by Doug Plesh

Today consumers are demanding quality customer service. Especially with the nation’s economy slumping, they’re placing a premium on every dollar spent. Therefore, business owners hoping to build a loyal customer base must realize that most people prefer to spend their money where they’re treated well.

Every relationship, whether personal or business, starts with a first impression—the right body language, introductory conversation, pleasant surroundings. Nowhere is this more applicable than in business situations, whatever the industry. How you communicate with people the first time is key to your success. How you communicate with them every time is the key to your future success.

Customer service begins the moment you make contact with the consumer. Since this first meeting often occurs in your office, creating a warm and welcoming office environment cannot be overemphasized. This is what your clients see first and the impressions they draw will affect the way they relate to your practice. The atmosphere should be comfortable, inviting, neat, and, perhaps most important, clean.

Equally important to the physical space is your staff and their ability to provide needed support, guidance, and direction. Clients should be greeted properly by someone who can assist them, whether that encounter occurs in person, over the telephone, or via e-mail. The greeting you select should reflect your office culture as well as your personal style.

Other tips include:

• Clients should be able to choose the contact medium that best suits them.
• Contacting your office should be easy—and not include a five-minute wait for a call to be answered.
• Clients should be received by knowledgeable, polite, and empowered individuals.
• Problems should be rectified with minimal fuss and delay.
• Follow-up contact should be executed in a timely manner.

Consistently exceeding customer expectations is a good way make a favorable first impression. Yet, as important as first impressions are, the most significant impressions in terms of your success are your current ones. A good first impression isn’t going to do you much good if your customer service fails at ensuing meetings. Whether it’s being abrupt during a client’s second visit, or missing a follow-up call, or even having a disheveled office, you can forget all the quality service you’ve previously provided. Tips for preserving high levels of customer service include:

• Information should be readily available to clients and easily understood.
• Issues that might undermine future loyalty must be resolved promptly and efficiently.
• Consistently evaluate for service deficiencies.
• Frequently reassess clients wants, needs, and expectations.
• Use customer feedback in future product and service development.

Maximizing the value of a positive first impression is a must, and the only way to do that is through positive engagements with your clients every time you interact. Establishing and maintaining superior service quality must be viewed as a way to gain a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace, especially since it takes less money to increase your retention of current customers than it does to find new ones.

Doug Plesh is ASHA’s manager of marketing and communications.