Over the last four weeks, I’ve shared strategies for reaching your first 100 customers. So far, we’ve covered:
And here we are now with the last article in the series. Part V - a.k.a. le grand finale - "Perfect Your Customer Service."
Perfect Your Customer Service
As the last and arguably most important step in acquiring your first 100 customers (and accelerating retention thereafter), delivering exceptional customer service must be top of mind.
A top-notch customer experience doesn’t just delight your clients—it creates loyal brand advocates who, in turn, bring their friends to the party!
What is Service Quality?
Service quality measures how well an organization understands its customers’ needs and fulfills their expectations. According to a report by Oracle, 73% of customers remain loyal because of positive interactions with customer support.
High-quality customer service fosters engagement and builds trust, which are essential to long-term success. It’s a reflection of how much your business values its customers—and believe me, they notice. When customers feel valued, they not only return but also share their positive experiences with others, effectively becoming your brand ambassadors.
The Five Dimensions of Service Quality
Reliability
Tangibility
Responsiveness and Timeliness
Service Quality Assurance
Customer-Centricity
Let’s break these down further:
1. Is Your Product Offering Consistent and Reliable?
Consistency ensures your product operates as intended, minimizing customer service issues. The best customer service is when customers don’t need to contact you at all. Consistency reduces time, energy, and inconvenience for everyone.
2. Do Your Customers Perceive a Palpable Sense of Quality?
Customers often base their perception of service on your marketing campaigns, brand image, and word of mouth.
Consider the famous example of Zappos. A customer mistakenly ordered the wrong wedding shoes and had just days until the event. Even though it wasn’t their mistake, Zappos expedited a same-day delivery of the correct shoes, free of charge. This act not only delighted the customer but became a viral story, cementing Zappos’ reputation for exceptional service. Zappos was aligned to its WOW customer service philosophy, and made a name for itself!
3. How Responsive Are You to Your Customers?
In today’s world, people expect quick responses—but speed alone isn’t enough. Customers value thoughtful, personalized solutions over canned, generic replies.
Strike the balance between speed and substance:
Respond quickly to acknowledge the issue.
Take the time to fully understand the problem, investigate, and provide a meaningful solution.
If a resolution will take time, keep customers informed at every step, offer reassurance, and consider a goodwill gesture to compensate for delays.
4. Do You Build Trust with Your Customers?
Trust is the cornerstone of customer loyalty. It’s built through honesty, transparency, and genuine care. Admit mistakes, empathize, apologize, and compensate where necessary.
Positive reviews also play a major role in building trust. According to BigCommerce, "72% of consumers say positive reviews and testimonials make them trust a brand more, and 88% trust online reviews and treat them as personal recommendations." Build trust, spread the word, stay tuned in, listen to and action feedback.
(My recent blog post about feedback here)
5. Do You Truly Put Your Customers First?
Actions speak louder than words. Understanding how customers use your product, helping them achieve their goals, and showing empathy for their needs are all critical.
The key difference between a bot and a human? Empathy. Make customers feel genuinely understood and valued. Put their needs ahead of short-term profit, and the long-term benefits will follow.
What Can Be Done to Ensure Top-Notch Service Quality?
1. Invest in Good Customer Service Training
Provide comprehensive, engaging training for your customer service team. Make sure they understand your products, values, goals, and incentives. Avoid “box-checking” exercises like handing out printouts or boring online materials, which can demotivate employees. Instead, focus on interactive, meaningful training that connects them to your company’s mission and equips them to provide exceptional service.
2. Invest in Solid Customer Service Platforms
Tools like Salesforce, Zendesk, Intercom can enhance serviceability with AI-powered features and integrations. However, traditional methods like email, phone, or WhatsApp can also be effective when paired with the right resources.
Create scalable solutions by logging customer queries into a system for triaging and analysis. For example, identifying FAQs can help you address root causes by improving product design or creating educational resources like webinars.
3. Set the Right Metrics and Incentives
Define clear performance metrics aligned with customer goals and business success. Make sure they’re ambitious but realistic. For instance, aiming for 100% customer satisfaction (CSAT) on 100 queries per week might not account for uncontrollable anomalies.
Use metrics like Total Resolution Time (TRT), Turnaround Time (TAT), Time to First Response (TTFR), and Ticket Volume to track performance. Provide dashboards for visibility and discuss progress regularly with your team.
4. Encourage Honest Feedback and Act on It
Make it easy for customers to provide feedback through forms, Help Centers, or direct conversations. Incentivize feedback with rewards like discounts, event invitations, or free service months.
Remember, feedback is a gift. (read my article on how to give and receive feedback for more tips) Thank customers for their input and let them know how it’s being used to improve your products or services. Closing the loop builds trust, fosters loyalty, and encourages more feedback.
5. Overcompensate for Mistakes
Mistakes are opportunities to build even stronger relationships. When things go wrong, go above and beyond to make it right.
For example, if a restaurant serves the wrong dish, let the customer keep the incorrect dish, bring them the correct one, and waive the charges for both. While this might seem costly in the short term, it earns long-term trust and loyalty.
6. Streamline Processes and Focus on Consistency
According to McKinsey, delivering a consistent experience across the customer journey is more impactful than isolated positive interactions. Measuring satisfaction for the entire journey can increase customer satisfaction by 20%, boost revenue by up to 15%, and lower service costs by as much as 20%. (source)
And finally...
7. Get It Right the First Time
Customers want their issues resolved on the first contact. Long waits, repeated follow-ups, and incomplete answers create frustration.
Early in my sales career, a customer complimented me for providing the best service they’d received from my company. While the praise was gratifying, it highlighted a troubling inconsistency in service quality. By hiring the right talent, providing thorough training, and focusing on empathetic, consistent service, businesses can avoid such gaps and deliver exceptional first-contact experiences.
Congratulations!
You’ve now completed the Getting Your First 100 Customers series! By perfecting your customer service, you’ll ensure your clients stay loyal and spread the word about your business.
Thank you for following this series (or at least this piece). I’ll be back next week with a new thought experiment.
Hi! I'm Merve. 👋 I help leaders build high performing teams, amplify their business impact, and advance their careers.
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