Customer Service Blogs

Customer service blogs are one of the most powerful types of business blogs, for keeping open the lines of communication, between company and customer. As a means of starting and maintaining conversations between all interested parties, blogs are almost without equal. Business, public relations, and customer service blogs are even more valuable when problems arise.

When something goes wrong, as it always does in the real world, there is a natural tendency for many business people to keep quiet. By clamping down on suspected media leaks, dissidents, or those employees simply acknowledging an everyday problem, the company is taking exactly the wrong approach.

Instead of tightening down the lines of discussion, customer service blogs enable the flow of conversation to travel in both directions. As a result, small problems and misunderstandings can be fixed to everyone's satisfaction, with little fuss. The danger of the customer related problem exploding to major crisis stage is reduced dramatically, or even eliminated entirely. The lowered stress level on employees, resulting from fewer confrontations, boosts morale and productivity. It is also crucial to lowering staff turnover and replacement hiring and training costs.

Every business experiences customer and client related complaints at one time or another. The customer's concern may be very legitimate, and in fact, the problem could become very serious and expensive if left unresolved. The first course of action is to discuss the concern with the customer directly. Often, the issue can be settled at that point, and everyone leaves with smiles on their faces. The customer is relieved the problem is over. The business has an opportunity to learn a weak point in their customer experience, product quality, or a glitch in the overall delivery system.

Many studies of word of mouth advertising have discovered that previously disgruntled customers, finding their problem resolved to their satisfaction, often become the firm's best customer evangelists. They let the world know that your business keeps its clientele happy. Satisfied customers are any business's best and least cost advertising and client recruitment resource. --Wayne Hurlbert


http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2006/03/08/customer-service-blogs-communication-is-key