Hi this is Kate Wilber “The Marketing Momma” with Tip # 3 in the “5 Tips To Starting An Online Store” series here at the Work At Home Success Blog. This is day 3 of my week long visit.  If you missed tips # 1 and 2 you can go here to check them out.

Today I wanted to talk about one of the most important things to consider when building a successful business online or offline — Customer Service.

Tip # 3 Creating Exceptional Customer Service

When you think of a great business that you have dealt with lately—one that you had a really great shopping experience with—what really stands out?  Sure I bet you loved the product you bought and were happy with it once you got it home and had time to use it.  But you could have bought that product anywhere -right?  Most products on the market right now are available at several different stores—but what makes you buy from one store rather than the other.  Sometimes it’s location, sometimes it’s price, but most of the time I guarantee you would choose a company that has great customer service over any other option.  I know I would.That’s why when you run your own business creating exceptional customer service should be your number one priority.

A happy customer is a loyal customer and good customer service goes a long way.

When you have great customer service you are not only building a great reputation for yourself to bring in new customers but you are also building life long customers that will buy from you over and over again.

So here are just a few tips on creating exceptional customer service that you can build a successful business around.

• First always be available to your customers if they have a concern or question regarding your products or their purchase.  Give them a clear way to contact you and if they do contact you respond to them quickly to help them with their concerns.  There is nothing worse then having a question or concern about a purchase you have made from a company and then not being able to reach anyone about it.

• Second always do your best to keep your customer happy.  Be clear about your policies and procedures of your company but also keep an open mind to every situation and handle them appropriately.  Sometimes you are better off making your customer happy over a small issue that you have to compromise on to build a long lasting relationship with that customer.  Doing so will make them your biggest fan and become a long lasting repeat customer.  Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of –but also don’t be so stubborn that you are unwilling to make exceptions sometimes for the sake of your customer service.

• Third give your loyal customers the opportunity to save money.  Offer them FREE shipping, give them discount codes once a month to show your appreciation for them as a customer, offer free gift wrapping, and so on.  Anything you can think of that will show your customer that you appreciate them and that you want to make their shopping experience with you great.

• The last tip for creating exceptional customer service is to always keep your word.  Building trust with your customer is how you turn new customers into long lasting repeat customers.  If you say their order will ship out to them on Tuesday make sure it ships on Tuesday.  If for some reason you can’t follow through on what you promised make sure you are upfront with your customer and keep them up to date with the situation.  Most people understand if situations arise as long as you keep them informed and explain the situation.  If they know you are doing everything you can to keep your word then you are still building that trust even if things don’t always go as planned.

If you know someone who would benefit from these tips to start an online store please send them to this post.

For more step by step guidance to building a successful online store

visit www.startanonlinestore.com

To Your Success!

Kate Wilber

The Marketing Momma