When (and How) to "Fire" a Customer as a Small Business
Have you ever fired a customer? How do you know when a client is more trouble than they’re worth, and what’s the polite way to do it?
5 min read
LATEST
Managing High-Maintenance Customers Without Losing Your Sanity
If you have a few customers who constantly need hand-holding and take a lot of time, this article is for you. Learn strategies like setting clear boundaries, creating help resources, and politely educating them to use self-service options.
6 min read
Managing Customer Support During Peak Times and Product Launches
When you have a big product launch and your small team is overwhelmed with support questions. This article offers a playbook for high-volume periods. We’ll advise planning ahead: maybe draft help articles or a launch-day FAQ in anticipation of common questions, temporarily enlist extra help (friends, family, or outsourced) for the surge, and communicate proactively. By learning from this real scenario, readers will be better prepared to maintain good service even when business is suddenly booming.
6 min read
Adapting Your Customer Service Style for Email, Phone, and Chat
What are the best practices for handling customer support across different channels? Should approach or tone differ between an email versus a phone call? We'll show how core courtesy stays the same, but there are channel-specific best practices.
5 min read
Setting Customer Expectations: Preventing Problems Before They Arise
How do I set the right expectations with customers to avoid complaints later (about things like shipping times or support hours)?
6 min read
Solo Entrepreneur Support: Balancing Customer Service When You're the Only Employee
if you are a solo business owner wearing all hats. Customer support takes a lot of time, any tips for balancing support with other responsibilities? This article provides time-management and productivity tips for handling support single-handedly.
5 min read
Supporting New Users: Customer Support’s Role in Onboarding for Startups
What’s the best way to support new users of my SaaS so they don’t get confused or give up early? Successful onboarding can make or break customer retention, and this article will answer that question with practical tips. We’ll discuss creating a warm welcome email sequence, offering proactive help (like a first-week "How’s it going?" check-in or a short tutorial call), and common questions new users have. By framing it as a customer support function, we show small SaaS teams how their support reps or founders themselves can guide new customers to find value quickly, reducing churn and increasing satisfaction right from the start.
5 min read
Taking a Break? How to Manage Customer Support When You’re Away
What do you do about customer inquiries when you’re on vacation or during the holidays? This article helps one-person businesses plan ahead so they can rest easy
6 min read
Keeping Track of Customer Communications (Without a Fancy CRM)
How do you keep track of all your customer conversations? I’m losing track of who I replied to.
6 min read