Providing great customer service is more important than ever before. Consider that 90% of American consumers weigh a business’s customer service as a factor when deciding whether or not to work with them, and 58% will switch to a different business after a negative customer service experience (Microsoft).

When a prospective customer goes online to read your reviews, they don’t just want to know what your services and products are like; they want to know what kind of customer service you provide.

Providing great customer service is a key part of building a successful business and a strong online reputation. Keep reading to learn about the 5 Ps of offering great customer service in our small business.

The 5 Ps of offering great customer service in your business

#1. Prepared

The first P is to always be prepared. Just as it’s important for Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts, it’s also incredibly important for small businesses. This includes being prepared to help in whatever way you can in any situation, and to answer any questions your customers may have.

To do this, you need to know your products or services inside and out, including the features and benefits they offer, the problems they can help solve and more. The same goes for your team.

It’s also important to be prepared to address concerns and help customers overcome any obstacles that may prevent them from working or shopping with you.

#2. Professional

A key part of outstanding customer service is to always remain professional, no matter how difficult the situation may be.

Regardless of what’s going on around you, what the customer says or how they act, remain professional, dress professional, act professional, speak professional, write professional — be professional.

The more professional you are, the more professional the brand. You are the brand as a representative of the business. How you look and act and communicate is a direct indication to the customer of what your brand is.

Your brand isn’t your logo or the name of your business. It’s you — and every employee who interacts with your customers.

You are the brand and when you are professional, it helps customers see your brand as professional, too. On the other hand, if you’re not professional, that’s how your customers will perceive your brand.

Always being professional is a huge part of providing great customer service and great customer experiences.

#3. Positive

Always be positive. No matter what you might be going through in life, when you start your workday, try to forget all of that and just put on an upbeat and cheery attitude.

Being positive in all situations is one key to success. Be positive, be upbeat and be cheery, not just on the surface but genuinely so.

People prefer to work with people and brands that they’d like to be around, so be somebody that brightens your customer’s day. Be a beacon of light in the storm and help your customers see the positives of your brand or product or services instead of focusing on the weak points and the negatives.

Positivity is contagious. By modeling positivity and being a more upbeat person, your teammates and customers will, by default, be more positive themselves.

Positivity creates a great environment for positive customer service, as well as a great environment for your employees, which also helps them to deliver a better customer experience.

#4. Patient

Be patient! A lot of times you’re going to hear customers say something or ask a question you’ve heard thousands of times before.

You may be tempted to cut them off and answer the question you know they’re going to ask, but this creates a negative experience for the customer. That’s not good customer service.
Good customer service is about hearing them out all the way through and then responding in a way that allows them to feel heard.

You have to let them voice their questions or concerns out, listen and then respond, right. And that takes patience.

There will always be those squeaky-wheel customers who complain a lot and ask a lot of questions. Don’t lose your patience no matter what. Treat every customer with respect and practice fully listening to every question and concern.

#5. Proactive

Be proactive in all situations. A lot of times, you can see around the corner. You can see a customer is going to have a question, a concern or a problem before it actually comes up.

Put the fires out before they ever start. Be proactive, communicate with the customer in advance. Tell them what’s going to happen next and help them see around the corner to ease their concerns.

This helps the customer feel like you really have their back and also helps them to see the big picture.

You have the information and experience, and you know that everything’s going to work out. But the customer doesn’t have all that knowledge and information. So it’s up to you to explain it to them so they can see through your lens and ultimately feel like everything’s going to be OK.

Bad customer service is just waiting to solve problems as they come up. You know, the customer is going to probably be upset but you don’t get ahead of it. You don’t talk to them in advance, and sure enough, it becomes a way bigger problem than it needs to be.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Be proactive in your customer service and you’ll be far more successful.

Great customer service is a key part of building a strong reputation for your business — and a successful business overall.

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