Ten

None of us need more to do. However if you are not doing these ten service tips, you need to incorporate them into your life:

It's All About Service
With the current economy, now is the time to ramp up your customer service techniques.

Here are 10 tips to keep in mind:

1. Understand how your clients' expectations rise and change over time.
What may have been good enough before no longer applies. Ask them and understand how to better serve them to help them with their business and needs.

2. Differentiate yourself from the competition.
Provide personalized and responsive service and go "beyond the call of duty." Treat them in a way that they will appreciate and remember.

3. Raise the bar for yourself.
You've heard of "dazzling the client" -- now find ways to do it. Be more flexible, faster and more efficient.

4. Never be content.
Find ways to stay ahead of the pack. I find every day there is so much to learn and new ways to implement. Make it your goal to learn and apply something new each day..

5.Manage expectations.
Build a firm foundation of trust and deliver what you promise. Then if something comes up, you will find the client more understanding and forgiving. A great line I heard once was to "under-promise and over-deliver."

6. Take personal responsibility.
You want your name to be golden to them and make sure you live up to that standard. Make it easy for them to do business with you and let them "sleep at night."

7. Bounce back with effective service recovery.
Things happen that are often out of our control. When it does, go into major "repair mode" and do whatever it takes to restore great customer goodwill.

8. Appreciate.
When your clients complain, they can be your best allies because they will tell you what you really need to know. Listen with your ears totally tuned up, then fix the problem. And thank them!

9. See the world from the customers' point of view.
Take off any blinders and take the time to step into their shoes. Actually become a customer. See what the client sees and the way they might feel and then work to make it better then ever.

10. Service is the currency that keeps our economy moving.
Customer service is always in fashion!! Strive to improve each and every day.

Go through your client base today, and think of one thing you can do differently. Remember, your clients become your biggest advocates because they praise and brag about you, which builds your brand and leads to a stronger and bigger network.

Source: Marketing/networking consultant Andrea Nierenberg, head of The Nierenberg Group (www.selfmarketing.com, 2009)

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