The Relationship Between Customer Service & Customer Loyalty

Customer service is the No. 1 driving force behind the consumer market, and most business owners understand that the relationship between customer service and customer loyalty is simple. If you provide good customer service, your customers will be happy and will keep coming back; if you provide bad customer service, you shouldn't expect customers to feel any devotion toward your business. The quality of any customer service directly influences customer loyalty.

Be polite and informative with your customers. If they have a question about a product you sell, make sure you can answer it (or find out where to get the answer). If they have a complaint, address the problem and correct it. Good customer service leaves people feeling as though they have been taken care of; if your customers don't feel this way about their experience with you, they will never feel a sense of loyalty toward your business.

People like to repeat pleasant experiences. Good customer service will impress people and make your business stand out in their mind next time they need something. For example, if two stores sell the same products but one has poor customer service and the other has good customer service, shoppers more likely will choose the store with better service.

Customer service can influence customer loyalty to the point where people share their experiences with friends and families. Word of mouth is an excellent way to build your customer base, and you don't even have to do anything except provide good service and let it speak for itself. The opposite is true as well: If your business does not adequately serve customers, people will take their business elsewhere and will tell their friends and families to do the same.

Take care of your customers, and they will take care of you. When you provide good service to people, they often will return the favor in the form of feedback. For example, many companies track their approval ratings through surveys. Some surveys even ask for the name of the specific representative who helped you. In these cases, customers have a chance to reward good customer service. On the other hand, bad customer service will likely cause your customers to complain about your business, hurting your chances of building customer loyalty.