There are 3 steps to creating extreme customer service. The steps build upon each other to create a great customer experience that gets your customers bragging about you.

1.    Go Beyond Satisfaction

2.    Get Rid of Sacrifices

3.    Generate Surprise

Step One – Go Beyond Customer Satisfaction

Remember that you’re after their business for a lifetime, not only a one-time transaction. Your clients aren’t looking for a product. Nor are they looking to be sold on anything. They want solutions.  They want help.  And you are the expert standing in front of them. Do you really know your product or service inside and out? Can you speak intelligently about the value of your product from the customer’s point of view?

Use interactive dialogue – When you follow the same tune as an informal conversation, you can find out why the buyer wants the product. You remove yourself from the role of the seller, to someone trying to help because you care. If you listen, the customer will tell you exactly what they want. You can use this information to exceed their expectations.

Sell the features before the product – If the initial conversation focuses on the added value, the customer will use this information to make comparisons – and you’re more likely to get the sale.

Pay attention – Use eye contact, smile, speak clearly and look professional.

Be creative and brainstorm with others – This is where the diversity of your team really wins out.  The more ideas you share, the faster new ideas seem to come.  Creativity and generosity feed each other.

Your customer will rarely be more excited than you are about your product, so your enthusiasm needs to be contagious. You must be passionate and excited about your brand and let go of any limiting beliefs that may be holding you back.

Step Two – Get Rid of Customer Sacrifice

Your success doesn’t come from selling. It comes from building relationships. You aren’t convincing people to buy something they don’t need.  Instead, you are creating an easy way to get your product into your customer’s hands. Or is it easy?

Walk around your shop during normal office hours and see how many times you say NO to your customers. No parking. No drinks past this point. No large bills. No service. How can you say YES to your customers? Often, when you are generous in small ways, you can impact people’s lives forever. When you know that your customer’s are going to request gift-wrapping, be ready to provide it. Offer cold bottled water or a comfortable place to sit and look through your catalogs and merchandise. Offer toys for kids and snacks for pets. When you know that your customers will have a long wait, make them feel comfortable and welcome by offering cookies, free wi-fi, or other amenities. When you are knowledgeable about your customers, you are able to provide overwhelming value instead of confusing policies that leave them frustrated.

People buy based on their emotions. People want to feel appreciated. People want to feel like they got a good value. If you can anticipate your client’s needs and meet them, you will develop added value and extreme customer service!

Step Three – Generate Customer Surprise

Develop excitement by using creative communication that focuses on the ultimate benefit of your product. If you can surprise them – they will talk about it. Customers will share their surprise with others and invite them to experience the same thing. Your customers will bring others to your store – to your brand – so they can share the memory with someone else.

Here are some great ways to reengage your customers that give them a reason to see your product or service again.

Plan an event. Host a party that brings customers to your door – or puts them in front of your brand. Celebrate a milestone, host a fundraiser, a customer appreciation luncheon – anything that draws in your customers and encourages them to bring a guest along. This is a creative way to draw people into your store. Make sure your product is dressed for success and then follow up with everyone who attends. Send them off with a photo or memorabilia of the event to continue to trigger their experience and their memory. This adds extreme value to your customers and to your brand. Planning creative events are a great way to get customers talking about you.

Personalized Notes – The value of a handwritten card or postcard is strong, especially in today’s electronic industry. How often do you receive a personal note? A handwritten note is often one of the first pieces of mail someone will open. Who knows if they will even open your newsletter in the e-mail in-box, but you can almost guarantee they will read your card. What takes you only a few minutes to write may be something that inspires another person to talk about you.

Follow Up – Paying attention to your customers “after” the sale is truly offering extreme customer service. Customers don’t expect to hear from you afterward  – unless it’s for a pitch to sell to them again. Make it a habit to send cards, write emails, make phone calls and extend invitations regularly.

Creating extreme customer service is an on-going process – but the rewards are instant and continuous. Couple these tips with some intentional conversations with your clients. The benefits you and your customers receive will be worth far more than the effort.