Manage your customer service

Customer feedback and contact programmes are two ways of increasing communication with your customers. They can be great opportunities to listen to your customers. It can also give you the chance to let them know more about what you can offer.

Customer feedback programmes

Customer feedback can provide you with detailed information about how your business is perceived. It's a chance for customers to:

• voice objections
• suggest changes
• endorse your existing processes

It's also an opportunity for you to listen to what they say and act upon it.

Feedback can be gathered using the following methods: 

• questionnaires
• online surveys
• face-to-face conversations
• phone calls - either structured or informal
• focus groups

Customer contact programmes

The purpose of customer contact programmes is to help you deliver tailored information to your customers. Examples include:

• a special offer that is relevant to a past purchase
• a reminder sent at the time of year when a customer traditionally places an order

Contact programmes are particularly useful for reactivating relationships with lapsed customers.

Do your best to make sure that your customers feel the extra contact is relevant and beneficial to them. Bombarding customers with unwanted calls or marketing material can be counter-productive. 

There are a number of ways to contact your customers. See:

• email marketing
• telemarketing
• direct marketing