With black Friday sales and Christmas shopping coming up now is a great time to optimise sales in your direct selling business. Aside from an amazing product, what would make a customer choose to shop from you instead of another direct seller or store? The answer is your customer service skills and the shopping experience that you provide them with. So let’s focus on standing out from the crowd with customer service tips for direct selling.Â
Why customer service matters
Customer service matters because it’s the first point of contact that influences whether or not a prospective customer chooses to buy from you, recommends you to others and the connection that they make to the product or service. For example if a customer buys a product that they want but has a bad experience in buying that product, everytime they use that product it is something they may recall. When the product is finished and they are debating whether or not to repurchase the product, this comes into play and may influence them towards either not repurchasing or going elsewhere. On the contrary, when a customer has a really positive customer service experience, they are more likely to purchase again and fondly remember what a great experience it was the previous time. Based on this they are more likely to recommend their great experience to others, providing more customers and repeat sales.
Our top 5 tips
So where is the best place to begin for top customer service? We have broken it down into 5 of our most important tips that anyone can implement into their direct selling business.
1. Treat every potential customer with the respect and care that you would treat your top buying customer, regardless of their spending ability.
The saying ‘you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover’ couldn’t be more true when it comes to potential customers, you honestly never know a customer’s intentions or capabilities until they show you first hand. Disregarding care for a certain prospective customer could be eliminating a great sales opportunity as sometimes our best customers come in unexpected forms. Being a respectful and caring person to everyone will always serve you well in life, leaving people remembering the experience of buying from you based on making them feel important and valued makes for not only wonderful sales but a wonderful life.
2. Give customers more than they expect
Technically a sales transaction only requires you to provide the product, however its those extra little details and personal touches that really make the difference. Whether it be writing personalised thank you notes and placing them in the orders, personally delivering an order yourself or adding extra goodies in, these touches can really make someone’s day. Sending out birthday discount codes or creating a VIP club with exclusive offers are some other ways to make your customers feel valued and appreciated.
3. Keep up the communication with your customers
Regularly staying in contact and touching base with your customers is a great way to improve their overall sales experience and increase your chances of return sales. Whether it’s checking in after a week to see how they are finding the product and if there’s any questions you can answer for them or tips to provide, or checking in before they run out of product to see if they would like to reorder. These small efforts go a long way for customer and sales retention and overall satisfaction.
4. Make the whole experience user friendly
Keeping the overall customer experience user friendly and simple to operate is a great way to appeal to customers of all demographics and ages. Whether it’s being able to access a website and shop easily, having easy to find contact information or simple processes to apply for refunds and returns, this is crucial for a good customer experience.
5. Conflict and complaint resolution
Being available to resolve conflicts and attend to complaints efficiently and within a reasonable time frame is so important and can make or break a customer relationship. When a customer feels dissatisfied with their experience or product it is important to restore this by showing them they are valued as failure to do so creates the feeling of not being valued plus dissatisfaction. Having unhappy customers can be extremely dangerous for your personal, professional and business reputation resulting in decreased sales. But happy and satisfied customers will always support a great personal and professional representation for you and your business.
Don’t worry, be happy
Rather than focusing on the things out of your control when it comes to business, choose to focus your energy and attention on the happiness of your customers. You’ll find that in turn this will make you feel happier too and pave the way for future sales and success in your business.
