If all goes well for your business, you'll be able to consistently make sales and bring in a healthy flow of working capital that can fuel future growth. Many questions abound, though. First and foremost: Where will you allocate those funds? What should you spend them on first?
If you have a group of loyal customers, why not invest in keeping them happy?
There's a compelling argument to be made that customer service is the answer. It makes sense - if you start making money, it's likely because you have a group of loyal customers who are willing to patronise your business and show their support. Why not invest in keeping them happy?
By developing a stronger plan for customer service, you can ensure that your loyal customers remain loyal for the long haul. This way, the strong sales numbers you have now will continue looking healthy for years to come.
Key objectives in your customer service strategy
When customers have a question or concern about your product and want to get more information, your brand has to be responsive and help them find the answers they're looking for. This is what customer service is all about. According to the Gold Coast City Council, there are a few key priorities your company needs to focus on as part of this effort:
- Improving access to knowledge: Do you have information about your product and its uses available, whether online or otherwise? If so, make it easy to find and understand.
- Clarifying contact information: If people need to ask follow-up questions, how can they get in touch? Define your preferred methods of communication - phone, email, mobile chat and so on - and streamline access.
- Providing face-to-face interaction: For some people, there's nothing better than speaking to another human directly about their concerns. Do what you can to make this possible.
- Strengthening record-keeping: Building strong customer relationships is all about learning more about people and using your knowledge to evolve in how you treat them. The better your record-keeping, the more high-quality service you can deliver in the future.
Can your company excel in all four of the above areas? If so, you might be well on your way to a strong organisation with the customer loyalty to show for it.
Developing a budget that's sustainable
All of the above spells out how to deliver great customer experience; what it doesn't specify is how you'll pay for it. Talented staff members, strong communication channels, reliable data governance - all of the above can be costly, and many customer service managers are asked to handle their responsibilities with only a limited budget at their disposal.
Investing in customer service requires streamlining your company's budget.
That's why it's important to measure your progress with customer service in financial terms. With each consumer interaction your business handles, how much are you investing in it? Accordingly, how much are you earning - indirectly, that is, through strengthened customer loyalty and increased future sales? The goal is to run a customer service department that consistently generates more value than it spends.
This sort of inquisitive attitude is what it takes to develop a sustainable budget for your business. Of course, the other thing you need in that regard is healthy cash flow.
Finding the funds to support your vision
Investing in your company's customer service requires having reliable access to cash. If you don't have that for any reason - be it a slowdown in sales, or struggles with collecting debts that you're owed - that's not a problem. Turning to invoice finance can help you get the cash you need.
Completing sales and billing customers can take weeks; Earlypay can provide over 80 per cent of the money you're looking for within 24 hours. To get started right away on improving your business, reach out to us today for help.
If you'd like to learn how Earlypay's Invoice Finance & Equipment Finance can help you boost your working capital to fund growth or keep on top of day-to-day operations of your business, contact Earlypay's helpful team today on 1300 760 205, visit our sign-up form or contact [email protected].