Dealing With Business Customers

customers

As someone who has been a freelance copywriter for over twelve years, I can tell you that your customers can be your biggest headache and your greatest asset. In this day and age people are more likely to take the time to complain than praise (one of the reasons I make a big deal about thanking companies for excellent service). This blame culture or complaining at a drop of a hat can affect a business’s reputation. There are plenty of websites where customers can leave complaints for the whole world to see, not just on your own website or Facebook page. Can we please everyone all of the time? No. We can take steps to make sure that our customer service is excellent though and that we deal with clients consistently and fairly.

The Customer is Never Wrong

 The customers that you’re dealing with are never wrong. Despite what you may think in your head, they’re always right. It can be so annoying to have to agree with a customer who is making and mountain out of the most minor of issues. If they see it as an issue though, you have to too, and you have to respect that and deal with the situation. Of course, if a customer is coming up to you with the most outrageous request that just isn’t the company’s fault, or they are rude etc then you do have to break the customer is always right rule. Be polite and calm but do stick to your policies and terms and conditions so that you and the customer are happy with whatever outcome is agreed upon in the event of an issue.

Streamline Your Customer Experience

Customers hate being passed from pillar to post wondering why the customer service is so poor, so focus on making it the best it can possibly be. If you check out this link, www.bpmonline.com/crm/applications, you’ll find a customer relationship management system fit for your company to use, and I highly recommend that you use something like it. The process of dealing with a customer will be ironed out, and the reputation of your company will remain protected.

Set The Right Tone with Customers

I’ve found over the years that setting the right tone with clients from the beginning has been invaluable. I adopt a professional yet cheerful and polite demeanor. I don’t get angry, even if someone is trying to pull a fast one and deal with everyone consistently yet ensure everyone feels they are getting special treatment.

Protect Yourself

While your clients or customers will be the lifeblood of your business, you also need to protect yourself from them. Go with your gut when it comes to who you work with (not as easy if you are a retail business), have terms and conditions in place and transparent on your website and above all, take care of yourself. Dealing with a nasty customer can be tiring to say the least.

Fortunately 98% of the customers or clients you come into contact with will be fabulous, however the remaining 2% will test you so makes sure that you are ready.

 

Blogging: Boosting Your Readership

blogging

If you look up to the banner at the top of this page you’ll see that Curly and Candid was established back in 2006. Blogging is a great hobby that helps you connect with people all around the world. I’ve certainly met some wonderful people through it.  Blogging can also be a full-time job and/or a way to launch a new career. I have signed copywriting clients after they’ve read and loved something on here and I have friends who have used their blog as a way to launch careers, including one as a very well-known author. 

If you’ve been blogging for fun for a while but now you want to get serious about it, building a large readership is the first step. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. There is so much competition out there so you’ve got to do something pretty special to make yourself stand out from the crowd. If you find that you’ve been working at it for a while and you still can’t build that readership, you’re probably making some mistakes somewhere. These are the 3 reasons that nobody is reading your blog.

Your Posts Aren’t Original

Offering something that nobody else does is essential when you’re trying to get regular readers. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to write about something that nobody has ever posted about before; that’s pretty difficult. However, you do need to come at it from a different angle if you’re writing about a popular topic. It’s also important that you put your personality across in the posts. Often, people will follow a blog because they like you and they enjoy your writing so don’t hold back and be yourself.

Entertaining posts are good and you will get some regular readers that way, but a lot of people are looking for useful posts. Things like tutorials or recipes etc. are a great way to keep people coming back. You’re offering them something that they can actually use and that’s a lot more valuable than making them laugh. Giving away ebooks for free is another great way to entice more readers.

You Aren’t Advertising Yourself Enough

If you’ve done a bit of research already, you probably know that digital marketing is one of the best ways to get new readers. But most people think that marketing yourself on social media is just a case of posting things a couple of times a day. That might get you a few new readers but there’s a lot more to it than that. You might benefit from doing a digital marketing course online. It’ll give you a better insight into the technology, how to write the best posts and when to post them for the highest engagement. You’ll also get a qualification so you can start taking on freelance work doing digital marketing. Having other sources of income when you’re trying to start a successful blog is always handy.

You Aren’t Using A Blogging Related Email List

Getting people to read one post is the first hurdle, but what you really need to do is keep them coming back regularly. An email list is your best tool here. If you get people to sign up to an email list you can send them an email every time you post something new. Often, people don’t come back because they’ve forgotten about you. Don’t take it personally, people read so many different websites every day, they’re not going to remember them all. Giving them a little nudge to remind them that you’re still here is the simplest way to get people to come back. Make sure though that you adhere to all GDPR rules and regs here, or whatever data protection/anti-spam rules your location has.

If you can fix these mistakes, you should see your readership start to grow in no time, if this a goal. I’ve earned money through the blog and blogging has opened countless doors for me. When it comes down to it, blogging is and should be what you what it to be and if you want to reach a wider audience, these tips area great place to start.