Customer service is an extremely important aspect of running a business, which is why companies invest huge amounts of time and money in customer service courses and training methods. However, building a strong team can be a real challenge, as there are a number of essential components. Here, we take a look at five essential customer service skills that any good customer service team needs.

Businesses that offer customers the best service are often growing leaps and bounds compared to their competitors. Whether you sell shoes or offer piano tuning, your customers expect a lot from you. Start exceeding expectations by following these six tips that will help to improve customer service almost immediately.

Many small businesses are often in survival mode in the first few months or years that they are a company. As these businesses begin to bring in more customers and start turning a profit, they may find that they aren’t quite ready for all the traffic their new success is creating. For this reason, businesses need to be proactive in the ways they scale up. Business owners should consider the following tips when preparing for higher customer traffic.

How do you use your website to drive your customers into your bricks-and-mortar premises? A recent study found we look at our smartphone 57 times a day on average, and 44% of us check it at least once at night too. If you want to attract new customers, no doubt about it – online is the place to be. Here are 7 tips to boost footfall using your website:

By now you must have understood the fact that quality customer service is crucial to the long-term success of your business. To make customers your vocal advocates, you need to provide a worthwhile and memorable experience every single time. So are you owning a business with an online presence and wish to grow? And are you using live chat? Here are 5 reasons to use live chat for your business:

Customer relationship management (CRM) comprises of all the facets of interaction between a business enterprise and its customers. It is basically a business strategy whose main goal is to build and strengthen mutually beneficial customer relationships. Here are 6 strategies for better customer relationship management:

Understanding your target audience (essentially, your customers) is crucial to running a successful business. It should come as no surprise then that millions of dollars are spent every year on demographic research and, odds are, your business would benefit from better understanding your customer base. Here's what your customers know that you don't (and how to learn from them):

Relationship marketing is a strategy to help promote better customer relationships. Through satisfaction, loyalty and trust, you can understand their needs. You can also find creative ways to meet their expectations. The following tips will show you the many benefits and how it can help grow your future business. Here are 5 ways to use relationship marketing to benefit your business:

Being a small business owner isn’t easy. Simply being able to reach customers and retain them can be difficult. However, if you are able to successfully engage with your core customer base, you could develop a loyal following that will provide you with revenue for years to come. Here are six ways to engage your customers.

Customer research is integral to the success of any business. Without knowledge of your target demographics’ needs and preferences, your product or service may never be sold. However, eliciting customer feedback isn’t always as easy as it seems. The feedback you get may not provide you with the kind of things you want to know, or may not be helpful enough to have you respond with the appropriate changes. With that in mind, below are some tips you can use to get more genuine customer feedback from your audience and what you’ll need to look at to get good information.

Fuelling rapid growth comes from gaining sustainable competitive advantage and differentiation - which will come from looking for ‘response bases’ to identify uncovered (unsatisfied) market segments. Here is a three-stage process for segmenting customers for rapid business growth:

Building trust in your company and its product amongst prospective customers, often in other countries, is one of the biggest marketing challenges for the rapid growth stage entrepreneur. There is significant brand benefit in having a key prospective customer or group of customers visit your company premises, meet your key management, staff and advisors/suppliers. Here's why holding open days for your business can pay off:

The process of selling a product doesn't end until you have successfully shipped it to your customer. Here are some successful shipping tips to get you managing your deliveries like a pro.

The competition in today's retail business environment is so competitive that you have to go above and beyond to provide exceptional customer service if you want to stay ahead of your competitors. This means that you have to do whatever it takes to win the hearts and minds of your customers (remaining within ethical and financial limits of course). Here are tips to go above and beyond with customer service:

It is an immutable business fact that 80 per cent of revenues come from 20 per cent of your customers. It therefore pays to target those key customers. Here's why appointing Key Account Managers is a smart move for your business:

Achieving high customer satisfaction is crucial for businesses to achieve repeat purchases and increase customer retention. While there are no rigid rules or strategies to keep customers satisfied, following certain best practices will definitely help to achieve higher customer satisfaction in any industry or sector. Here are 7 tips to higher level customer satisfaction: