Covid-19 has changed the way the world does business. With limited contact orders in place, many industries have changed how they operate and have reevaluated workflows. These changes have impacted the way Value Added Resellers (VARs) approach customer service. With the market fluctuating quickly and the needs of customers changing daily, providing exceptional customer service has never been more critical. Customers are desperate for clarity and explanations on navigating the new market as they adapt to social distancing challenges.
Point of sale value added resellers are charged with the task of helping their customers with new ways to navigate the changing retail landscape. But they mustn’t lose touch with their customer service standards while they focus on providing solutions.
Here are 3 strategies point of sale resellers can follow to be accommodating and provide exceptional customer service to ensure their customers continue to operate efficiently.
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1. Adapt the Services You Offer
The way our society communicates has changed. With less face to face meetings, many business representatives have had to adapt to using new technologies and methods of communication. The changing business environment has challenged VARs to get creative in the ways they are reaching out to customers. Methods such as video conferences, emails, and phone calls have replaced the face to face sales meeting and in-person events.
The changing economy has kept business owners on their toes trying to keep up with the fluctuations of the guidelines set in place for business operations. Ensure your clients have the tools they need to operate efficiently. Reach out to these clients and engage them to help ease the transition to new operations. In addition, keeping in touch to check in or offer help can benefit the relationship down the road and lead to more business.
Establish your business as an industry expert and leverage your tools and knowledge to help business owners in the areas they are struggling the most. For instance, grocery store owners realized they were not prepared to handle a large influx of business and changes to workflows. Many grocery retailers needed solutions to quickly pivot their business and move stores online, better manage inventory, and provide better rails for efficient checkout and customer service, while maintaining safety precautions. Retail point of sale solutions such as self-checkout kiosks, delivery, and smart replenishment purchasing are tools that can create more efficiency and better customer experiences for grocery clients.
It’s important to offer yourself as a trusted resource on best practices in your industry. Clients may feel they have a limited scope of what is going on, your expertise on topics is a valued resource. As you work through these issues with clients, you can provide helpful insight and resources to help them navigate new issues.
2. Maintain Relationships with Current Customers
In addition to adapting your services to reach clients in new ways and provide your services in a new capacity, it is essential to maintain current client relationships. Your client relationships are the backbone of your company and customer retention is critical to your business. Research shows that it costs about five times more to attract new customers than to retain existing business. It is essential to nurture existing clients and focus on the little things to maintain relationships such as asking how you can support their business instead of focusing on sales.
There are several ways you can stay in touch with customers:
- Offer 24/7 emergency tech support
- Send weekly email updates
- Conduct client Zoom meetings
- Provide case studies featuring successful clients
- Adjust your product or service offerings to align with the needs you are seeing from your retail clients
By providing one or more of these services, clients are more likely to trust you and feel that they can depend on you. Not only will this help retain current customers and boost sales, nearly 70% of people would spend more money with a company that has excellent customer service, but they will be more likely to recommend your services to a colleague or endorse you online. If customers feel they have built a good rapport with you and have received excellent service, they will likely return year after year.
3. Continue to Meet and Exceed Expectations
Availability, accountability, and maintaining positive relationships is vital to providing exceptional customer service. Set a goal to always go above and beyond your clients’ expectations.
Start by looking within your own company, ensure employees are well taken care of and happy, a good atmosphere and secure employees will be able to provide top-notch service to clients and build a strong reputation for your business.
Concentrate on the initial goals and plans clients set at the beginning of the year. Although plans may have had to pivot, showing that you are committed to helping clients get back on track and meet their goals is a valuable piece of the customer relationship. Ensure customers’ businesses prepared for the next step in their business by offering solutions that can help:
- Increase operational efficiency
- Improve customer service ranking
- Reduce total cost of ownership
- Show them a return on investment
Stay on top of industry trends and news to better understand the needs of your clients and how to help them achieve their goals.
The retail industry is in a state of recovery, but that does not mean new business is off the table. Many businesses are still experiencing day to day changes and are working to overcome operational challenges, as a POS value added reseller, providing excellent customer service needs to stay a priority to best serve your clients. Staying on top of customer service and retaining loyal customers will set you leaps ahead of your competition and put your business on the map. Achieve your highest potential with a mutually beneficial reseller program.
A partnership with a point of sale technology solutions provider that is well versed in the needs of the industries you serve establishes your business as a leader in providing technology solutions that best meet the needs and budgets of your clients. Auto-Star offers a reseller partner program to take your business to the next level with channel ready products, continuing education, and lead generation tools.
If you’re ready to work with an industry thought leader who puts customers first, contact Auto-Star or apply for our reseller program.
