One of the advantages of being a small firm is you can look after your customers in a way the big firms can’t or don’t want to.
A marketing guru from Melbourne once said: "Love your customers to death".
Here are some thoughts:
- Get a real person to answer the phone.
- Answer the phone quickly.
- Answer your emails quickly.
- Keep in touch: How about a tip sheet say once every three months or even once a year if you haven't got much to talk about? It is so easy and economical to communicate with emails and text messages. Even a dentist could send a tip sheet. How about telling us about the teeth that don't get sufficiently brushed? How long should we brush? What type of toothbrush should we use, what type of dental floss, the best unit for water flossing? Which order - floss, water floss then brush?
- For the bigger customers, get on the phone if you want to know what they thought of your service. There's no point in sending email requests for reviews as the big
firms do - they just get deleted, don't they? Have just a couple of questions to ask - remember, your customer is busy.
- Smile. It's welcoming. People can sense, even on the phone, whether you are smiling.
- Never start your correspondence with "Dear valued customer"! If I'm valued then why don't you use my name? Also, spell the name correctly. A marketing company once wrote to Norman "Dear Normal"!
- Remember customer preferences. It makes them feel important.
