PaySimple Small Business Tip of the Week: Building Great Customer Experiences

The business truisms are endless: a satisfied customer is a repeat customer, it’s more profitable to maintain a happy customer than to find a new customer, word of mouth is the best marketing, and on and on…

One other truism is that satisfied customers are built not born, and as a small business owner you need to plan and plot every component of the customer experience from first touch to follow-up after the sale.

A four-part blog series Creating Superior Customer Experiences, from 365 Days of Startups.com provides tips that you can use at every step of the process.

• Part I covers first impressions and discusses touch points that potential customers have with your business before they’ve ever contacted you and become a “lead.”
• Part II covers initial contact, obtaining the “lead” and securing the first sales call or appointment.
• Part III covers follow-up from the first sales meeting, closing the sale and starting the project.
• Part IV covers follow-up after the project is done to ensure the customer is satisfied and to set the stage for the next project or purchase as well as to encourage referrals.

While this series is geared towards service businesses, small businesses of all types can benefit from the many tips provided.