by Amy Taylor

Created on: February 10, 2009   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

As a small business how can you compete with the Wal-marts and the McDonalds of the world? Two simple words...customer service. Small businesses can easily run circles around the big guys in this area. Small businesses have the unique ability to personalize and customize their products and services to meet the individual needs of their customers. In providing this level of customer service it is likely you will see many of your customers become fiercely loyal to you and your business. It is then that your customers become much more than just consumers of your product or service; they become ambassadors for your business.

So how do you inspire this fierce customer loyalty? Mostly by being the very best you can each and every day and treating each customer as if they were your only customer. That however is a bit esoteric and hard to grab onto, it is also hard to relay this concept to your employees and to evaluate whether or not they are living up to your customer service standards. Listed below are some more concrete ways to get the customer loyalty ball rolling.

1. Get to know your customers. In order to do this your interactions with your customers will need to go beyond simply being polite. "Hi, how are you today? Is there anything I can help you with?" is fine but it doesn't really tell you much about who your customer is and what needs they have that you may be able to fill. On the other hand, you must walk the fine line between learning and prying. You don't necessarily need to know your customer's shoe size (unless you're a shoe salesman, that is) or that their Great Aunt Mildred is having bunion surgery next Tuesday. What is most important is that you can engage them in a polite and meaningful conversation where you can get a better feel for their wants and needs and they can come to see you as an expert in your chosen field and feel comfortable asking questions or making suggestions for improvements. I call this the Cheers Syndrome..."sometimes you want to go where [at least somebody] knows your name."

2. Don't be afraid to fess up. We're all human and some mistakes are impossible to avoid. What you do want to avoid is losing customers because of it. The best thing to do when you realize a mistake has been made is to contact the customer and own up to the error. Take as much responsibility as you possibly can and find a way to fix the problem to the best of your ability. Often a customer will accept a sincere apology without even the slightest thought

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