Many startups realize the significance good customer service can mean for the success of a small business - or even a large operation. When done right, customer service can grease the wheels of any marketing and loyalty program. That’s exactly what Joan Lamonica did when she opened up a retail store recently. She’s the fashion designer and owner of Sara Mique and she quickly realized how important customer service was to her company.

She’s still focusing on her core business, which is designing fashions, but she’s entirely dedicated to making her new retail location a success. Her designer fashions and customer service are key reasons why many of her long-time customers are now shopping at her retail location. But do keep them coming back she needs to be focused on all the little details that make a good customer service program a successful one.

The customer experience is a big part of her store’s successful customer service levels. Lamonica has a piano and coffee bar for shoppers (making her retail store more of a ‘fashion destination,’ adding to an already welcoming experience for many shoppers). She also makes it a point to host events at her location to drive even more traffic. In addition, she has additional customer service rules that include subtleties like returning customer phone calls, meeting deadlines and double-checking orders. These little details work in concert with other areas of marketing to provide the big picture. for example, email marketing tied in with direct mails and postcards to promote events. And Lamonica is also on Twitter as a way to engage with her audience in a social networking community.

Many small business owners need to pay close attention to these details because good customer service can often make all the competitive difference in the world. We often preach here about having attention-grabbing marketing and PR programs, but it all means nothing if the customer experience falls short.

How do you go the extra distance with your customer service? Tell us about it here.