Show That You Care More

Don’t you love companies that claim their customer service is better than the competitions? If you asked a sales professional in your showroom to explain how your customer service differs from the competitor down the street, what would he or she say? Competing on statements of just having better customer service usually is difficult to substantiate. Besides, who says their customer service stinks?

You can set your showroom apart, however, by demonstrating that you care more about the customer, their project and achieving their goals. Start at the starting point, which is your web site. Every page should provide a place for customers to leave comments or ask questions. The key to demonstrating that you care more is to answer almost immediately and post the answers on the website. It’s not that difficult to do. On pages where you offer cabinets, offer to explain the difference between stock, semi-custom and customer. Better yet, offer a link to download a smart cabinet buying guide that BKBG will customize for you at no charge.

Think about the multibranch competitor that you battle daily. Does that company customize its sales approaches for each individual customer, or do they employ generic approaches that fit corporate mandates? David Meerman Scott writes in The New Rules of Sales and Service that “Understanding the individual buyer based on the content the buyer has viewed is a revolutionary concept…If you know how the process works, your salespeople can close more business by being less aggressive.”

Scott explains that OPEN cycle, which sells bikes from $5,000 to $12,000 features on each of its web pages buttons where customers can email the two founders and ask questions. Only about 10% of the site visitors take them up on the offer, which makes the workload bearable and responses easier. Almost everyone who asks a question ends up buying a bike. Why can’t you make the same offer on your web site? This is how instant engagement can produce results. It’s a lot more effective than monitoring Twitter, Instagram, Yelp or Facebook for mentions.

OPEN also encourages its customers to interact with the company after the sale. They have places on their web site where customers can share the custom specifications used to build their bikes and a public showcase where customers have uploaded photos of them using their bikes. Why not provide a gallery for your customers to post pictures of the new kitchens baths you helped to create. The gallery may ask the question, need guidance on caring for your new kitchen or bath?

How do you really demonstrate that you care more and that your customer service is a true differentiator?