Play Nice With Others: The Impact of Customer Satisfaction on Your Business

Customer Satisfaction

Play nice with others! We’re taught to be good citizens; to be kind, thoughtful, listen carefully, treat people the way we would like to be treated ourselves. We work at this in all our relationships. Hopefully. Our partners, family, friends and pets all benefit from our efforts to play nice and support their needs.

Well… naturally, these qualities also go a long way in customer service. After all, business equals relationships. I’m talking about the real connection of quality relationships, not the smarmy, false and disconnected good manners you may get after waiting on a phone queue to speak to a customer service rep at your wireless company or the bank.

Most people want to trust that someone has their back. This couldn’t be more true when it comes to keeping your customers feeling cared about. And with their money and investments of time and effort on the line, your customers deserve it.

Think about what it’s like on their side of the playground. Anticipate their needs and concerns. Pay attention. Listen carefully. But most important, take the time to get to know them! I’m not saying you have to be everybody’s best friend, but within the appropriate business boundaries, the more “seen” and “known” your customer feels, the more trust will be built and the more they will feel comfortable relying on what you have to offer. This is good. This is what will keep them coming back. This is what will create referrals.

Of course, every business owner knows that it’s impossible to make and keep everyone happy all of the time, but we can learn from our experiences, improve our efforts and take on the attitude from the 1962 Avis slogan created by Robert Townsend “we try harder”. That’s a personal favorite of mine! Maybe it’s because Robert was a dear friend of my father and he and his family were intertwined with our family growing up. Fat Eyes Web Development shares this motto (in private).

Quoting KISSmetrics, the creators of the wonderful infographic, below:

“The average company loses 50% of its customers over a 5-year period.”
“59% of people have stopped doing business with a company due to poor service.”

Source: Happy Campers – Customer Satisfaction & What it Means for Your Business