Business Owners: Prepare For Deal-Seeking Customers ...

Reported by foodem.com, the online wholesale food marketplace-

Two of the biggest shopping days of the year are without a doubt here, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Businesses near and far are ramping up their holiday promotions, while gearing up for hoards of deal-seeking crowds. There are TV and radio commercials, Facebook ads and Twitter ads fighting for the attention of eager shoppers.

According to an October survey from credit card comparison and financial education website, CreditDonkey.com, 41% of consumers will participate in the Black Friday shopping craze, while a whopping 57% will shop a few days later on Cyber Monday. In addition, most respondents said they planned to spend less this year, compared to last year.

As business owners, you know what this means, right? There will be inquires, complaints, limited patience (on your end and the customer?s end) and a rushed attitude. Remember, customers are research-savvy these days. They know what items or services they want and the price. Business owners must be on their customer service game, no matter if they?re an e-Commerce company or have a physical establishment.

Customer service is critical during the holiday season. Being personable, offering loyalty programs and incentives, and keeping a vigilant eye out for unhappy customers are just a few musts. Furthermore, don?t overlook social platforms. Be mindful that a good portion of your customers will take to your social profiles to express their happiness or anger per their shopping experience, and they expect customer service issues to be resolved via those platforms.

In October, SAP and Social Media Today released research which found that 71% of companies worldwide provided customer service through social media; the most common social media channel for providing customer service was Facebook (43% of respondents rated Facebook most effective), followed by Twitter (second most effective cited by 28% of respondents).

The proof is in the pudding, business owners have to be savvy when dealing with customers and customer service related issues. The key is to put yourself in the customer?s shoes and think about how you would want to be treated. That?s easy, right?

(Sources: 1, 2)

Source: http://inthecapital.com/channels/business-owners-prepare-for-deal-seeking-customers/

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