Who Loves You, Baby? (Why Customer Service is the Best First Marketing Tool for Startup Businesses)

“Your customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” ~Damon Richards

“One customer, well taken care of, could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising.” ~Jim Rohn

 “The customer’s perception is your reality” ~Kate Zabriskie

And I could go on and on and on…you get it. Of course, you do…it’s common sense, right? If you don’t take care of your customers, then they won’t buy from you and even worse, they will tell other people

NOT to buy from you. So good Customer Service should be a no-brainer for your business, right?

But what if you’re just starting your business, and you’re still trying to gain customers. You don’t have time to worry about a Customer Service plan yet, right? WRONG! It starts with those first customers and how you treat them. Treat them right and they not only can become repeat customers, but they can also become your first unofficial “Sales Team.”

From fulfilling your first order to dealing with your first customer “issue”, how you handle all of those situations is what can make the difference. One of your goals with every customer is to treat them so well that you can get a glowing testimonial. Those testimonials are the best marketing tools that you can use to start growing your business.

Nowadays, you can entice your customers to give you reviews on not only your website, but also on Google, Facebook, Yelp, Amazon, LinkedIn and a host of other 3rd party sites. If you can shoot for 3 good reviews or testimonials from any of these resources to start with, that will help position your brand as credible, trusted, and reliable. And the more the merrier. You can’t pay for that type of advertising…you have to earn it. But it’s definitely worth the effort.

So the next time you’re thinking, “I want to grow my business, so I need to spend some money on marketing,” take a look first at your Customer Service plan for your current customers. Famous salesman & motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything you want in life, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Take good care of your customers, and then their glowing testimonials, better than any other marketing, will take you and your business to the next level of success. And that’s what they call a “Win-Win.” 🙂