Small businesses, at their very early stage of development, face numerous problems. Mostly they are connected to a small budget and a limited number of teammates. So, no wonder that the question of customer support is only sometimes on the agenda for startups.
However, newly opened ventures need to take great care of their customer base as it’s the core of their future success and development. Studies show that 54% of potential clients make their decisions based on customer service, and 19% of them stated it to be the most crucial factor. However, how can one organize sufficient customer service for startups?
Great Customer Support for Small Businesses: How Should it Look Like?
Even with limited resources, startups can still provide that top-notch customer experience. They need to be more focused on their forces. Firstly, the one thing a young business can do is to think through the prism of a product-market fit. It means concentrating on customer feedback that can benefit product development.
Some other options can be used as customer service tips for small businesses, which include:
- providing customers with self-service options;
- tracking issues through help-desk software;
- choosing appropriate communication channels and building rapport through them.
However, these are just a few of the alternatives.
Top Small Business Customer Service Tips
Mentioned above are just the smallest part of what fresh startups can do to retain and take care of their clients. Here, we’ve assembled a list of the most popular, valuable tips and tricks regarding customer support.
Setting Up a Manageable Workflow
Organizing a customer service process is essential for gathering and analyzing all the critical information. It’s a great idea to invest in robust customer service software. In some cases, partnering with a customer service outsourcing company can be a good solution later in the development journey.
Using easy-to-access communication channels is essential too. Remember, they are not limited to just emails and phone calls. Live chats, AI-powered chatbots, and self-service knowledge bases were also proven to be highly useful.
Involving an Entire Team
For businesses to stay customer-centric, a team-wide approach is needed. It means keeping the question of support engagement. It means the company will still need a dedicated support team. It’s just that other teammates of the startup should be well-versed regarding the customers and their problems as well.
Personalizing Customer Experience
For young companies it’s crucial to make their customers feel listened to and heard. No one likes to feel just like another dollar in the corporate pocket. Businesses need to pay close attention to their customer’s preferences and issues. They can:
- make sure to get all the information (name, contact info, any other relevant details) right;
- respond to the customers off-script, as pre-written answers create distance between them and the company;
- apply mirroring techniques that match the clients’ behaviour.
Hiring Great Communicators
Small businesses usually have fewer people to form a service team. That’s why, in many cases, each employee participates in the customer support process. Thus, every person involved in the startup must know how to build efficient communication. They need to know what to pay attention to and how to identify customers’ issues and needs.
Taking Advantage of Social Media and Free Tools
Social media has been on the rise for a long enough time now. For many people, it became the primary way of interaction. As a result, social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter should become a part of the small business’s support system. Besides, they also allow for automation via live chats and AI-powered tools.
As for the free tools, we refer to customer support automation software that allows for a more distinctive organization and streamlining of the service functions.
Final Thoughts
Organizing a coherent and productive support system is vital for startups. Following the above customer service tips for small businesses can help build a constantly growing loyal clientele and establish a recognizable brand name. Small enterprises can learn more about the effective incorporation of customer support by consulting with experienced professionals.
