In today's competitive world, offering extraordinary customer service is necessary to remain in business. Studies demonstrate that on average, a person who had a negative experience with a company tells twelve other people about his or her bad experience. This means that if one customer had a negative experience doing business with you, twelve other people will know about it. It is very important, then, for your business to always offer the best in order to avoid negative word-of-mouth publicity.

1. Educate yourself: Learn about great customer service. For example, if there is a company you admire because of its customer service, study it closely. What are they doing that makes them different from others? If you analyze other companies closely, you might come up with great ideas to implement in your business. At the same time, study companies with bad customer service departments in order to avoid committing their mistakes. There are also excellent websites with tips and recommendations for small businesses available for free. For example, Microsoft's Small Business website has excellent recommendations about establishing a great customer service department.

2. Have a 'suggestion' box: Allow customers to give you feedback and recommendations. If there is a bad review, make sure to address the problem as soon as possible. If the customer returns and finds that you did not address his or her complaint, chances are that he or she will not come back to your business and that other people will hear about their negative experience. Always remember that it is over five times more difficult to acquire a new customer than to keep an old one.

3. Be considerate: Always return your clients' phone calls and emails the same business day. By doing so, clients will realize that you believe that they are important and will then be more willing to do business with you.

4. Keep an open eye: Try to observe your customers. By observing what they like and what they do not, you might be able to target a problem and correct it quickly.

5. Know your clients: Remembering clients' names and knowing their preferences will help you build a great reputation. If possible, try to keep a customer birthday list. On their birthdays, send them a card or an email offering them a discount during the week of their birthdays.

Tip: Great customer service will help you to develop loyal customers. Why not take advantage of your loyal customers to help you to advertise your business? Develop a refer-a-friend program with incentives for referrals and encourage your loyal customers to spread the word about your business. Word-of-mouth is a very powerful and FREE marketing tool