Customer Service: Building Great Client Relationships

Building great client relationships takes work. We all know this. No matter the industry you are in, encouraging lasting and trusting relationships with your clients needs to be a crucial consideration. Even if you are the best at what you do, if your customer service leaves something to be desired, your relationships will inevitably suffer.

Here are some of the top customer service tips that help to promote customer loyalty and build trust.

Ask questions – and not just “is there anything else I can help you with.” This mundane inquiry is offered far too often, and is usually met with little response. To boost your customer service levels, why not try something along the lines of “is there any way that we could better serve and meet your needs?” Giving just that little bit more, even just phrasing the question differently, offers clients the chance to think about a response and recognize that you are concerned about their concerns.

Be positive. Getting frustrated, no matter the situation, is never a good thing. Customers notice, and are not likely to forget a negative interaction. Diffusing a negative situation can work wonders as far as demonstrating that you are there to help, and will do whatever it takes to solve a problem. Always try your hardest to end things, even bad things, on a positive note.

Deliver: do what you say you are going to do. Firstly, don’t make promises you can’t keep – clients will remember. Being unable to deliver on a promise will only make the client question your abilities with everything else. If you say that you are going to do something, don’t delay it and force the client to remind you about it – do it as soon as possible.

Encourage involvement. If a client wants to be involved, let them (as long as this involvement is not interference). Many clients like to be involved in a process, and this helps to create a partnership-like environment that encourages trust. On the flip-side, if a client doesn’t seem to want to be involved, and would rather have you complete a project from start to finish with the least amount of involvement as possible, honour this.

Be available. One of the worst pain points when it comes to customer service is unavailability. If a client is trying to reach you, but can’t, they may just find someone who is available when the next project comes up. If a client calls, return their call. If they email, get back to them. This is just common sense – but common sense that can sometimes be tough to remember or easy to ignore.

When it comes to building great client relationships, excelling at customer service is the best place to start.

At PTI, we value our client relationships, and we want to work with you to accomplish the most successful custom packaging projects possible. Contact us today by calling 1-800-303-5883 or visit us online at www.ptibox.com.