How To Deliver Exceptional Customer Service

There are many ways to create an unforgettable experience, both online and offline, ensuring that customers rave about your company to everyone they know.

Below are just a few examples of how you can do it without the pennies turning into pounds.

Personalise your service offering

There is nothing people appreciate more than being made to feel valued, rather than feeling like just another number. One way you can achieve this is by personalising your service offering to each individual customer.

If you run a hotel, for example, this doesn’t have to mean redecorating each room and adhering to every customer’s personal tastes; instead, it means providing a personal touch that shows you care and that you’ve listened to them.

In order to offer a personalised service, you must ask the right questions at the right time; it’s no use trying to find the details you need at the last minute. Make sure you take full and accurate notes at either the time of the order or during the booking process.

Communicate regularly with customers

People often lead extremely busy and stressful lives, so it‘s pivotal that customers have a pleasant and stress-free experience every time they engage with your business. From the minute they first contact your company, you should make sure that you maintain regular communication with them throughout their experience.

As an organisation operating in the hospitality sector, we make sure we send an email to our guests to confirm their booking immediately afterwards. Within that email, we offer people the opportunity to follow us on social media to immerse themselves in our brand. Finally, we also send a reminder communication to a guest a week before their stay, offering additional services and giving them the option to add something to the booking to improve their experience.

The key is not to bombard your customers with email after email, but to offer support and make their experience with your brand enjoyable.

But don’t go forgetting customers once they’ve bought something from your business, make sure you follow up with them to thank them for their custom and offer them the opportunity to provide feedback. This will not only show your customers that you care about what they have to say, but it will also help make them feel that they are more than just ‘one of many’.

Make sure customers want to follow your social media platforms

Social media platforms are great places to promote your business, showcase your brand values and allow your customers to feel like they’re part of your company. However, if your social media channels don’t offer your audience anything of value, their presence will quickly become redundant.

If you intend to direct both current and potential customers to social media, be sure to include information that is relevant and exclusive as an incentive for them to follow you. This could mean offering special discounts to Facebook followers, or announcing new features of your business via your Instagram page; whatever information you decide to publish, make sure you include relevant hashtags and keywords to ensure that your online content is visible to the most relevant audience.

Ensure that your employees love your brand as much as you do

Whilst you might feel like you’ve created the most exceptional business going, it’s important that your employees also share the same view. Your whole workforce has to buy into your company values and follow your strategy, but most importantly, they must treat customers in a way that compliments your brand.

Your staff are the strongest and most important ambassadors of your brand, and they should embody everything that your company represents. Therefore, if you’re looking to provide a personalised experience, your staff should ensure that they are aware of a customer’s needs to provide a positive and welcoming experience for each and every one.

If your staff are currently lacking morale, provide incentives that will keep them motivated, such as an ‘employee of the month’ award to the person with the highest number of positive reviews. This way, your employees will not only strive to provide exceptional customer service, but they will also thrive on the recognition and endeavour to keep up the high standards each and every month.

The key to providing exceptional customer service is to anticipate your customers’ needs and attend to them before they bring them to your attention. Doing this will help make them feel like they’re your number one priority and encourage them to rave about your business to everyone who will listen.