Quality: The One Promise You Can’t Break
When you run a business, you do need to be aware that you are entering into an unspoken contract with your customers. They expect you to deliver a certain level of quality and maintain this quality with every product or service that you release. In recent years, this has become even more important due to the significant growth of online communication and of course social media. Before we look at how to keep a promise of quality, it’s worth looking at what can happen if you lose the trust of your customers by breaking this type of promise.
Bad Reviews Are Bad News
You do need to keep a check on the ratio of negative to positive reviews. If your negative reviews start to outweigh positive reviews, you could see a rapid decline in customer demand for your service or product. Nearly eighty percent of customers online will check out the reviews of your product before they buy from you or even consider using your service. That means that even one significantly poor review could spell trouble. How do you fix this issue?
You need to address the review that’s causing the problem. You will often see that companies respond directly to customers and this is something that you should consider. Obviously, you don’t need to respond to every negative review, but on Google Business people can like reviews. If a lot of people have liked a negative review of your company, it should be addressed. This also points to an issue with your actual business model or a product that you are selling.
Bad reviews can spread like wildfire. Remember, if a customer has a negative experience with your company, they won’t just stop using your company. They will recommend their friends and family members don’t use it either. This is why, in the film industry, bad word of mouth can kill a new movie stone dead and cripple the box office. The same can be true for any product though the effect can take longer to grow. Ultimately, today the issue is even more problematic because of social media. They won’t just tell their friendly or family not to buy, they’ll tell their followers of their experience too and talk about your company on forums.
Once Stung…
Will a customer try a company after being hurt by them once with low quality? It’s an interesting question, and it will likely depend on their level of loyalty. If they have been using your product or service for years and they just have one bad experience, it’s likely you’ll get away with it. Particularly, if you have an excellent level of customer service and you know how to get them back on your side. This might include a full apology, a refund or a simple replacement.
However, if they have only used your service once, you shouldn’t bet on a second chance at a sale. Don’t forget if they are buying your service or product online, they can simply scroll down through the results to the next company. As well as this, be aware that unless you are right at the top of the SERPs, you are only getting a fraction of the market share. That means you must know the worth of the customers who do buy from you which is another reason to maintain quality levels.
Now, let’s look at some of the ways that you can do this.
Processes In Your Company
You do need to make sure that there are no faults in any of the processes involved in delivering a service or product to your customers. Let’s start by exploring the production of products. When you are producing products, every aspect of creating it needs to be perfect. This is particularly true for IT companies where even a small error can a) destroy the quality of a massive stock of products and b) stop it from working as effectively as it should. That’s why manufacturers now use microlaser drilling tech for more accuracy and a guarantee of absolute quality. This also highlights an important point in your business.
Typically, your model will be sectioned, and certain areas will not be in your full control. It is important to pick the right company to work with if you are going to guarantee that they are delivering the product or service customers want.
However, it’s not just about the creation of a product. You might be delivering a service to your customers, and if that’s the case you need to make sure that turn around time is kept as low as possible. Be aware that anything can affect your turnaround speed from the tech you are using to the performance of your employees. This brings up another important consideration.
Getting A Staff That Will Deliver
Finally, don’t forget the staff you choose to work with will have an impact on the perception and opinion that customers have of your business. Even a single employee could have a massive impact on your bottom line. You can avoid issues with employees by taking two key steps. First, do make sure that you get the best employees for your business. You can do that by using a recruitment agency. With a recruitment agency, only the best CVs will wind up on your desk and won’t even need to advertise to fill a position publically.
The other step is training. Many employers avoid training because of the cost that they have to take on board to get employees up to speed. However, you should instead thing regarding the ROI. By training your employees, you can make sure that they deliver the best service possible for your customers or clients. Once you start providing a higher level of quality, you will gain more trust and support from your customers, ultimately leading to higher sales and the good word of mouth you want. Don’t forget, customers won’t be interacting with you directly. Instead, they will be interacting with your employees. As such, their role is absolutely crucial in your business.
