Printavo is simple shop management software. We help you streamline your business, keep jobs moving forward and your team on the same page.
Scheduling, quoting, approvals, payments, customer communication, automation and more. With Printavo, you’ll work smarter–not harder.
Customer service is a marketing opportunity. I sat down with my friend Steven Farag from Campus Ink to talk about how print shops have a huge opportunity. It's right in front of you: how you serve your customers is how you market your business.
You may not know exactly how much a bad review costs your shop. So think of it this way: how much time would you spend making a customer happy if you knew they wouldn't leave that bad review?
Here's what you need to know:
Steven and I are friends, and we travel together from time to time. We recently took a ski trip together as the winter wound down. During the trip, we had two powerful – and totally opposite – experiences at restaurants. These really opened our eyes to the value of customer service.
Restaurant #1: a respected, well-reviewed, highly suggested Thai restaurant.
What went wrong: Everyone got their food – except Steven. His never showed up!
The reaction: We were ignored by our server. No one apologized or addressed the issue directly. Our drinks were given to us for free, but no other action was taken.
Restaurant #2: a well-known busy brunch spot, equally well-reviewed and suggested by close friends.
What went wrong: We told the host that we were in a rush and had to catch a flight. We were promised a 15 minute wait, but ended up waiting almost 45 minutes. The host had accidentally crossed us off the wait list while seating another party.
The reaction: We pointed the error out to the host. The manager immediately apologized, stopped what he was doing, cleared a table, got us seated, and got our orders started right away.
What we learned:
Both restaurants "solved" our hunger problem – but only one left us feeling like we'd had a successful experience. That feeling of success is the source of truly great customer service.
Spoilage is an inevitability. Screen printing is too complicated of a process with too many variables to work perfectly 100% of the time.
Your service really shines when mistakes happen. That's why we're focused on mistakes: they are a great chance to improve your systems for dealing with customers. What is the plan that's in place for when a mistake happens?
"What happens if that one spoiled shirt turns into a bad review on Yelp, Google and Facebook? How many hours would you spend dealing with that customer if you knew it would stop them from badmouthing you online?"
The end goal of any customer service activity is to create brand advocates. These are people that feel deeply connected to your business, tell their friends and family about it, and actively recommend it. They are long-term customers that feel invested in your shop – and often, they provide the most effective marketing you can get.
So how many hours would you spend undoing a bad review?
Remember: just 4 negative online reviews results in losing 70% of incoming customers (source).
How much money, time, and effort would you have to expend painfully arguing your point in a very public way?
Keep that in mind the next time you deal with an unhappy customer: you are saving yourself a lot of work by building a real solution for them.
Join me and Steven at PrintHustlers Conf 2019, July 12-13. Early bird tickets have sold out!
Meet Mike Michalowicz, Profit First author, and join nearly 200 print shops from across the world in candid discussions about the challenges print shops face.
See the full speaker list, topics they'll cover, and get your tickets to our annual screen printing and custom apparel business conference right here!
Next Post: Buying an Automatic Screen Printing Press? What to Know, What You Really Need, and How Much It Costs
Printavo is simple shop management software. We help you streamline your business, keep jobs moving forward and your team on the same page.
Scheduling, quoting, approvals, payments, customer communication, automation and more. With Printavo, you’ll work smarter–not harder.