When you make a major purchase, do you at least consider purchasing the service agreement? I know that when I bought a computer a couple years ago, I wanted to know who I could call and who would help me if I ran into a problem. Depending on what time of product or service you offer, you may want to consider providing on-going help or a service agreement plan to your customers and clients.
Knowing that they can access help, get advice, or that you will guide them through a glitch or problem may be important to your customers and clients. This can be a deciding factor for many prospects and they want to know that there will be someone there to help them should the run into a problem. If you are consulting or offering on-going services, knowing that you will be “on call” so to speak, and available to answer questions that may pop up will probably be a key part of what you offer in your home business.
If you are willing to be available to help after the sale, be sure to let your customers know that. If you do not the have the expertise that is required, perhaps you can keep the names of those people who CAN help on hand so you can provide them as part of your follow-up on an as needed basis. Knowing that your support and help is not going to stop once they walk out the door with their product is important. Or, if you provide a service, people will want to know that you are going to be thorough and not leave them with a project half-finished. This does not mean that you have to work around the clock and make yourself perpetually available, but developing a policy for help and on-going support can make your business offerings more valuable and contribute to a stellar reputation.