In our quest to bring small business advice to our office-space tenants and virtual office clients, we have been publishing a number of articles on our blog to help them. One of our Toronto virtual office clients suggested we post about better ways to interact with your customers to improve customer service. So here is more advice…..
Decide who supports who and don’t overwhelm your staff with the number of customers they support. Your clients in a business-to-business relationship want to know who they deal with and how easy it is to get in touch with that person who personalizes their sales and service. Assign a rep to each client and give them a back-up rep they can contact in the event of a problem. Each type of business has different personalization needs between customers and the business, so overwhelming a staff member with more clients than he or she can handle will lower your overall customer service perception.
Utilize the element of surprise. By surprising your customers with a gift that has no strings attached and just rewards them for being a customer can go a long way – and can be deliverer with a minimal per customer spend. When it comes to creating reciprocity, the effect isn’t dependent on cost. Respecting and letting your customers know that you care, can make a big difference. Showing them the effort is really what counts. This can be as simple as sending them a birthday card (no, not an e-card) that is handwritten or even a random gift card for a coffee chain.
Finding common ground with your customers can help improve your relationships. Most small businesses have a database of who their prospects and customers are, but they fail to gather personal-interest information to put into that CMS database. There is a psychological concept called “implicit egotism” that basically says that we generally like people more if they are like us or understands us. So when delivering customer service, recreating this “liking” can often be achieved by finding common ground with that customer.
Having a liking for or understanding of customers interests can truly establish a business relationship. Knowing their interests and hobbies can also be an opportunity to show a sincere desire in learning more about the customer and his or her non-business interests. People want to know that you do not just look at at them as a sales target or just someone they are paying. They want to know you have an interest for them outside of the business realm.
Giving credence and acknowledgment to complaints will go further than challenging them. Customer retention is also about delivering results the first time a customer brings an issue to your attention – then resolving it quickly so that it does not become a future issue. If you do not deal with a problem that has occurred, or delay fixing it, you risk not only alienating the customer who brought it to your attention, but other clients who may also become aware of it eventually.
1. Jennifer Smith
General Manager
The Omni King Edward Hotel
37 King Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1E9
Tel: 416-863-9700
Website: www.omnihotels.com/hotels/toronto-king-edward
2. Mark Perry
General Manager
Executive Hotels and Resorts (Boutique)
8 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E1
Tel: 416-350-2419
Website: www.spazen.ca or www.cosmotoronto.com
3. Emeline Boul
General Manager
Hotel Victoria (Boutique)
56 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1G5
Tel: 416-363-1666
Mobile: 647-574-5832
Website: www.hotelvictoriatoronto.com
4. Omkar Sawant
Reservations Manager
One King West Hotel
1 King Street West
Toronto, ON
M5H 1A1
Main: 416-548-8100
Reservations: 1-866-470-5464
Website: www.onekingwest.com
5. Van Nguyen
General Manager
Cambridge Suites Toronto
15 Richmond Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1N2
Direct: 416-601-3757
Hotel: 416-368-1990
Website: www.cambridgesuitestoronto.com
1. Michael Pagliaro
Carisma (Italian)
15 Toronto Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2E3
Tel: 416-864-7373
Website: www.carismarestaurant.com
2. Patti Shaw
Terroni (Italian)
57 Adelaide Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1K6
Tel: 416-203-3093
Website: www.terroni.com
3. Declan
Restaurant 20 Victoria – Michelin guide approved
20 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2A1
Tel: 416-804-6066
Instagram for reservations: https://www.instagram.com/twentyvictoria/
4. Mana
Nami (Japanese)
55 Adelaide Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1K6
Tel: 416-362-7373
Website: www.namirestaurant.ca
5. Restaurant Lucie
100 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2W1
Tel: 416-788-9054
Website: www.restaurantlucie.com
6. Niam H
Cantina Mercatto
20 Wellington Street East
Toronto, ON
M5E 1C5
Tel: 416-304-0781
Website: www.cantinamercatto.ca
7. Siva Sathasivam
Uncle Tony’s
38 Wellington St E
Toronto, ON
M5E 1C7
Tel: 416-455-6650
Website: https://uncletonys.ca/
8. Pizzaiolo
104 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2Y6
Tel: 416-860-0700
Website: www.pizzaiolo.ca
9. Robin Singh
Woods Restaurant and Bar
45 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E3
Tel: 416-214-9918
Website: www.woodsrestaurant.ca
1. Thom Tullo
Morpheus8 by Inmode
47 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E3
Tel: 416-863-6564
Website: www.amanspa.ca
2. Altitude Athletic Training
56 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E3
Tel: 416-366-3838
Website: www.altitudeathletictraining.com
3. Physioheath Studios
33 Victoria Street, #130
Toronto, ON
M5C 2A1
Tel: 416-368-2525
Website: www.physiohealth.com
We are by far the most experienced and best coworking team in the market – established in 1980
18 King Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario M5C 1C4 Canada
Please check out our 70 second video on our home page or click here:
Take a look at our facilities www.telsec.net
Telsec will Customize Your Client’s Office(s) Layout to Meet Their Requirements.
You are welcome to drop-in any-time, a quick call would be appreciated to ensure our availability Vanessa 416-574-1112 or Josie 416-606-4349 or e-mail josie@telsec.net.