Customer Service Week Oct 4th-8th 2021 – How to Celebrate as a Small Business.
This week, October 4th – October 8th marks 2021’s customer service week. Customer service week is celebrated every year and is dedicated to recognizing the importance of customer service and celebrating the people who serve and support customers.
As a small business enterprise, you might not be having a large customer service team to serve and support your customers. Hence, customer Service week might not feel or sound like a big deal for you but it is important.
Even though you do not have a big customer service team, you have a few people who interact with your customers. They are the people who engage with your customers online on your social media. They are the people who serve customers in your physical store if you have one. Think of the person(s) who deliver your products to your customers.
These people are the front face of your business and they are the ones who interact with your customers throughout. How they interact with your customers determines whether your customers feel appreciated or not. How they handle your customers determines the customers’ satisfaction.
Your customers are crucial to the success of your business and their satisfaction should always be your priority. After all, your business exists because of them, and without them, you don’t have a business to run.
In order to make your customers feel satisfied, your team needs to be feel appreciated too.
Customer service week is an opportunity to think about the interrelated happiness of all the people who make your business.
The customers use your products and services keeping you in business and your employees serve and support your customers.
So customer service week is as important to your team as it is for your customers.
For your team, use this week;
- To boost their morale and motivation.
- To boost teamwork among them.
- Make efforts to have everyone in your business understand the importance of customer service. Customer service and support is not the role of your customer service team alone but everyone whose role affects the customer.
- And, to reward them for the important work they do all year long.
Easy and budget-friendly ways to celebrate customer service week as an SME.
1.Office buffet and refreshments.
Food has a way of bringing people together to celebrate and fuel people. It doesn’t have to be something big but your team will see the thought of it.
Organize a breakfast or lunch surprise for your team one of the days and tell them something in the line of appreciating them.
You can consider having refreshments in the office for your team throughout the week.
This will show them that you appreciate their work and they will be more motivated to keep working for you and serving your customers.
2.Internal customer appreciation.
Some businesses tend to put more effort into celebrating their customers and ‘forget’ their internal customers.
As you celebrate your customers remember your internal customers – these are your colleagues, employees, and your business partners.
Prepare something as simple as Thank you cards for them. If your budget allows gift them with gift vouchers. You can even go to the extent of gifting them with personalized cups, stationery, etc.
3.Organize fun office games or activities.
As the business owner, you are the main team leader. During customer service week, boosting teamwork is key, and organizing fun activities to be done in the office by all wins.
Besides, customer service week is supposed to be fun, not only for your customers but for your employees and for you too.
Think of fun activities such as indoor games like table tennis, office soccer, etc.
These fun activities breed a fun work environment that is good for your business and your team.
Consider having team puzzle challenges to be done by your department or team heads. Different team heads lead their teams on the puzzle and whatever team wins gets a prize.
The activities encourage your team to know each other and interact with each other and teamwork is a boost for your business.
4.Have a Training Day.
This sounds too serious to mark a celebration but it’s very effective.
You don’t have to hire a trainer to train your team. Think internally and choose a senior person in your business to give a presentation.
Let him/her focus on the importance of customer service and remind every team member why and how customers have the key to the success of your enterprise.
Let your team see your business accomplishments and how the customer service team contributes to your organization’s accomplishments.
This training is to remind everyone in your company that customer support and service is not just for the customer service team but for everyone.
5.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Another good way you can choose to celebrate customer service week is by supporting your community.
There are so many CSR activities you can roll out and support your community. Again, it doesn’t have to be something too big.
Brainstorm with your team and find out what they would love to take part in. It could be visiting a children’s home, organizing a blood drive, cleaning the neighborhood, etc. There is so much that can be done in the community your business is in.
This activity will bring your team together and make them feel important and valuable. At the same time, your customers will recognize you.
Remind your customers you are committed to their satisfaction.
1.Thank your customers.
Make it a goal to thank customers for being your customers.
Prepare thank you cards for your customers and give them when they come to your store or when you are doing deliveries.
Think of drafting a thank you message and share it with your customers on your social media platforms, your website, send it to their emails or through SMS.
This will warm their hearts, make them feel celebrated, and most importantly, show them they matter to you.
2.Make your customers a special offer.
During customer service week, have special offers or discounts for your customers.
Have offers and discounts on your products and services for a period of time as a way of celebrating your customers.
Think of the buy one get one free or free services on selected services.
3.Surprise customers with gifts.
Have a few gifts prepared to gift customers who come to your store or during deliveries.
Surprise the customers and have your team thank them for being customers.
This will definitely leave a smile on the customer’s face and your employee will feel great for making someone’s day.
If you have VIP Customers, make them feel VIP, and send them gift hampers, or some of your products for free, or something as simple as a cookie basket.
This act makes your customers feel valued and appreciated.
4.Give customers new information about your products or services.
There is probably something unique about your products or services that your customers don’t know.
Probably the story behind your products or your services, why not tell them that story this week.
You can show them how and what it takes to produce your products.
This new information can help with your customer’s decision-making process and make the most use of your products. They will even appreciate your products or services more.
5.Use social media to engage with your customers this week.
Social media is a good place to engage and connect with your customers during customer service week.
Create content that celebrates your customer and content that reminds them you are committed to their satisfaction.
Share customer testimonials on your pages and your website if you have one. Share customers’ social media posts that mention you
Think of showing the faces of the team that ensures your customers’ satisfaction. You can do this through a video, or photos of your team thanking the customers.
Think of coming up with challenges or giveaways for your customers on social media and share exclusive promotions, or offers for those who win.
Final Thoughts…
Customer service week is about making your team and your customers feel appreciated and important.
Let your team know that you appreciate their work. On the other hand, remind your customers you are committed to their satisfaction and that you exist because they exist.
You don’t have to break your bank to do that. The above activities are budget-friendly and quick to put together. After all, it’s the thought that counts. At the end of this week, your team will be more motivated and have the morale to serve your customers. Your customers will know they matter to you and you appreciate them.
Appreciated employees and satisfied customers are a recipe for your business’ success.
