Selling goods and services can be very rewarding. However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Without a customer base, you have no active market. Therefore it’s imperative to build and maintain a good customer experience as a merchant.
Most companies feel like building a robust business model, hiring a good sales force, selling fewer products for more money, or creating fake discounts on their products is what they need to maximize profit. This is not entirely true.
Gaining your customers’ trust would build a stronger foundation and long-term growth for your business. To ensure that you maintain a good reputation for your target market, achieving good customer satisfaction should be one of your main goals. On that note, here are three ways to maintain your reputation as a merchant.
1. Get a good customer service team or individual.
Owning a business requires lots of commitment. It’s also tough to run one on your own, especially if you have a high-risk or large-scale business. That’s why it’s best to hire a team to manage your customer needs, concerns, inquiries, etc. Your team could be responsible for the customer service side of things. This includes customer data management and taking handling phone calls. Having a good customer service team cannot be overemphasized. It would help you maintain your reputation and that of your brand with less effort on your part.
However, you’d need a team who can address your customers politely and professionally. Negative experiences stick to people’s memories much more than positive ones. Worse yet, customers aren’t afraid to share these experiences. Using salesforce contact center integration would make this interaction with customers much easier.
2. Be accessible to everyone in your community.
There’s no need to market your goods if it’s not accessible to people. Being accessible to your customers in all capacities would also help give your business a good reputation. When concerning accessibility, we’re not just referring to the business’s location but also the payment methods and product variety offered.
For example, you have to consider that not everyone likes to carry cash around for security reasons. So, it’s crucial to have various payment options that also include POS payments and online debit/credit card payments (especially if you have an online shop). Currently, there are no federal laws in the US that address online payment services in particular. This means that there’s a high risk of credit card fraud with no legal consequences. Because of this, Mastercard came up with the MATCH list.
This makes it easy to detect high-risk merchants by monitoring their charge-back ratios and other data. Banks can also screen out potential fraudulent merchant accounts thanks to the MATCH database. As a merchant, you need to stay off this list to ensure you maintain a good reputation. If you’re on the MATCH list, banks will flag your account as a high-risk, and you’ll lose credibility.
3. Give back to the community.
The fact that your community has chosen to patronize your business should encourage you to give something back. In addition to this, companies who give back earn customers’ trust and loyalty. So, you can help by offering resources lacking in that community or even sponsor education and vocational skill-training. That being said, it’s essential not to limit your idea of what a community is. It may not only mean the neighborhood you live in also your social media followers.
All in all, learn and improve your communication skills, be inclusive, respect everyone’s opinions and beliefs and try to be benevolent. This will help you understand what is lacking and how you can lend a helping hand. There’s nothing more attractive than a business that truly cares for its customers’ wellness and livelihood.