First impressions count, and can mean the difference between getting a sale or the customer contacting your competitors.

In this challenging economic climate most small businesses are looking at ways to reduce overheads and costs, with many small businesses downsizing their offices or work premises and choosing to work from home instead.

This can often bring a fresh set of challenges, such as home distractions and trying to keep business and domestic responsibilities separate.

Too many small home-based businesses find themselves unable to provide the basic level of professional good customer services in this situation; this ultimately results in the loss of business.

Customers are increasingly turning their backs on businesses that do not deliver value, and great customer support adds value. Customers demand value for money or they simply do business elsewhere.

And if that customer feels particularly unhappy about the lack of service they received, they will probably tell friends and colleagues, or even worse post their experiences on various online forums.

A customer will tell anywhere from nine to 12 people about their good customer service experiences, but this increase to up to 20 people if their experiences are bad.

How do I deliver what customers really need?
The only way to truly understand what our customers need is to communicate with them on a regular basis.

Get out there and talk to your customers, observe how they use your website, talk to them while they browse in your store, call them up with an after sales courtesy call. If your customers are happy with your service ask for a referral or use the opportunity to offer them further services or products.

Regularly review your existing customer feedback process, and if you don't have one then put one in place. A simple satisfaction questionnaire can consist of a few questions you can ask every customer. Do you know why your customers come to your company? Do you know what customer experience your competitors offer? Have you looked at where the gaps are in meeting their needs? Be committed to listening and always making positive changes to your business that ensure you deliver to your customer needs, and work towards exceeding their expectations.

How do I improve the customer experience?
Delivering basic good customer services can happen in an instant, when your customer is greeted with a smile and addressed by name either in person or on the telephone.

Small businesses often struggle with providing good customer services on the telephone, either because they're too busy working; the phone line is at home and answered unprofessionally, or always busy with calls going to voicemail. The way that a business initially answers the telephone will give the customer their first impressions of your business, and can ultimately lead to new business or a lost opportunity.

Following these basic rules will ensure an initial positive customer experience: Pick up the phone within three rings, greet the caller in a warm professional manner, always give the company name plus your own name, and ask the customer how you can help, ask permission to use your caller's first name.

The most important part of every business is the customer. Without the customer your business doesn't exist. As a small business, your resources are limited at best. The good news is that good customer service is all about attitude. You don't need a huge budget, extensive resources and staff levels.

So many large businesses with huge budgets are using offshore call centres; voice recognition and interactive telephone systems have little or no interest in providing the customer with a good personal customer experience.

Surveys show that 35% of big companies don't even respond to emails sent in by customers, so money is not the big issue here. Make the decision to exceed your customer's expectations and watch your customers become advocates for your business.

Of the many great benefits for improving your customer's experience, the most significant will be the evolution of customers where they evolve from potential customers to customers, to repeat and loyal customers to advocates for your business.