“In this digital world, where everything is at our fingertips, it is crucial to remember that our competitors are literally only one click away.” - Kat Milner, Chief Tech Ninja, Simplify Your Tech

Introduction:

Last week, we talked about why exceptional customer service is crucial to your business.

Today, let's discuss some examples of how it can impact your business.

1. When you compete on price, you lose

There is a company out there that does similar work to what I do - provide an all-in-one integrated business platform with a focus on working with Coaches and Course Creators.

When I first started out, I thought I was going to be a Transformational Coach and offer online courses along with my Coaching. I found this company, and thought it was the thing for me.

I discovered that after the initial onboard, they were nearly impossible to contact for support. They promised me that they would help with my domain migration for my website (because the website can be hosted on the platform, saving money), and a few other things.

I reached out to the support team, and they strongly denied that they promised to migrate my website, even though I had 3 emails from them saying they would provide this service. Rather than honouring the emails, they insisted I would have to pay $500 USD if I wanted it done by them

Before I discovered the shoddy customer service, I had referred a friend via their Affiliate program - and should have received a $350 affiliate payout within 30 days. At the time of this writing, it's been almost 4 years, I've never seen a penny of the affiliate payout, and the Billing department refuses to return any emails (and there is no phone number to contact them).

What's interesting, is I keep getting emails from them, saying they are lowering their pricing - more and more each month. Watching their email trend, I hear desperation, and almost a feeling like they can't give it away.

The truth is - no amount of $$$ discount can make up for bad customer service (in this case, abysmal customer service) and bad reviews (yes, I've seen MANY bad reviews, including them denying that some people were ever customers as some point, including myself).

2. People listen to what you say

A lot of my clients hang out on Facebook, and as a result, so do I.

Recently I was contacted by a competitor who is also in a women's business owner networking group with me. She stated she values "collaboration over competition", and wanted to see if we could work together. Something told me to take a "wait and see" approach, and I'm glad I did.

Within a few days I saw a post from this person, ranting about her recent online course that she offered. Apparently there were people who signed up but didn't show up - which you likely know is common if you run online events. In this case, she was livid that - "despite sending them reminders" - they didn't send her a legitimate reason why they didn't show up for her event.

I don't know about you, but I don't always go to every online event to which I sign up - and I don't always message them to say I won't be there. There's a number of reasons you might not show:

• Family emergency

• Illness

• Tired

• Just plain forgot

Yes, it's nice to send an apology, but it isn't really necessary in this digital age.

It honestly left me feeling like I wouldn't go to her stuff for fear of being yelled at. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Plus I don't know how she'll react to anything - and I don't need to be a bomb-diffuser.

3. And what you don't say

In the business owner group that we both are in, someone asked for some support around a tech issue.

This person and I both replied, and it began a conversation between us (still on the group thread, where it was seen by others).

One of the things we talked about was the migration of clients' domain for hosting. She commented that she "...can't be bothered to do that. I'll send them a video and tell them to email me if they can't figure it out."

I said that I include it as a gift to my clients, to say thank you for becoming part of my community. And I do that, because the migration is overwhelming, confusing, and really easy to make a mistake (and hard to find where it went wrong). Not only is it too important to my clients to get it right, they don't actually need to know how to do it, because they won't have to do it again. So I do it for them - saving them a LOT of stress, and probably over two hours of time.

When I went back and re-read our posts, I realised that we were both publicly saying how we care for and support our clients.

4. Words Matter

I actually enjoy seeing ads on Facebook - I like to see ones that make me want to click on them to learn more - and ask myself what it is about that ad that reeled me in.

I saw an ad for a funnel-building workshop titled "Shut up and build the funnel already!" There's nothing inherently wrong with that, and it fits the personality of the person hosting it.

But my question is this - how do you want your clients and potential clients to perceive you? How would you say it differently, to create a feeling of confidence, support, and that the client would come away with actions that will progress them to the result they desire?

At the end of the day, we are our words and our actions. And you've probably heard it said that "actions speak louder than words".

That's why my business mission, my personal passion, and my joy - is to see my client's be successful. Getting their tech sorted, not having to worry about it, and getting to focus on the work they love and spend more time with their loved ones.

Here's a short video discussing service and experiences.

How will YOU show up in your communication?

Join the conversation in the Simplify Your Tech Facebook community. We'd love to hear from you.