Did you know that it’s 4-10 times more expensive to acquire a customer than it is to retain a new one? When it comes to customer retention, loyalty is key and there’s no better way to build customer loyalty than giving superior customer service. The idea itself is simple enough, but in a world of changing technology, product development, employee relations and competitive prices, sometimes customer success falls the to the wayside. Your customers are the lifelines of your business and should be number one in your list of priorities.

Here are four tips to make sure you’re always giving your customers the kind of service that they deserve.

1. Know your customer

Giving your customers great service, usually starts with something simple like knowing their name. Customers love personalization, and like the Cheers song goes, “you wanna go where everyone knows your name”. By getting to know your customers, and remembering things like their names and what their last service call was about, you’ll be able to build a genuine rapport with your customers, so when it comes to choosing someone to service their elevator or building them a brand new one, they’ll remember you first.

Make sure that you note all customer information down in your ERP, so that when your customer calls in, all interaction with them,—from the initial call to the service technician who completes their job— knows their name, address, and history.

2. Give speedy and great service (every time!!)

This may seem like a no brainer, but busy periods and human emotions sometimes makes that more difficult than it needs to be.

When a service call comes in, your dispatch tool should be able to track the service technician closest to the customer, so that someone can be on site handling their concerns as quick as possible. Once, they’re on-site, your field technician, should be prepared to solve your customer’s problem. Make this task easier for your on-site employee by ensuring that he or she has access to the customer’s history, not only to be able to greet them by name, but also to know what their last problem was, how that was solved, and what the current problem is. In addition to this, service technicians should also have access to the equipment history, so they know what options are available and what needs to be ordered in case something needs to be replaced.

Even if a customer call can not be resolved in one visit, they should feel like you’ve done everything possible in that moment to solve their issue and have confidence that the job will be completed in the time frame provided.

3. Easy communication

Tip 1 & 2 can’t really be accomplished without the proper communication channels in place. This means that in order to give customer service, you need to make sure that your internal terms are communicating seamlessly. If communication between your dispatcher, field technician and office isn’t running smoothly, than neither will your interaction with your customer.

When a job is done, ensure you take your customer’s signature, capture any necessary information like pictures of the site and send everything automatically to their inbox, so they have all the information they need to follow up with you should they need to communicate with you a second time.

4. Their success is your success

In any service business, a customer is less likely to churn, (or discontinue their relationship with you), if they are are experiencing success themselves. If your customers succeed, so will you because as long as they are around, they’ll continue needing the products and/or services that you provide so well.

Help your customers succeed with a customer service number that is dedicated to help them troubleshoot any issues. By having a centralized platform for customers to call in and ask for help, you’ll be able to respond to customer complaints quicker, help them better understand your product or service, and ensure that they have a place to voice their complaints and concerns (instead of on your social media communities).

With every customer, you should be thinking long term. Giving them personalized service, speedy service, great communication and a platform to ask for help, will ensure that your customers get the customer service they deserve and make them your customer for life.

ESS is quick to follow our own advice. To ensure our customers succeed and receive the best service possible, we’ve created a 24/7 customer success email response team. For expedited responses to your technical questions and concerns, please email: support@expertservicesolutions.com or call 888-596-9481 option #2.