How to Boost Your Business with These Customer Service Tips

​​​Imagine this. You sit down at a new restaurant, and it takes 45 minutes for a server to visit your table. Finally, you say, “Can I get a glass of water?”

Even if the food was to die for, would you return? According to a 2023 report from PwC, 32% of customers will walk away from a business after only one bad experience.

Small business customer service is just as important as offering a great product — and possibly more so. That’s because technology connects us and creates a forum for online reviews. In fact, 89% of customers won’t purchase from a company before they’ve read its reviews.

If you aren’t currently placing a high priority on learning customer service tips to avoid those bad reviews, you need to start now. It takes minutes for someone to have a bad experience and tell the world, potentially costing money for your business.

That’s why I’m here to share good customer service tips that could transform your business. Best of all, these customer support tips can be used right now, meaning you’re just a few minutes away from potentially taking your business to the next level.

Why Invest Time in Learning the Best Customer Service Tips?

Sure, you want to avoid bad reviews. But there are other great reasons to improve small business customer service as well.

• You can charge more for your product or services. If you’re known for your customer service, people may be willing to pay more. One study says Americans are willing to spend 17% more to buy from a business with a reputation for excellent service.
• You can retain and acquire new customers. Excellent customer service makes it more likely that your small business customers will go out of their way to recommend your business to others. That’s why customer service is an essential foundation for great word-of-mouth marketing!
• You can stand out from the competition. You can offer the same product at the same price, but you have a better chance of winning the market if you provide a standout small business customer experience.
• You can gain useful insights. Great customer service involves listening to your customers’ feedback and making changes to better serve them. Their feedback may even help you improve your product or service.

Sold on the reasons why you should improve customer service? Good! Now let’s talk about five practical ways to help make your customers happier today.

5 Customer Service Tips You Can Start Using Right Now

1. Offer more "face time."

Instead of emailing a customer, meet them in person or chat with them on the phone. Email is quick, but your tone could be misinterpreted.

Studies suggest that only 7% of a person’s message is taken from spoken words, and the rest is communicated through facial expressions, tone, and body language.

The good news is that it’s easy to get more time with your customers. Here are a few customer support tips:

• Strike up a conversation with a customer if you own a brick-and-mortar location
• Hold events where you invite clientele to “sip and shop” or learn something new
• Schedule more in-person meetings and ask for direct feedback

Can’t meet face-to-face? Pick up the phone, especially if a customer has had a bad experience. An apology over the phone is more genuine and effective than an email.

2. Be fast and convenient.

Too often, consumers get bounced around on support lines. Think about it — how often have you:

• Had to wait longer than 5 minutes on hold?
• Been disconnected during a support issue?
• Had to repeat information to multiple agents?

It’s frustrating, isn’t it? Make sure your small business customer service is fast, convenient, and helpful. Try to solve problems quickly, explain what happened, and limit the time a person is on hold. If you can’t solve the issue immediately, offer to call back with a solution. Then keep your promise — call back!

3. Advertise that you’re licensed and insured (if applicable).

This customer service tip might feel a little out of left field, but bear with me here.

Whether you offer your customers a product or service, strive to be a professional and trustworthy business owner who prioritizes keeping them safe. While you can certainly tell your customers how dependable you are; however, showing them you take their peace of mind seriously is one of the best customer service tips we can offer you.

That’s exactly why having startup business insurance is so critical.

Business insurance is one of those trust cues that lets customers know that you take your business (and their peace of mind) seriously. After all, when you run a small business, anything can happen. It’s important to carry business insurance to help pay for accidents, damage, or stolen property.

This way, you can make repairs and fix issues without disrupting your service or going bankrupt.

Plus, if any of your customers get injured or suffer financially as a result of professional negligence, your business insurance policy could help cover some or all of those costs depending on your policy limits.

It’s easy to see why having choice insurance is one of the most powerful trust cues available to a small business owner!

Depending on your industry, you might want to have:

• Commercial general liability insurance: This covers costs associated with third-party accidents, third-party property damage, and advertising injuries. For example, if you accidentally damage a customer’s couch while repainting their living room, your general liability insurance could potentially cover the costs of replacing the couch.
• Professional liability insurance: This coverage protects you in situations that may involve professional negligence. If you make a mistake on a client’s project that ends up causing them damage, professional liability insurance may cover some or all of the costs associated with the damage, as well as the cost of a lawyer to defend you if the claim goes to court, depending on your policy terms and limits.

Startup business insurance will cover you when the unexpected happens — and help you get back on your feet fast.

4. Be empathetic and kind.

As a business owner, you deal with all types of small business customers, including some who are frustrated, annoyed, or confused. It’s generally a good idea to deal with them patiently and with empathy, no matter how difficult it may be.

Here are a few tips to help:

• Take a deep breath first.
• Listen carefully to customer feedback.
• Speak slowly and calmly.
• Give people the benefit of the doubt.
• Avoid taking the situation personally.
• Summarize the next steps.

Want more advice on dealing with a customer who won’t calm down or continue being angry? One of our other customer service articles walks you through how to deal with a difficult customer.

5. Measure and analyze feedback while using these customer service tips.

Getting customer feedback is critical to your success. Start by setting a goal. Do you want to know how your product is performing? Wondering if your small business customers are recommending your services to friends and family?

After that, decide on a survey type. Here are three different ways to measure feedback, each involving asking just one question.

• Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): Ask customers how satisfied they are with your product or service by using a simple scale.
• Customer Effort Score (CES): Find out how easy or difficult it is for customers to interact with you.
• Net Promoter Score® (NPS): Learn how likely customers are to recommend your product or service to a friend using a rating scale.

Once you gather your survey results, take time to analyze the feedback. You can even go a step further and hold focus groups to ask deeper questions. The more you know, the more you can do to improve your small business customer experience.

While we’re on the topic of learning, our online resource center has valuable information about small business insurance — and two more customer service articles that you will definitely want to read and heed.

How to Ask for Customer Reviews — Secrets Revealed Here

How to Get More Customers to Keep Coming Back

Feel Empowered with These Customer Service Tips!

The more valued your customers feel, the more likely they will continue buying from you and telling others about their experience with you and your company. Your new and improved customer service approach will help reel in dollars before you know it.