Maximising customer satisfaction
There are many ways a business can ensure its customers are satisfied:
- market research
- staff training
- after-sales service
- customer care strategy
- customer complaints procedures
- quality products
Market research
Effective market research will allow a business to find out the needs and wants of its customers. This means that the product or service can be tailored to these needs, leading to greater customer satisfaction.
Staff training
Well trained staff will be knowledgeable about the business, the products that it offers, and will be able to deliver a higher standard of customer care.
After-sales service
This is the service provided by the company after a purchase has been made. This service includes returns and refunds, guidelines on how to achieve the best from the product or service and product maintenance.
Customer care strategy
This lets the customer know what level of service to expect and how complaints will be handled.
Customer complaints procedures
All companies should have a plan in place for how to deal with and resolve customer complaints. This includes:
- instructions on how customers can raise complaints with the business (for example by phone, online form, or at a customer services desk)
- how employees should handle these complaints, such as the length of time it should take, who should deal with a complaint and how it should be processed.
- communication with customers - it is important to keep customers informed on the progress of the complaint.
If a customer complaint is handled effectively, the customer will be more likely to return to the business.
Quality products
The product or service must meet the customers’ needs. It is important that a company has good quality assurance procedures in place to ensure no faulty or low quality products or services are given to customers. A high quality product will ensure that a customer is satisfied.