It's unlikely that your business can justify offering 24/7 customer service, and it's possible that your customers don't even need or want that level of help. But today, there are simple and affordable ways to show your customers they aren't stuck when your door is closed and the lights are out.
Offer a variety of options—from your web site to your telephone to your emergency services—to let your customers know that, when the lights are out, you are still ready to help them. Find out what your competitors are doing in your industry, and then do more than they are. Adopt and adapt their ideas and strategies to your needs.
Arriving at a major chain drugstore, one customer was exasperated to find it closed. Then, on the door, she noticed a sign directing her to the nearest twenty-four-hour pharmacy. She was thrilled. What can you do during nonbusiness hours to help your customers? Hire an emergency phone-answering service? Establish a cell phone number or beeper to call in an emergency? Set up a 24/7 help line to answer their questions and hold them off until you open? And what can you do when the phone rings after hours? Rather than let customers just hear it ring, how about an answering machine that tells them when you can serve them?
TAKEAWAY
We are no longer an 8-to-5, Monday-to-
Friday society. People have diverse schedules,
and they often look for services when many
traditional businesses have turned out the lights
and gone home. Those who can accommodate
them will win and retain their business.