You probably would bend over backwards for some of your friends. There are just some friends who make your life worthwhile. You should, ideally, treat your clients like this as well. They make your BUSINESS worthwhile. Don’t know how? Read on for more information.
Can't Solve a Problem? Offer a High-Value Alternative
A problem can't be solved and you're responsible for fixing it. Let's say this problem is that a product a customer wants is no longer offered by your company. You have to figure out how to tell the customer, who will likely be unhappy, that they can no longer have their service. What do you do? One of the best solutions is to offer a sound and valuable solution in return. Even though they can't have the particular service they have now, maybe you can offer them another service that's comparable. If for some reason their service is unavailable for a limited amount of time, you should find a way to offer them reasonable compensation in the form of credit, additional free services, or extra time without payment.
Customers = People, Not Just Account Numbers
Our lives are full of numbers. They are primarily numbers, in essence - we have social security numbers, phone numbers, account numbers and student ID numbers. Our names are less important because they are not unique; how are you supposed to distinguish two people when they're both Jose Renteria? So most companies, especially as they grow, just identify people by their account numbers instead of their informal identification. But as a small company, you shouldn't have to reduce your clients to the number that they have in your system. They have real names and real personalities, and it's important to keep that in mind when you're talking to them.