As way to help small businesses grow, the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation hosted a customer service seminar yesterday at Union Station.
“I think it’s been great. There are a lot of takeaways that we can take back to our agency and help us all do a better job,” said Ann Marie Munn, CEO of Benefits Management Group.
The purpose of yesterday’s workshop was to help small business leaders win customers and reduce the loss of sales.
“There are three things that we really talk a lot about in the workshop. The first is building trust. Trust is the glue of good relationships with customers. We talk about things like keeping your promises, apologizing if you make a mistake, communicating with your customer. The second main thing is respect…your tone of voice, your eye contact with them, using their name. The third thing is calmly handling problems,” said Bill Drury, president of Bill Drury Seminars.
One business leader shared why she chose to attend.
“When you work with customers, you get burnt out a little bit. So you need a little bit of encouragement to step up your game and know how to be patient with people and understanding of their situations,” said Victoria Hollis, a member services representative with the East Mississippi Power Electric Association.
Drury explained why customer service is vital to business success.
“The number one most cost effective thing you can do in a business to grow your company is improve customer service. Bottom line, this is the least expensive investment you can make to grow your business.”
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