Enterprise Nation

Yesterday we tweeted about a success for our 2007 Home Business of the Year winner, Wendy Shand. Wendy has gone on to win lots of awards over the past three years, including, as of now, winner of the Cisco Customer Kings award 2010. Well done, Wendy! Here she offers advice on customer service. 

Steps to success

To give a service that delights your customers does not require a huge customer service department. Just follow these simple steps

1. Identify your market  – what type of lifestyle do your customers have?  Where do they live? What do they like doing/drink/eat/no. of kids/car they drive etc
2. Phone a sample of your database and do a detailed interview and ASK your customers what they think, what they would like you to do that you don’t do already, where could you do better, what they like
3. Send out feedback forms or use survey monkey to survey your customers and then act on the feedback
4. Take your idea to its logical conclusion – don’t just settle for token gestures, do it properly. For example, we provide family friendly holiday accommodation, so we don’t just provide a cot. We go the whole hog and provide everything parents need.
5. Be courageous and innovative – stand out from your competitors by daring to be different.

• Wendy Shand is founder of Totstotravel.co.uk