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3 Ways to Develop a Customer Service Strategy for Your Small Business

Here are three tips that will benefit every small business owner who wants to develop a customer service strategy.

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3. Establish Operational Metrics

Just as most large companies tend to identify what’s important to measure, it’s critical that small business owners do the same.

Operational metrics act as a barometer to assist you in knowing how your business is functioning. A great way to determine what to measure is to simply ask your customer what’s important to them about your product or service.

For example, you could establish operational goals for order fulfillment, email response, on-time appointments, or customer complaints, just to name a few.

Personally, I’m big on percentages so let’s go a step further – % of orders fulfilled within established goal, % of emails responded to within established goal, and % of on-time appointments to established goal. Utilizing percentages helps one to see at what level the operation is performing in relation to the established goals.

If an area of your business is performing below expectations, take a look at what impacts that particular situation. Remember that there’s a story behind every number. Your willingness to establish operational metrics allows for proactive management of your company instead of reacting to customer complaints or to a customer’s decision to stop utilizing your products or services.

Running a small business can be a daunting task that requires the owner to wear multiple hats. However, it is critical to remember these three steps in order to always know the pulse of your business. By absorbing these tips, you greatly enhance your opportunities for growth!

Connect with Errol Allen Consulting on Twitter.

Speaker, author and consultant Errol Allen is the founder and CEO of Errol Allen Consulting, a Houston, Texas based company that provides customer service training, customer service strategy development and supervisor/management training. He utilizes his 25 years of hands-on experience in assisting his clients in creating customer focused organizations.

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