Here at Access Training, we help you to learn the skills and theory needed to potentially start your own business as a professional tradesperson.

However, with so many different skills to learn, its easy for newly-qualified tradespeople to overlook one of the most important parts of their new career: customer service.

Luckily, this blog post is dedicated to that very topic. If you're hoping to start a trade business and be your own boss, read on and take note - this one's for you!

Keeping customers happy

Whether you've trained as an electrician, a gas fitter or a plumber, a big part of running any successful business is the ability to keep your customers happy and meet their expectations.

Providing top-quality customer service and maintaining a high standard of work is key to retaining customers and generating repeat business. Here are a few important things to keep in mind:

Understanding your customer

Any good customer service training advisor will tell you that knowing your target demographic is a wise move for any business owner, particularly those in a trade where competition from other specialists is high.

Understanding the individual needs of the customer is the easiest and simplest way to provide them with the service they want and expect. Researching your target demographic and the industry you're in can help you to identify this.

Do your homework on the industry you're entering, and identify best practices to ensure your own services tick all of the boxes. Take time to find out what your customer wants from a business like yours and how they expect you to meet their needs.

Interacting with customers

While customer service is often overlooked in favour of the job-specific fundamentals and skills, it can be just as important in terms of the success of your business. After all, even top-notch workmanship can be sullied by rudeness and a bad attitude.

Naturally, Joe Public will warm to you more if you treat him well, being both friendly and courteous throughout the job. It can also make the overall experience a lot more enjoyable and pain-free for all parties involved.

Meanwhile, don't be afraid to ask questions when speaking with the customer. Hearing their needs and wants straight from the horse's mouth can go a long way in helping you tailor your service to their needs, while the courtesy can also leave you and your business smelling of roses.

Meeting customer expectations

Above all else, the quality of your work should speak for itself. The customer is paying for a service, and that service should be of the highest possible standard.

Don't settle for mere adequacy - always aim to go above and beyond, and try to leave every customer feeling valued, satisfied and content.

Dealing with issues

There will inevitably be times where things don't quite go to plan, and how you deal with these issues can help you salvage your customer relationship and keep your clients from looking elsewhere.

If you encounter an issue during a job, take time to reinforce the fact that you will strive to rectify any problems as quickly and effectively as possible. Doing so in a friendly and open manner can endear you to the customer and help to improve customer retention.

Provided you leave the customer with an end result that fixes the issue and does so with minimal impact to them, any issues you've encountered or hiccups along the way can usually be forgiven, while your efforts to fix said issue can actually strengthen the relationship further.

Interested in learning a trade and becoming your own boss? Take a look at our range of trade training courses below!

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