Reasons for Business Communication

2) Customer Service

Sales are important. Repeat sales, however, are vital to long-term survival. Serving the customer's needs is the key to generating repeat sales. In your market research, you should identify why customers need your product. Understanding what drives demand for your product and influences potential sales is crucial. But often the customer's actual and perceived needs go beyond what you may discover through statistics and reports.

Consider the mom and dad who just went through your u-pick strawberry patch with their children and now have more strawberries than they typically eat in two years. Think about the dairy farmer who is counting on you to harvest his forages in a timely manner. What happens if you aren't able to do the work as scheduled because of a machinery breakdown? What about the parents whose young son twists an ankle in your corn maze? Although none of these are ideal situations, each is a chance for you to shine as you provide customer service. Help the family with a strawberry surplus learn how to make and preserve jams and jellies. Communicate clearly with the dairy farmer about the work delay and consider giving him a discount on his bill. Help the hurt child out of the maze and work closely with the parents to bandage the ankle and provide first aid care.

How you communicate with the customer as they purchase and use your product or service will impact their choice to purchase or hire again. Most folks like to deal with friendly people who treat them right. In person, a friendly face and willingness to help by taking the time to listen will make most people happy and will encourage repeat sales. However, the Internet offers many more ways to communicate. Depending upon the circumstances some electronic methods will help and some won't. The Internet may be impersonal and the challenge as a successful manager is to maintain that level of friendly communication achieved in a face-to-face conversation. You will need to learn how communication is different on the web and how you can use it to positively impact your customer service level.