about craft beer. He is transitioning his eight years of home brewing to earn his professional brewer certificate.