Small and medium businesses have limited resources, and more often than not, they handle all their customer inquiries in house when it comes to export sales. They provide sales, product, technical, and even admin support to their customers.
Here are the 7 key factors to help you boost your European sales with the power of customer service:
-
- Customer Service as your Shop Front
-
- Gauge Customer Satisfaction
-
- A Non-Sales Approach
-
- Great Lead Detectors
-
- Responsiveness Sells
-
- A Revenue Stream
-
- Overcome Language Barriers
Customer Service as your Shop Front
Your customer service team is a representation of your business to potential and future customers. They are your front liners in handling different inquiries and issues. The customer service team plays an important role, as they are your source of information on how your customers perceive your business. That information then allows you to improve handling objections and have a better understanding of your customer’s needs and wants.
As your business representative, make sure that you train your customer service team. Provide them with all the information they need to be more efficient in answering questions, whether it’s about an invoice, technical issues, or asking for a brochure. Pay attention to your team, as they are the ones that can help you bring more sales into your business.
Gauge Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction affects your business performance. Because of poor customer service, which is a major issue that costs businesses up to $62 billion annually, your client retention and loyalty levels are likely to be low as well. As a business owner, remember why customer satisfaction is important for your success in the European market:
-
- Happy customers = Repeat customers
-
- International customers have a high cost of acquisition.
-
- Opportunity to upsell
Keeping those clients, upselling to them, and increasing the turnover with them is a smart business technique that will increase a small business’ profitability. It is crucial to create this relationship rather than just making a quick transaction and leaving.
A Non-Sales Approach
You probably talk about your business and the products you offer too much, but not nearly enough about your ideal client. Think about this: Would you purchase from a business who is pushy to get that sale? In my opinion, NO.
The non-sales approach is a fascinating aspect of customer service. Understanding your customer’s needs, wants, and anything to build your connection and trust. When the customer service person is not pressing to make a purchase, it makes it easier for them to speak up about their problems. And when they do that, it opens up an opportunity for your business to have a better understanding of your target audience.
Great Lead Detectors
Customer service is linked to your sales and marketing strategy. It conveys your brand’s values, engages your target audiences, and makes it easier for people to discover solutions to their enquiries. Most of all, it allows you to listen to your target audience, collect their information, and turn them into qualified leads.
Here are a few tips to help you:
-
- Take advantage of chatbots to get information from your customers.
-
- Use both their positive and negative feedback to improve.
-
- Train your customer service team to coordinate with the sales team for a qualified team.
Responsiveness Sells
Comments left on blogs and social media pages are common ways for customers to contact businesses. Many people use these platforms to post their inquiries, thus providing exceptional customer service requires you to respond to each one, even if it seems repetitive.
Other than immediately responding to customer enquiries, you may take topics from their comments to produce further FAQs or educational blogs that can help others who have the same questions. Such acts enhance the perception of your brand, respond to visitor inquiries, and increase the lead-generating efficiency of your company.
A Revenue Stream
When done correctly, customer service may generate money rather than being a drain on your resources. Here are some suggestions for how to revamp your customer service team.
Offer premium customer service
Treat them well, and they repay you by bringing their business back to you.
Provide warranty extensions
Reach out to them and remind them about their warranties and that you can offer extensions for them.
Upsell maintenance services
You can offer them an extra service to provide maintenance or technical help on how to use your products.
Overcome Language Barriers
Customer service might suffer from a language barrier. Customer satisfaction levels may suffer if you cannot establish a connection with your customers, especially in the European market. Here are some suggestions for businesses and support personnel who are directly serving clients to help them overcome their language barrier.
-
- Hire multilingual customer service personnel
-
- If you can’t hire a multilingual customer service team, use simpler terms to communicate
-
- Use an appropriate way of communication. If the phone is not enough, then an email might do the trick
In my opinion, customer service is undervalued. People underestimate how great customer service can generate revenue for you. These key factors allow us here in Exportia to help our customers to boost their export sales in the European market.
Want to know more about how to effectively market your business in the European market? Get your FREE copy of “The 4 Steps to Generate Your First Million Euros in Sales” book here: https://www.exportia.com.au/export-business-europe/
You can also create an initial Export Readiness Diagnostic within 20 minutes here: http://diagnostic.exportia.com.au/7pillar/ It will show you a report summarising if your business is ready and includes a personalised to-do list for your next step.
Contact me to schedule a 45-minute debriefing session with me once you have your report.