Customer Service Guide

Quotoutstanding Servicequot Do You Know What It Means To Your Clients

2009-03-04T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Connie Scholl

When was the last time you experienced good customer service? I'm talking about REALLY good service, the kind where the person you were dealing with was pleasant and accommodating, and every little detail about your entire experience was addressed and handled exactly in the manner that you would have requested it.

Over the past six years, I've enjoyed this kind of stellar service from the BMW dealership where I have my car serviced. As a direct result of my experience, I will not only continue to purchase BMW automobiles, I will continue to use their service department and recommend them to my family and friends. Why? Because they "GET IT" when it comes to knowing exactly what I want. They let me know they value my business each and every time I'm there, and they continually work to keep me happy. They've earned my loyalty and created a raving fan out of me by meeting and exceeding my expectations with every interaction. I know I pay a little more by going there, but to me it's totally worth it.

So how can you get the same reaction from the clients in your small business or professional practice?

The first step is knowing what first rate service means to your clients. BMW doesn't guess here. They do their homework. So if you want to safeguard your business, and prevent clients from going elsewhere, it's time to start doing your homework!

Begin by compiling a list of "what does excellent service mean to you" type questions that you'll use with your existing clients.

Next, dive into your Rolodex and come up with a list of 8 to 10 "A" list clients. (These are the clients that you absolutely love working with and would like plenty more of.)

Once you have your questions and client names in hand, contact these folks and begin asking them what you want to know! Keep in mind, this doesn't have to be a long and complicated process. depending on your relationship, you can either email these people, call them, or take them out to lunch to gather your information.

If you've never done anything like this in your business before, you'll soon see that the very act of asking your clients these questions is a very powerful customer service move in and of itself.

Connie Scholl of ConnieCoach.com provides self-employed service professionals with simple, effective and low-cost marketing solutions designed to quickly jump-start sales and consistently generate new clients. Get free marketing tips and "how-to-articles" at http://www.conniecoach.com.

Customer First Customer Service

2009-03-03T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by F McDuffee

The world of customer service is rapidly changing. Thirty years ago, telephones and mail services were the norm for most companies. Now, faxes, email and web sites offer more options to customers than they've ever had before. It takes a dedicated team to keep loyal customers coming back and new clients coming in.

Customer Service is about that ultimate contact between people. It's about a potential or existing customer/client walking away with the intent of buying your product either for the first time or again. Employees make countless decisions every day that directly or indirectly affect customers and strengthen or weaken your company's reputation and bottom line.

Forging lasting relationships with customers leads to long-term loyalty and referrals. The bottom line is that excellent customer service may be the most important factor in improving a company's bottom line.

Customer Service is about offering solutions that are best for each customer. As a company, you need to offer every option available---addressing everything that's important to each customer. Focus on each customer as if he were the only customer.

Everyone at your company can work together to turn customer responses into key performance indicators by:

Giving the customer confidence. When they speak out about a concern, you address it within a reasonable amount of time (call back before the end of the day or tomorrow with their answer).

Giving the customer specifics. Tell them exactly what you are doing or going to do and when (I'm going to research the invoice and will call you back within an hour).

Fulfill your promise. Fulfill it within the period given at your initial customer contact.

Be reliable. Deliver what the customer ordered, when they want it (ask the customer to be sure!) and make sure it's delivered at the price agreed to.

Every employee plays an important role in fulfilling each customer's needs:

1. Buyers/Purchasing Agents --- maintain and replenish the inventory at the best prices possible, making sure you have in stock what all your customers want/need.

2. Distribution Center/Warehouse Personnel --- receive the product, verify quantity and condition and put the product away in the right location so the pickers/pullers/stockers can easily and accurately find the product and package/load the product for delivery in some cases placing the right stops in the right order on a delivery truck.

3. Drivers/Delivery Personnel --- delivers the product, with little to no damage, finds the correct items for each customer easily and efficiently. They also resolve any customer issues at the time of delivery (calling the center/home office/plant to resolve any billing issues or product issues, or replace damaged items at no additional cost to the customer).

4. Sales Support/Customer Service --- takes the customer orders, ensure the prices are correct and deliveries are scheduled for the correct days and times.

5. Sales Consultant/Team/Person --- works one-on-one with the customer, taking their orders, making sure they are offered new items, resolving issues and adding new customer accounts.

6. Management Team/Owner(s) ---- provide any and all support to their employees to ensure the customers needs are met as promised. They provide a working environment that stimulates employees to be proactive, productive and pro-companythese all lead to happy customers both internal and external.

What will make your company stand out over and aboveother companies? How responsible, responsive and timely are you meeting your customers needs? The customer doesn't want to know what it took to get his product there and he doesn't want to hear excuses why his product and/or delivery were delayed. He ordered and expects delivery as promised, so he can go about his business without enduring any inconvenience whatsoever.

The customer understands the importance of measuring their own performance, so they are going to require that the people servicing them---YOU---understand their needs at a much higher level.

Partner with your customers, to provide not only products but also knowledge, expertise, follow-up and execution.

For these and other reasons, all company employees---including management and owners---must have good mannerspublicly, on the phone or through email, letters or notes. You must also be accurate and neat and willing to 'go the extra mile'. It's important that the customer 'feels good'. Sometimes a simple gesturebeing friendly or simply smiling both in person and over the phone does the trick.

Friendliness costs nothing and requires little effort but is worth millions when it comes to building long-term lasting relationships with customers that lead to ongoing loyalty and endless referrals. Friendliness is, by far, the most important factor in improving a company's bottom line. Besides---it's contagious!

What it boils down to is this: What a customer likes the most about any company/distributor isn't their computersit's their employees!

Not only do the employees represent the company, when they contact prospective and current customers/clients, they are the company. How each employee performs reflects directly on what people think of your company overall.

In summary, satisfy your customer and you satisfy your bottom line.

F. McDuffee has been specially trained by one of the masters of copy--- Michael Masterson ---through The American Writers & Artists Institute. As The Words Turn© will provide creative copy that will entice new and rebuild established relationships---leading to repeat business.

Hire an experienced writer... one who will eliminate the wastebasket potential of your marketing materials. Visit http://www.asthewordsturn.com© for more information on services available.

Great Customer Service Is The Foundation Of Business Success

2009-03-02T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Boduch

Customer Service: fundamental to success... but so often forgotten. No matter what you're selling, widgets or copywriting services, business success is built on satisfying customers -- one at a time. It's about delivering great customer service.

Repeat business and referrals are fundamental to maximum long-term growth and profitability. After all, repeat buyers and referrals are the most profitable sales you can generate. If every customer is a one-time buyer only, you'll need to consistently fill the pipeline with fresh new prospects to make any sales at all. Providing exceptional customer service significantly increases the odds of subsequent purchases.

As merchants, we need to bend over backwards to satisfy those who patronize our businesses. This means giving the customer the benefit of any doubt. Provide the kind of courtesy, attentiveness and service you expect and are entitled to when you're the buyer. Play the role of the buyer and upgrade your customer service accordingly.

Nobody wants an unsatisfied customer unless they're not worth having (thankfully, this is rare, though problem customers do exist). No reasonable businessperson wants her name and reputation dragged through the mud. The easiest way to prevent this kind of occurrence is to take good care of those you serve.

The worst thing any business owner can do is to not respond to emails and phone calls. Ignoring calls only makes matters worse as customers feel neglected or abandoned usually after spending a fair amount of cash. When ignored repeatedly, a disappointed customer's frustration and stress level can build to the boiling point.

Keeping in touch with customers is vitally important.

When I'm working on a copywriting project, I often exchange numerous emails with my client, providing frequent updates, getting clarification, and asking probing questions that lead to greater insights and more persuasive sales copy. It also helps foster good feelings and helps solidify the client/provider relationship. People want to know that I'm busy working on their project not everyone else's.

Customer dissatisfaction is most often due to a lack of communication. Someone didn't get what she anticipated. The product didn't live up to its promise. There was a misunderstanding as to what products or services would be delivered and at what price.

In the copywriting business, it might be that key issues were missed... the emphasis was off base... or the angle taken wasn't the best fit for the market or product.

Whatever the case may be, most competent copywriters will tweak or modify the copy to suit the client. When it completely misses the mark, they'll offer a re-write without any additional charge. Refusing to do so doesn't make sense, as it leaves the buyer feeling ripped off and unfulfilled with their purchase.

It's all about satisfying those who keep us in business. Customer service is an essential ingredient of any long-term business success.

Keep Shopping Its The Best Way To Beat Lousy Customer Service

2009-03-01T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

My vacation could have been a comedy of errors, because nearly all of my initial plans didn't pan out. Yet, it ended up being the best all around sojourn I've ever had.

How did this happen? I'll tell you in a minute. First, let me mention some of the crucial adjustments I made.

I booked a hotel that had all of the right amenities, including a killer ocean view, but when I called later on, to check about a discount, I dealt with a real bozo. Instantly, I hit the Web, searched for alternativesjust in caseand I found a substitute at half the price, also with a killer ocean view.

That phone call saved me the equivalent of all of my meals during the entire trip.

Not bad!

I asked the airline agent to find me the longest legroom, and I ended up with the shortest.

Instantly, I asked to deplane to see what the gate agent could arrange. Momentarily, I was relocated in a section where I could spread out across three seats with my laptop and other tools.

The impact was that I wrote an article during my five hour flight that wouldn't have emerged from my cramped seating arrangement.

My watch's stem broke on the plane ride over. Upon arrival, I called the biggest ad in the Yellow Pages, and was informed by the stuffy manager that my timepiece would take three weeks to repair, and that I should wait to schlep it to a special service center in Beverly Hills, upon my return. Undaunted, I called another ad. The owner said, "Bring it over, and we'll repair it in three hours."

A half hour later, I entered his shop and he said, "You're lucky. I have three repair specialists working right now. Go have a coffee, and your watch will be ready in an hour. I'll save you a cab ride."

A one-day tour that I initially chose was oversold. Improvising, I picked an alternative, which ended up being spectacular, with a 200 foot waterfall and an unspoiled beach. Cool.

On a free day I decided to rent a car, and the first outfit I called gave me fits. They didn't have the model I wanted and they were going to force me to make separate calls to discover my frequent renter number and couldn't tell me if having it would give me a discount. When I asked for a supervisor, my call was mysteriously disconnected.

Two seconds later, I called a competitor. It had a red T-Bird convertible at a great rate with no drop-off charge for taking it to the airport. Also, I could pick it up 100 paces from my hotel, instead of having to cab it to the other outfit's inconvenient location. Wow, what a difference!

I could go on, reciting adjustment after adjustment, each of which ushered in economies, and added pleasures to my trip. Looking back, I can see that receiving poor initial service can be a godsend. Instead of being cursed, better karma is around the corner if we'll only open ourselves to it.

Here's what we can all do to improve our results as consumers:

(1) At the first hint of dissatisfaction, be willing to shop the competition. Don't ever accept as conclusive the opinion of a single source.

(2) Don't bother arguing with bozos. A tenth of the energy you'd expend can be more productively channeled into finding their replacement.

(3) Trust your instincts as a consumer. If you think they're incompetent, unconcerned, too expensive, or just a bad temperamental fit, be willing to walkmake that run, to another provider.

(4) Treat bad news as good news. If you look hard enough, you can find the silver lining in any problem.

(5) Be flexible, and be willing to change plans as often as necessary, to improve your results and satisfaction.

Lots of companies seek our loyalty and expect to receive it by throwing a few frequent flyer miles or occasional discounts our way. Look beyond these baubles. If you're earning them by forgoing the best prices and benefits, you're simply rewarding them for their complacency.

Fortune favors the boldremember this when you're about to plunk down your money for a vacation or for anything else. When you encounter lousy service, keep shopping! With a little effort and a few adjustments, you too, can transform poor service into a great adventure!

Paying Attention To Your Customers

2009-02-28T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Liane Bate

Webmasters can easily whip up the most brilliant website, loaded with information, articles, links, and quality content. With this tool and that tool, they can create a website masterpiece, ready to display to the world. Then when the sales don't come in, they are left wondering what more they could possibly do to their site that they haven't already done. Well before throwing our arms up in the air, we must remember that the customer comes first, and that a website cannot just be a static, unchanging piece of work. Our websites have to engage the customer, entice them, and they must be interactive. Our web businesses are not mechanical slot machines, as much as we might like them to be!

Engaging our customers means that we are not only providing them with quality content, but we are giving them a chance to reply, respond, question, and comment on our site and what we have to offer. One way to do this is by including a feedback or email form that allows them to send their questions and comments back to you. If it is easy for them to contact you, and they receive quality assistance and replies from you, then they will feel more like you are someone they can trust. You can establish trust and credibility by providing your name, address, phone number, and email address, as well as posting your picture and some information about yourself. It also helps to offer a money-back guarantee.

There is software available that allows you to capture information about your customers. It will categorize them so that you know what they bought, and what other similar products or services you have that you can also entice them into purchasing. Keeping track of your website statistics and what your customers are doing on your site is crucial for you to know where your sales and visits are or are not coming from and why. Sometimes tweaking one small aspect of your wording or site layout can make a huge difference to your sales and may mean repeat customers for you. Also, if you know what your customers are looking at on your site, and what is passing them by, then you can adjust your page to their desires. Sometimes offering a survey to your customers and subscribers is a good way to find out exactly what they want.

Your subscriber list consists of your current or potential customers, so you also want to personalize your auto-responder and broadcast messages. Make sure you use the customer's name in your mailings, and be more personal than the typical auto-responder message to show that you care. Include links to your products and services but try to tailor your messages to your customers' personalities and preferences.

Paying attention to your customers also means following up with them consistently either by phone or email and building a relationship with them. Just getting to know who they are, and letting them know that you are a real person who cares about their needs and not just a website can mean the difference between making a sale and making nothing. As the saying goes, "you don't know a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins", so find out who your customers are, what they want, and let them know how you can be of service to them.

Liane Bate owns a Plugin Profit Site web business, is a member of Success University, and the IAHBE. Visit: http://www.HonestMoneyMaking.com

Computer Consulting Excellent Customer Service Inspires Growth

2009-02-27T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joshua Feinberg

From a customer service perspective, what can you do to sell more monitoring and managed services? What would it be worth to a computer consulting client if you could predict and prevent a major problem before it occurred?

For example, if someone incurred $1,700 in billing last quarter due to some virus-related problems, is there something that you could offer them, a solution that you could give them going forward that could have prevented this?

What's The Best Service Choice?

Is it a matter of upgrading them to more complete virus protection? Is it a matter of giving them more thorough end user or internal guru training?

You should be looking at your service tickets and your invoices proactively so you can make some of those suggestions. That's phenomenal customer service because you're anticipating your computer consulting clients' needs.

You and Your Computer Consulting Staff Should Be Proactive

The same way that when people are married for a long time, they start anticipating their spouse's needs, these client relationships evolve over time. You should be able to spot these a mile away as long as you know what you're looking for.

Also, reward your technical staff for spotting and passing along some of these additional opportunities for you to follow up on. Also compensate your account managers and your technical staff based on their customer satisfaction ratings. These essentially become their report cards.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consulting 101. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Joshua Feinberg, co-founder of Computer Consulting 101, helps computer consulting business owners get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for your free access to field-tested, proven computer consulting secrets at Computer Consulting 101.

Tips For Uncovering Quotcustomer Hasslesquot

2009-02-26T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Adele Sommers

Are you wrestling with cranky customers, low-vitality products, congested services, and an aching bottom line? You certainly don't need to. Why exactly does this occur?

One major reason is that consumers expect products and services to work exactly as advertised, in a confusion- and error-free manner. It's easy to understand why these expectations exist because we ourselves are consumers. If given a choice between something that's easy to use and functions correctly, and something that's not easy to use or doesn't function correctly, we'll pick the former every time.

When consumers aren't happy with the quality of their experiences, what will they do? Unless it's a catastrophic situation, will they contact you to tell you about it, so that you'll know how to correct the problem? Perhaps some will, to vent their frustrations about what they've been experiencing. But research shows that the vast majority will quietly take their business elsewhere, and you might not ever hear why. To help you put a stop to the silent exodus, this article suggests four ways to uncover the causes of "customer hassles."

First, Why Do Customer Hassles Occur?

You'd think that any company that provides a product or service would put itself in the shoes of its own customers, and thus provide the very best product or service possible. Unfortunately, that's not always the case, especially if there is not much competition in a certain market. Yet even when product and service providers have the very best of intentions, here's another pervasive problem...

Any products (such as tools, gadgets, or software systems) -- or even services (such as auto repair shops, telephone companies, or transportation businesses) -- can burden consumers by introducing complex requirements of their own.

Those requirements can include queuing time, waiting time, installing or upgrading something, setting things up, programming in some cases (think about your VCR), learning curves, maintenance, wrestling with bugs, troubleshooting, waiting on hold for customer support, and potentially much, much more.

These are all examples of customer headaches of various sizes. When these extra requirements begin adding up, no matter how "good" your product or service might be, hassles can negatively affect your customers' experiences with your offerings. These are just a few characteristics:

-- Hassles can range from something that seems relatively small and only mildly annoying all the way to making the product or service impossible to use for its intended purpose. They can drive customers crazy, or make them feel really angry or stupid.

-- In the worst cases, customer headaches can cause catastrophic ripple effects that affect wider and wider circles of people, circumstances, and/or operations.

-- No bargain-basement pricing can ever compensate for the worst hassles!

What's the Antidote?

In contrast, what would you want to see happen? You'd want to have headache-free offerings that attract loyal customers, right? Good! There's every reason why you would want that.

Customer retention research shows that once companies have loyal customers, the cost of keeping them is just one-fifth the cost of attracting new ones. Research also shows that companies can boost their bottom-line results up to 100% just from increasing customer loyalty by only 5%!

So to attract loyal customers, we certainly must remove headaches, and we should strive to create consistently pleasant experiences with all interactions customers have. The interactions can include visiting a Web site or storefront, asking for more information, purchasing something, receiving order shipments, interacting with the products or services themselves, using any training and documentation, contacting customer service, and so on. Note that an unpleasant experience anywhere along the way could destroy a customer's positive perceptions of all other interactions!

Tips for Uncovering Customer Headaches

So, let's discuss how you can reveal the sources of your customers' aggravations. Below are four tips for exposing this critical information:

1. Poll customers using Web, mail, or e-mail surveys, or support calls.

You might ask what your customers love and don't love about your products and services, and how they might suggest improving them. You could even consider expanding routine customer support calls by asking customers: "Is there anything you can think of that could enable our products or services to better assist you?" Customers may find it very refreshing to finally reveal their pet peeves.

2. Comb your technical support logs to locate hassles of every type.

What's really been bugging your customers or stopping them from getting something done? See which kinds of trends you can spot. For example, are people calling technical support mainly to get training on using the system? Are they having problems installing, setting up, or getting going? Are they reporting bugs? Are the instructions incomplete or confusing? Another way of looking at this is to ask why your system is not completely transparent in helping customers to accomplish their real goals.

3. Observe your customers using your products at their own facilities.

It may be a real eye-opener to watch your customers try to install, set up, learn, and troubleshoot your product without having someone guide them through every step. If you had intended your products to be self-explaining and easy to use, this could reveal several aspects in which they are not.

4. Prioritize your findings using the 80:20 rule.

Try to determine which 20% of the hassles (the "vital few") seem to be giving your customers 80% of the grief. Then, continuously work toward eliminating the heaviest hitters until you've removed everything down to the noise level. It's easier said than done, but in the long run, your customers will really appreciate it!

In conclusion, revealing and remedying annoying hassles can stem the exodus of cranky customers and help you begin building a base of "raving fans." Your customers deserve no less than the very best of experiences with every facet of your offerings.

Adele Sommers, Ph.D. is the creator of the "Straight Talk on Boosting Business Performance" success formula. To learn more about her tools and resources and sign up for other free tips like these, visit her site at http://LearnShareProsper.com

Find The Ideal Vending Location Hire A Vending Locator

2009-02-25T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jade De Guzman

Vending Locator Service - Overview

Most vending locator services promise you to provide the best and top quality vending location services. In such a situation when all services sound good, choosing a perfect vending locator service provider gets most tedious. At the same time, you should remember that your chances of making money through vending machine installations can be brighten up if the vending service provider you hire knows his job best. Hence select a vending locator who knows his job best.

Your ideal vending locator

Capability to find most suitable and safe vending machine locations
Conduct a through research while selecting locations
Should provide vending machine maintenance
Experienced and professional vending machine locators
Customer/Technical Support
Provide vending locator consulting
Should be able to provide vending locator service for one or 100 machines
Qualified and skilled staff

How vending locators work

Once you hire a vending locator service after discussing your vending machine requirements, a vending locater service provider should chalk out a strategic plan keeping in mind the kind of vending machine that needs to be placed. Different kinds of vending machines are suited for different locations. For example, a beer vending machine is ideal for hotels and restaurants while a snack vending machine is ideal for shopping centers.

Once the ideal locations for your vending machines are short listed, calls need to be made to contact shop owners, retailers, hotel owners, restaurant owners, salon owners, and other suitable businesses to find out if they are interested in having a vending machine at their premises. Demonstration is given to those who are interested in installing vending machines on their locations. Once all is finalized, the vending machines are installed. According to the settlement, vending location services also provide vending machine repair and maintenance services.

Jade de Guzman is the owner of http://www.businessbeanstalk.com, a call center that caters to the diverse cold... calling needs of entrepreneurs and small to medium businesses. He has found locations for thousands of machines nationwide.

Business Beanstalk is an unmatched combination of affordable price and technological perfection. We use the award winning Five9 Virtual Contact Center suite of applications. To add to it, our call agents have worked with some of the biggest companies in the world. We deal in sales telemarketing lead generation, b2b lead generation, lead qualification as well as mortgage telemarketing and appointment setting telemarketing lead generation. Remember this is only the partial list! The use of the latest technology at Business Beanstalk reduces the average cost of telemarketing lead generation. We can also provide the requisite Do Not Call Registry scrubbing for your organization for Business to Consumer (B2C) calls. For any queries feel free to contact us at. Call us at 1(877)270-4480.

Which Is Better Repeat Business Or Adding New Customers Part 2 Of 2

2009-02-24T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Paul Lemberg

Recently we asked which was more important: new customer growth or repeat business?

The answer depends on your business goals. If you want fast-paced quantum growth, you should concentrate energy on adding new customers. But if your goals are more incremental - if you envision continual year over year growth in the 10 to 20 percent range - booking repeat customer revenue is far easier than adding new customers.

(Of course, don't lose sight of new customer acquisition; doing so entirely would doom the future of your business.)

While it is not easy to double your existing customers spending year after year, it is easy enough to 1) keep them happy and loyal, and 2) develop additional products and services for them, which they will buy if they are happy and loyal.

How can you build loyalty and garner repeat business? With two customer words: service and communication.

Enhance the customer's service experience
Customer service is all about fixing customer problems. What kinds of problems?
Fixing things which are broken, or that don't work as expected.
Facilitating deliveries, exchanges and returns.
Resolving billing and payment issues.
Fulfilling the exceptional need or the odd request.
Providing technical advice and user guidance.

This last is very important because many products are so complicated they can't really work without solid service.

And that doesn't go just for technical products. It applies to self-assembled furniture - the kind you can't seem to put together based on cryptic instructions. Or home repair - consider those valuable retired plumbers in orange aprons at Home Depot. Or what about your weekend hotel stay, transformed by that special concierge into something you remember the rest of your life.

In each case customer service is a critical part of the product. And in every case, it's the part that makes customers feel great about doing business with you.

Customer Service = Repeat Business

McDonalds believes that once you successfully address a customer's complaint, that customer is several times more likely to come back and buy more Big Macs. McDonalds store managers search for problems; they long for problems; they pray for problems.

Train your people to listen closely for problems and look for things that are out of whack. Establish customer service protocols to insure those issues are dealt with quickly and completely.

Plus, your company gets a bonus for good listening: creatively solved complaints are often the genesis of new products and services. Build a system which rewards both customers and employees for those new business ideas.

Too many companies see customer service as an expense. In reality it is the most cost-effective customer retention program you could possibly have. So hire reps who want to help people and train them to spot opportunities. Use technology to make it easier to find solutions. Lavish money on it. Gather knowledge and wisdom in databases and make it available to everyone in the service chain.

Customer Communications

Continual communication is another key to building the kind of customer loyalty that translates into repeat, and increasing, business.

Here are seven ways to stay in touch with your customers.

Find out how customers are really using your products and services. Call them casually or conduct formal surveys. Visit and observe them in action. Track their online behavior. Look for ways to enhance the value they get from you.
Put yourself in front of your customers. User groups, conventions, conferences, road shows, tours, online forums, and even interactive webcasts, are viable ways to create a two-way free flowing dialogue. Give customers a deeper understanding of how you help them, and find out what's on their minds so you can serve them even better. For high-end, big-spending customers, schedule an annual review or strategy meeting to set the agenda and lock them in.
Publish a valuable newsletter. Most newsletters are filled with self-serving drivel about the company. Who cares who got promoted, or that you just had a wonderful company picnic? Fill your newsletter with stimulating ideas, case studies and practical tips that add value to your customers and help them do better business. Important to your newsletter's success is frequency and consistency, so publish often - monthly or even twice a month, and keep it on schedule.
Ask your customers the magic question: "What would you like to buy from us, if only we'd offer it to you?" Do this yourself or outsource it. Either way, these answers are like customer retention gold.
Keep your product and service offer fresh. Keep upgrading and adding on, and announce to your customers that you are doing so.
Make special offers to your special customers. And all your existing customers are special. Give them special offers and loyalty discounts that plain old new customers can't get. Make sure they know it is only for them.
Revive the art of the hand-written note. In this age of hyper-convenient email and instant messaging, a hand-written note acknowledges the unique nature of the recipient. There's just no way to duplicate the one to one feeling a note will create. Do this and you could have the customer for life!

These customer service and communications tips are just a few of the hundreds of ways to communicate with customers to build loyalty and repeat business. Combine them with judicious up-sells, re-sells, and cross-sells, and that 20 percent annual revenue growth is yours forever.

Paul Lemberg is the president of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only fully systemized business coaching program guaranteed to help entrepreneurs rapidly create More Profits and More Life. To get your copy of our free special report with detailed steps on how to grow your business at least 40% faster, even when you aren't sure what to do next, go to Paul's business coaching website.

Click here if you are interested in Quantum's Business Coaching Franchise opportunities.

Customer Service Begins With An Quotaquot

2009-02-23T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Kevin Dwyer

Customer service is built on the bedrock of a positive attitude. Without the positive attitude all of the attempts to "train" customer service will fail.

Picture this; a man, Mr Jones, walks up to the front desk of an hotel at the beginning of a holiday.

He has just completed a twelve hour flight in economy class overnight to reach his destination. The food and service were passable, nothing better or worse than expected in economy class. Immigration officials at both ends of his journey were pleasant, if not so efficient.

There was a little problem with getting a taxi and he got to the hotel no more than an hour or so later than he anticipated. On a journey with a twelve hour flight he considered that to be not too bad in his experience and was content although quite tired as he was not a good sleeper on flights.

His well earned holiday had been at the forefront of his mind as he boarded the aeroplane. It had now receded somewhat as the need to clean off the sweat of travel and the smells of the aeroplane by getting under a steaming hot shower became his compelling desire. And perhaps to rest his head on a clean, fluffy pillow for twenty minutes or so to recuperate before having a nice, fresh breakfast.

He was a seasoned traveller so he made sure that he booked a day ahead to enable him to book in after sunrise and not to have to wait until the previous occupants, if there were any, had checked out.

Unfortunately, a mix up in his booking had occurred. The night shift staff, recognising that he had not turned up by midnight, assumed he was not going to arrive and sold his room to a late arrival who was part of a small tour party larger in size than expected.

His room was not going to be available until sometime after 12:00.

Think of two different attitudes of the hotel front office staff member who greeted him upon his arrival.

First, let us think of the "blame the night staff" attitude. After initial pleasantries the conversation may have gone something like this.

Staff member: "I am sorry sir. The night staff gave your room away when you did not turn up. You will have to wait for your room. I am so sorry those people are so bad."

Guest (irritated): "I did turn up, I am here now."

Staff member: "But you did not turn up on time last night when the staff expected you to."

Guest: "I was never supposed to be here last night. I gave you my flight details in the booking. I was always due here this morning."

Staff member: "I am sorry sir. If you would wait over there I'll let you know when your room is available".

Guest: "When will the room be available?"

Staff member: "I don't know sir. It depends on when the people in your room sign out. We were fully booked last night."

And so the conversation goes on with perhaps an escalation to a supervisor and perhaps with the guest becoming irate.

Let us now think of the customer service attitude. A similar conversation may have gone something like this.

Staff member: "I am sorry, sir, your room is not available as you expected."

Guest (annoyed): "Why is it not available? I booked it!"

Staff member: "I do not know what has happened specifically Mr Jones, but let me see if I can make you comfortable whilst I solve this problem. Did you fly in overnight? Would it be helpful if I could arrange for you to be able to have a shower and get changed whilst I sort this out?"

Guest: "What I would really like is my room, but a shower would be nice. Thanks."

Staff member: "Are you hungry? I can organise a nice hot breakfast for you after your shower".

Guest: "That would be great".

In the first instance the attitude is wrong. The focus is not on the customer and his expectations, a shower and breakfast and a sleep, or possible solutions. It is on shifting blame and the customer is left thinking "Who cares about you, what about me?"

Customer service begins and ends with attitude. Attitude is partly a factor of an individual's personality, but is also driven by the environment people work in. It is the leadership, processes, policies, performance management, motivation and team spirit that dictate the attitude of individuals in a corporation to a large degree.

If you are a leader and you want your people to deliver great customer service, then remember that is your attitude to developing an appropriate environment that will drive their attitude. Their attitude will determine what level of service your customers enjoy.

Kevin Dwyer is Director of Change Factory. Change Factory helps organisations who do do not like their business outcomes to get better outcomes by changing people's behaviour. Businesses we help have greater clarity of purpose and ability to achieve their desired business outcomes. To learn more visit http://www.changefactory.com.au or email kevin.dwyer@changefactory.com.au

To see more articles visit http://www.changefactory.com.au

Customer Service Flops At A Restaurant When Something Was So Going Well Why Change It

2009-02-22T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Glory Borgeson

Before I get started on this article, I'd like to say goodbye to the phrase, at the end of the day, because, at the end of the day, the phrase is still there, taunting me. I don't want to say it anymore and I'm sick of hearing it, quite frankly. Lately, whenever I hear someone use that phrase, I almost burst out laughing. And I don't want to do that. That would be rude. So, instead, I stifle the laugh and work hard to not smile. If I smiled they would wonder why I'm smiling. They know they didn't say anything funny. (Is she laughing at me? Why, yes, I am, because, at the end of the day, I'm sick and tired of that phrase.) So I don't even smile.

**Sigh**

Okay, back to Customer Service Flops at a Restaurant!

On a Saturday, I wanted to get out of the house to do some writing, to get a change of atmosphere and to perhaps be inspired by different surroundings.

I headed to Borders Books, but they didn't have enough tables; all were taken. (They've had room for more tables for a few years, but haven't figured that out yet! Or maybe they have, but they don't want more tables to clean.)

So I went to a place called Corner Bakery. This is an old-fashioned-inspired place owned by a local chain of restaurants. While the other restaurants owned by the chain are sit-down places, Corner Bakery is a walk-up style restaurant where you order your food at a counter, pay for it, and then take it to your table. All they keep on the tables is salt and pepper, so customers have to get everything else they need from a service area. The service area has ice, a soda machine, iced tea, water, napkins, cutlery, sugar, milk, and anything else you would need (except, of course, for salt and pepper, because, as I said, that's all you find on their tables).

I asked the woman taking my order if they served their tea in pots, and she replied that she didn't know what I meant. So I asked another employee, who said they did not have teapots. (Border's does!) They knew I was there for here (not to go), but my tea was served in a take-out cup. I also ordered something to eat. They handed everything to me over the cash register. I set it down while I put my change back into my wallet, and then I looked around for a tray. (I recalled using a tray every other time I was there.) I didn't see any trays.

So I asked the two employees behind the counter if they had any trays. They both said no. Hmm. What happened to the trays? Well, one employee said, when they remodeled the kitchen and ordering area, they got rid of the trays.

So I had to pick up the items I purchased, bring them to a table, then go back to the service area to get flatware, napkins, etc., and bring that back to the table.

Being a tea person who likes to have her tea just so, next, I brought my take-out tea cup to the service area for milk and sugar. After pouring some milk in the cup and breaking open a sugar packet, I deposited the used sugar packet in the garbage slot conveniently located on the counter of the service area (just like Starbucks!). Then I grabbed a spoon, stirred the tea, and looked for a basket or container to place the used spoon. I didn't find any such container, so I shrugged my shoulders (in my mind, anyway) and left the spoon on the counter of the service area (not like Starbucks!).

Then it was back to the table again. After a couple minutes I realized that the tea was still extremely hot, and I wanted a spoon. (Of course! I should have carried that spoon back to the table with me!). As I got up from the table to go back to the service area, my hip hit the table, spilling sugary tea on the table and on the pen with which I'm writing. Great! So along with the spoon, I grabbed more napkins to clean up the mess.

A tray would have made the whole experience so much easier! What do people who dine at Corner Bakery do when they have their young children with them? Tote the kids back and forth between the front counter, their table, and the service area, carrying as much as they can hold, until they get everything they need?

So my message to Corner Bakery is: Make your customers' lives easier when they come to your restaurant: bring back the trays!

At what businesses have you experienced improved or poorer customer service (or other business decisions)? How did that affect your decision to repurchase?

What changes is your business considering? Will the changes make a real improvement that your customers will recognize for the better?

Because, you know, at the end of the day, businesses need their customers to come back and buy again!

Glory Borgeson is a business coach and consultant, and the president of Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She works with two groups of people: small business owners (with 500 employees or less) to help them increase their Entrepreneurial IQ, which leads to increased profit and decreased stress; and with executives in the "honeymoon phase" of a new position (typically the first two years) to coach them to success. Top athletes have a coach; why not you?

Click here for Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

This article was originally published in The Business Express, Borgeson's free monthly ezine. You may subscribe by clicking here: Ezine.

Stand Out In Business The Write Way

2009-02-21T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lydia Ramsey

When was the last time you received a handwritten note from a business associate? It may be that it was too long ago for you to remember. On the other hand, if you have gotten one lately, you know exactly who sent it and when. Handwritten notes have become almost extinct in the business world. So if you are looking for ways to stand from the crowd, to be noticed by your colleagues and clients, try putting pen to paper whenever you have the slightest excuse.

There are few acts more impressive than handwriting a letter or a note to someone with whom you do business or would like to. Most people think that writing notes by hand requires extra time and effort. Ironically, it can be quick and painless if you do it frequently and follow these tips:

1. Have writing supplies close at hand. Store stationery and stamps in the most convenient place in your desk. When you need to send a note, all you have to do is reach for your stationary, dash off a few lines, address the envelope, put the stamp in place and mail it.

2. Keep your message brief. These are notes so you only have to come up with three or four sentences. If you attempt to compose more than a few lines, writer's block is liable to set in and you will never get past "start."

3. Develop a system. Before you head out of the office to a business meal or function that someone else is hosting, address an envelop to your host. It will be a breeze to jot down your short message when you return.

4. Use the appropriate professional stationary. Both single-sided correspondence cards and fold-over notes with the company name or logo imprinted on them are business-like and will represent you and your organization well.

5. Poor penmanship is no excuse unless your handwriting is totally illegible. The person who receives your note will appreciate your thoughtfulness and will not be grading your handwriting. If your penmanship does not meet your standards, it is never too late to improve. There are numerous resources at your library or on the Internet to teach you to write legibly.

6. Use any occasion to get noticed with a note. A few of those instances are when...

You have received a gift

You were a guest in someone's home

You were hosted to a meal

You received a business favor

You are replying to an invitation

You are sending condolences

You want to offer congratulations

You need to apologize

7. Make your message timely. Whether you are sending a note of appreciation, congratulation or condolence, do it as quickly as possible. A thank you should go out within 24 to 48 hours. However, don't forgo sending a note because you think too much time has elapsed. There is no definite statute of limitations on appreciation.

8. Understand that e-mail is not a substitute for the personal handwritten message. The Internet is fast, efficient and remote. If you are corresponding by e-mail immediately following a meeting with a business associate, include your expression of gratitude, but don't let that stop you from sending a second message by ground.

Successful people pay attention to the details and look for ways to build better business relationships. When you take the time to send handwritten notes, you will stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons. Your next big sale or job promotion may came about as a result of your doing business just a little differently.

Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of MANNERS THAT SELL - ADDING THE POLISH THAT BUILDS PROFITS. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors' Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman's Day. For more information about her programs, products and services, e-mail her at lydia@mannersthatsell.com or visit her web site http://www.mannersthatsell.com.

How To Write A Complaint Letter That Gets The Result You Want

2009-02-20T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Kathy Swann

Have you been double-charged on your credit card? Did the poor service at that restaurant ruin your special evening? Were the flowers you ordered delivered to the wrong address? Then it's time you write a complaint letter that gets the situation resolved to your satisfaction.

Make your opening sentence a positive one and get to the point in the first paragraph. The flower shop doesn't need to know this was your grandmother's 90th birthday, but they do need to know that you've been their customer for five years. Beginning on an upbeat note will let them know you want to continue doing business with them.

Tell your story precisely and in as few words as possible. You don't need to tell the restaurant that you were hosting a business dinner with your new boss, but rather this was a special evening to celebrate an important occasion. State specifically what went wrong, such as the food was cold or they neglected to bring the appetizers until the main course was served. Be humorous if possible- this wasn't brain surgery even though it was important to you.

Don't threaten. Swearing to never shop there again or to call the Better Business Bureau just makes you appear out of control. No one will be in a hurry to handle your problem. If you act respectfully, you can expect the same behavior in return.

State exactly how this mistake cost you (time, money or embarrassment) and what result you want (refund, free meal or gift certificate). Be reasonable in your request- you won't get unlimited free meals for life because the waiter spilled coffee on your new suit. However, you may get a free bottle of wine on your next visit.

Provide a copy of your receipts, correspondence or contracts with your letter. If you had a contract with a caterer and he didn't provide the desserts you ordered, having the agreement to prove it will further your cause.

When the matter has been resolved, be sure to do the company a favor in return. Telling your friends about the flowers that were delivered to the wrong hospital and how the florist personally took a fresh arrangement to the patient himself shows how far the merchant was willing to go to provide excellent customer service.

Remember, the purpose of business is to keep the customer coming back. How you let the company know about their mistake is just as important as how they remedy the situation- it can be a win-win solution for both parties.

Kathy Swann has over 25 years experience in office administration, payroll and Human Resources. Her e-book "How to Win When You Lose Your Job: A Handbook for Those Soon to Be Unemployed" was written to help employees understand what benefits are available to them should they lose their job through no fault of their own. Purchase this e-book at http://www.loseyourjob.net

Can You Believe Your Customer Can You Trust Traditional Market Research

2009-02-19T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike T. Davis

One of the most common objectives of market research is to find the customers wants and wishes, or their hot buttons. But what if traditional market research identifies the wrong hot buttons? What if conventional market research singles out hot buttons that freeze your fingers? What if standard market research uses malfunctioning thermometers? A recent scientific study by Professors Dan Horsky, Paul Nelson, and Steven S. Posavac published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology examined this possibility.

The study (Horsky D., Nelson P., Posavac SS. Stating Preference for the Ethereal but Choosing the Concrete: How the Tangibility of Attributes Affects Attribute Weighting in Value Elicitation and Choice. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2004, Vol. 14, No. 1&2, Pages 132-140) compared the attractiveness of five sporty car attributes calculated using answers provided in a market research study (what people say), and the attractiveness of the same five attributes derived from the actual buying behavior of the car buyers (what people do). The five attributes were Performance, Dependability, Comfort, Prestige, and Exterior Styling.

The relative attractiveness of the performance, dependability, comfort, prestige, and exterior styling attributes calculated using the answers in the market research study were 0.13, 0.22, 0.13, 0.16, and 0.20. The relative attractiveness of the same five attributes calculated using the real behavior in the marketplace were 0.24, 0.21, 0.13, 0.00, and 0.19 (note the change in the bold and underline numbers).

According to the authors: "a rather dramatic change in the ordering of the average weights occurs ... Specifically, the tangible attribute Performance, previously one of the least important attributes on average, is now the most important to sporty sedan buyers. In contrast, the weight of Prestige, an intangible attribute, falls dramatically and becomes the least important attribute. The remaining attributes change little."

This "dramatic change" has dramatic implications. "The implication of our findings is that stated preferences may not be highly predictive of actual consumer decisions because the relative importance of attributes differs in value elicitation and choice. This finding is troubling because of the reliance of marketing practitioners on research data pertaining to attitudes, purchase intentions, and attribute importance rankings. If predictions based on stated preferences are markedly different from reality, marketers' decisions (e.g., product positioning, advertising emphasis) made based on the stated preference data may be suboptimal." In other words, "forecasts of choice based on stated attribute importances would have been erroneous."

Summary:

So, can you believe what people say about their wants and wishes? Yes, if you have the formula that converts what people say into what people do. If, you are not using this formula, be prepared to face some unpleasant surprises when implementing the raw customers' suggestions.

Mike T. Davis, SCI, Rochester NY

We are the inventors of Computer Intuition, a psycholinguistics based program that analyzes the language that people use to describe themselves and their environment, and "converts what people say into what people do". When clients hire our services, they send us their qualitative data. We input the data to the computer, which calculates the psychological intensity, or psytensity, of every idea found in the text. We then isolate the ideas with the highest psytensities, and document them in a report that also includes our "Do this, do that" recommendations. Within a week of receiving the data, we present the results to the client. SCI's clients include many Fortune 500 companies, such as Apple Computer, Sears, Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Chrysler, Citibank, IBM, Motorola, Anheuser-Busch, Gannett Newspapers, and Xerox. We also serve many smaller companies and individuals who came to realize that Computer Intuition is the only tool for a correct analysis of text.

Minimize The Pain Of Check Recovery

2009-02-18T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jason Schwartz

$350 million in bad checks are written each and every week. That fact alone makes bad checks a serious problem for American businesses. It is almost inevitable that, if your business accepts checks, you have been affected by this. As well as being stuck with bank fees for depositing a bad check - and the very real possibility that the bad check could impact your bottom line - there is the time, aggravation and cost associated with recovering the funds. It is often the case that recovering the check can incur more in costs than the value of the original debt. Inevitably, many smaller businesses write off bad checks, believing that they cannot afford to pursue the debt. However, there are a number of ways your business can fight back and minimize the pain of bad check recovery.

IT'S AN INNOCENT MISTAKE...

For small and mid-sized businesses, the first recourse is to call the customer and explain the problem. Don't immediately assume that the customer intended to defraud your business. It is often true that an innocent mistake has been made and a calm, reasoned telephone call will recover your funds and keep what may be a valuable customer. Please be aware that threatening a debtor with publicizing their name or notifying their employer is illegal, so speak only to the person owing the funds and stay cool !

PURSUING THE DEBT

In most States, you are required to send a certified letter to the check writer before you can institute court proceedings. You may request that the debtor also repays the bad check fee you have incurred. The check writer is usually required respond within 10 or 30 days. This varies by state, so please check with your State Attorney General's office. Again, a calm and reasonable tone often works well and will ensure you stay within the law. Reviewing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/fair-debt-act.html ) before you draft your letter or make a call is highly recommended.

While these two methods are time and cost-effective, if you have still been unable to recover the check the obvious next step is to institute court proceedings or hire a professional debt collection agency. However, these are time consuming and potentially expensive options and - for many small businesses - may mean that the cost outweighs the benefit. Nevertheless, there are alternative check recovery methods that don't have these possible downsides.

CHECK ENFORCEMENT UNITS

Some areas now have a check enforcement or check recovery unit that is part of the state or district attorney's office. These are not available in every state and the services provided do vary. In general, though, the check enforcement unit will investigate and prosecute the debtor on your behalf and you will receive the full face value of the check. Contact your local District Attorney's office to see if this service is offered in your area.

ELECTRONIC CHECK RECOVERY

A better all round option is to consider using one of the electronic check recovery services now available. There are many advantages to electronic check collection over traditional recovery methods, not least the fact that many of the companies offering this service charge no fees to your company. Other benefits include:

i) Increased Recovery Rates : The National Automated Clearinghouse Association (NACHA) reports increases in recovery rates by as much as 50% in comparison with traditional recovery methods.

ii) Low Recovery Costs: No bank fees for redepositing an NSF check electronically.

iii) Benefits to Customers: No need for customers to receive collection letters and calls or supply a money order or cashier's check.

iv) Fast Recovery Times: Traditional recovery methods can take between 30 and 60 days. On average, electronic check recovery takes 7 days, after which time the recovered check is deposited into the merchant's account.

v) Out of town checks are handled as quickly and easily as local checks.

While bad checks are a fact of business life, recovering funds owed to you is not the herculean task it might first appear. You can fight back and still avoid many of the headaches that have been traditionally associated with pursuing a debt.

Jason Schwartz is CEO of Creative CashFlow Solutions, a check processing company established in 1998. Learn more about their free electronic check recovery service here: http://www.ilovechecks.com/recovery/

Poor Customer Service Deal Breaker

2009-02-17T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Dir

One of the first signs of a sinking ship in business is poor customer service. To magnify this fact, when customers are not satisfied with the level of service they receive after the sale, poorly handled relations can reverse all the effort and expense invested in advertising, sales, marketing, product development and company image building. This scenario is playing out every day in both large and small businesses across the country. If you think businesses understand the importance of serving their customers, just take some time to do a little research. When companies hire people to perform these duties, the pay associated with customer service jobs is often less than what they are willing to pay for good clerical or reception help.

Many large firms have rushed into implementing completely automated systems for handling customer issues. In dealing with these types of systems, I have not found a single person who tells me they enjoy the experience of wading through touch tone menus to find answers to their needs. The reason why a business implements an automated phone answering system is to channel the large volume of frequently encountered issues through the automated process in order to devote more resources to less frequently asked questions. Even though these systems seem to manage such traffic, there are untold numbers of people who become so frustrated by the experience, they stop trying before they obtain the information they were seeking, rendering the solution inadequate. For every customer who turns away in disgust over the level of service they receive, there is an opening for someone else to capture their business. When a low paid, unenthusiastic service representative answers a call, the end results can be equally devastating to the future relationship with a customer. Using automation to divert the flow of frequently encountered problems does not solve the lack of understanding and communication that causes the problems to occur in the first place. Instead of funneling the issue down some automated sink hole, it would help to have someone who is able to find methods to eliminate the reasons why people are dealing with these troubles in the first place.

People do not generally interpret their importance to your business from the perspective of how much money they represent in profit. Each person approaches their interaction from the perspective that they are the only customer you will ever have. Even the best of systems will occasionally disappoint the expectations of isolated individuals, but when the numbers of disgruntled customers swell into a significant group, the phenomenon can rapidly reverse the fortunes of a company in a very short interval. If a company is not willing to invest an appropriate level of resources to properly training customer service staff, they might as well hire people to schedule appointments with more important staff members in the sales and marketing areas of the company, or directly with the CEO. Failure to achieve and maintain good customer relations will guarantee loss of income. If an executive is not willing to put the responsibility of steering the company's future into the hands of a clerk, they should not be assigning the task of customer service to unskilled workers.

One of the significant advantages of creating a small business is the ability to focus on the organization's hunger for growth. The smaller, more flexible organization allows employees to invest more of themselves in building intimate relationships with the people they serve. The level of vitality that remains associated with these relationships will determine how large the company will become, and how long it will be able to last. Unless customers develop a deep reliance on the products and services of a particular business, they will part with what a company has to offer, and stay away from doing future business with the organization when their tolerance for disappointment is finally reached. Failures of big businesses to meet projected growth in earnings and sales goals can often be tied directly to their loss of ability to dance with the one who brought them to where they are today.

Recent red flags pointing to a crisis in customer service is a trend toward off shore outsourcing of support and customer service functions. Many company executives appear to be totally blind to the negative impact of these practices on the future of their business. In pursuing the expansion into global markets, it makes good sense to enlist the services of indigenous service representatives to handle the needs of customers who are buying products and services in those foreign markets. This practice allows a company to capture responses that are sensitive to the culture, perspectives, and needs of the customers who buy American made goods. However, when American based customers are not handled with the same level of respect for their own culture and needs, a serious threat to customer relationships arises. Whether or not the majority of business leaders listen to the public, the negative impact is enormous when an American citizen who speaks fluent English is being served in their own country by a foreign service representative. Many companies readily recognize the benefit of offering the courtesy of bilingual services to a large Hispanic customer base in America, while adopting policies that insult and alienate the other sectors of our local economy.

Somewhere in the scheme of things, American business has lost sight of how people here expect to be treated as valued customers. The wake up call is in the hands of American consumers and their patronage.

Director of Software Concepts BHO Technologists - LittleTek Center http://home.earthlink.net/~jdir

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Call Center Consulting Solutions

2009-02-16T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Kent Pinkerton

Call center consulting solutions offer result oriented solutions to enhance the productivity of a business concern. Call centers are customer support departments that ensure customer satisfaction. Apart from product support, call centers also provide additional services to meet the entire customer strategy. Call center consulting solutions provide information resources to equip the client for real-world challenges. Call center consulting formulates a comprehensive solution to enhance the working strategy. Consulting solutions offer an efficient delivery of the results at the targeted time.

Call center consulting solutions are offered by experienced professionals. They analyze the issue and respond to queries depending on the overall strategy of the concern. They offer sophisticated tools for the complete evaluation of the scene. Call center consulting solutions provide workforce management with application integration. The required reporting and statistical analysis are incorporated with data integration. Performance optimization is enabled with self service automated systems and Internet contact. The maintenance of appointment scheduling is an integral part of call center consulting services. The real time personalized consulting helps to resolve problems immediately. The solutions are regularly monitored by a pool of professionals. They also customize the solutions in accordance with customer feed backs.

Call center consulting solutions are tailor made to suit various business domains such as banking, insurance, health care, financial services, travel, technology, telecom, pharmaceutical, and retail. The services usually include customer care, technical support, data conversion, collections, telesales, transaction processing and other value additions. Call center consulting solutions are available these days on a round the clock basis. Call center solutions can be either voice based or web based.

Call Center Solutions provides detailed information on Call Center Solutions, Call Center Software Solutions, Call Center CRM Solutions, Call Center Management Solutions and more. Call Center Solutions is affiliated with Outsourcing Call Centers.

Managing Customer Expectations

2009-02-15T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Laurie Brown

Everyone talks about exceeding your customers expectations. It is true. It is no longer good enough to just meet their expectations, you DO have to exceed their expectations to succeed. Today's customer is very well educated and demanding. The internet has opened up a whole world of possibilities. They want high quality, exceptional service and low low prices. I am reminded of a sign I once read at a printers office... "Fast, cheap, good..Pick two." However customers don't want to just "pick two", they want the whole enchilada!

There is a simple way to exceed your customers expectations most of the time. And that is to manage those expectations. Be in control. To put it simply, it is like competing in a race, AFTER you decide where the finish line should be.

Often times you don't know what their expectations are. It is almost impossible for you to win without this knowledge. If you help to establish the expectations you are far more likely to impress your customer.

Last week I was looking for some real estate in Chicago for my son. On Sunday I called a realtor. He told me he was at an open house, but would be back to his office later that afternoon and would email me some listings. He never sent me any emails that night and he didn't call me back until the next day. Clearly he set up an expectation that he didn't meet. Now the interesting part of this story is that I had no expectation about when he would get back to me BEFORE he set one in my head. At best since I was calling on a Sunday I assumed that he wouldn't get back to me before the next day. But he set an expectation in my head and he didn't follow through. He would have done better by saying " I will email you the listings tomorrow" and then email them to me that night. He would have set up my expectation and then exceeded it.

My orthopedic surgeon, when looking at the xray of my broken ankle, told me that this was a "good" break and there was no damage to the ligaments and that when the bone healed there would be no other problems. Imagine my surprise to still be limping four months later. He didn't manage my expectations well. If he had said "It looks like a simple break, but only time will tell how fast you get better" I would have been less unhappy with the outcome.

Think about what you promise your customer. Are you sure you can fulfill that promise? If not DON'T make it. Give yourself some wiggle room, give yourself some ability to "under promise and over deliver." Set your customers expectations so that you can always exceed them.

Laurie Brown is an international speaker, trainer and consultant who works to help people improve their sales, service and presentation skills. She is the author of The Teleprompter Manual, for Executives, Politicians, Broadcasters and Speakers. Laurie can be contacted through http://www.thedifference.net, or 1-877.999.3433, or at lauriebrown@thedifference.net.

At The Carwash The Customer Really Is Always Right

2009-02-14T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

You have no doubt heard the saying that the customer is always right. When you are a customer you happy with this position, when you are the owner of a small business, sometimes you see this is like opening Pandora's box. But for the sake of argument, let me add a caveat to that saying: "The customer is always right, even when they're wrong and you know it." After 27 years in the car wash and cleaning industry, I have heard it all. Here are some ways carwashes can mitigate upset customers.

Handling Complaints

When you handle a complaint, you need to treat the customer as though they are in the right for expressing their opinion, and since you are taking their money, they have every right to complain. You can handle these complaints by simply listening to what it is they have to say and offering suggestions as to how the problem can be fixed. Often fixing the problem might be very easy. Drips from a door jam or a streaked window is easily handled, and we've already suggested solutions and ideas to help that customer return with their business.

If you don't think you can fix the problem (for whatever reason), you can have them call the owner and let them handle any situation, and help mediate or settle any problem that might have occurred. This will not change their attitude towards the manager or employee, every business man knows you cannot please everyone. Some customers just like to complain and a little empathy goes a long way.

Removing A Customer

If a customer continually complains, and you've given them free car washes, discounts, and just about everything within your power, the next step is to give them a business card or referral to the most expensive car wash or detail shop in the area and say "I'm sorry, we're just unable to please you." Let them learn for themselves just how valuable and affordable your service is to them. They may be sorry for complaining and come back, but in the meantime you'll have removed them from your database and saved yourself weeks of problems. As well as eliminated an irate and irrational customer from tainting your image in front of your more decent clientele.

Bad Checks

Occasionally, maybe once a week, someone will write you a bad check. Usually it's under thirty dollars, and they'll really be embarrassed. The best thing, of course, is not to confront the customer in front of others. Never say to someone "You wrote me a bad check" in front of their co-workers or even people they do not know. This will embarrass your customer.

Simply mail the bad check back to the person who wrote it and request to be paid in cash the next time you see them. If it's a customer you've never seen before and think you never will again, mail it back to them and ask them to write another check 'now that your funds may be more sufficient.' We've found this to be the easiest way to handle a touchy situation. They'll usually feel bad and mail you the money back. If they don't, don't worry about it, just write it off and go on with being the best car wash company in the world. If a person seems to write bad checks consistently you should, of course, politely suggest to that person that business should be done on a cash-only basis.

Remember the customer is always right and they need to know that you know that, so show empathy and understanding and make them feel that you respect them and want their business at your carwash. Think about it.

Lance Winslow

The Truth About Really Great Customer Service

2009-02-13T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alan Fairweather

When was the last time you had really great customer service? Perhaps it was when you bought something in a store, checked in at a hotel or the airport or even made an enquiry over the phone.

When I ask this question of participants on my seminars, people respond with all sorts of great customer service stories.

They say things like - "The lady I dealt with was really warm and friendly" or "The guy in the store made me feel really important" or "They always remember my name when I go back to that shop." What al these comments have in common is that - they're all Human Level responses.

We tend to base our judgement of great customer service on how we're treated as humans. Very rarely do I hear - "The goods were delivered on time" or "They replaced my faulty items without a quibble." We tend take these Business Level responses as a given. It's the Human Level responses that influence us in terms of whether we'll use the service again and/or recommend it to others.

When dealing with other people be they Internal or External customers, it's important to open the conversation on a Human Level before doing the business; then say something during the interaction that is not about the business at hand. Then, when the business is complete, close the conversation on a Human Level. This is even more important when dealing with a customer who is upset.

It's just as important to deal with our Internal customers on a Human Level before discussing business. Start thinking about making your emails a bit more Human.

People nowadays will tell you that there's no time for Human Level responses and customers, both Internal and External, want you to cut straight to the business. However a short Human Level response can speed up the business and make your life so much easier.

So there you have it; human beings have a massive need for acknowledgement. We want to know that other people care about us, that we're important and we're accepted. If we satisfy that need in others by communicating on a Human Level as well as a Business Level, then all our interactions will be much more productive.

Alan Fairweather - The Motivation Doctor - is a professional speaker, author and business development expert. To receive your free newsletter and free ebooks, visit: http://www.themotivationdoctor.com

Great Products Great Service And Great People A Great Business

2009-02-12T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

Are you interested in having a Great Business? Sure you are and it is not as hard as you think. In fact consider if you will what the customer really wants. They want a friend to sell them a great product and give them terrific service. But as consumers and customers how often do we really get that?

Well not so often and when someone or some company gives that to us whether it is a small business or Large Corporation, well we tend to remember it don’t we? Even better we go tell all of our friends and add a “Buzz” or create fresh new word of mouth advertising for that company.

Consider yourself one of their many new salesmen and the better the products, service and people at that company are the more “Free” salesmen out promoting them. And let’s face it; testimonials from happy customers are in fact the best advertising any marketing consultant could ever come up with no matter how many marketing books he wrote, even if he wrote 3-marketing books; the fact is you cannot trump Great Products, Great Service and Great People in the market place.

No competitor or advertising specialist or even self-proclaimed marketing consultant can beat that. You see customers know when your employees have a fake smile and they know when they genuinely care. So when you have great employees, well they will know it and feel it.

People are not stupid when it comes to who is a friend and who is foe. As far as great products and great service, well you better have that or your competition will slaughter you. Consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Customer Service Actions Speak Louder Than Words

2009-02-11T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Andy Britnell

Obviously you communicate with customers by words, both written and spoken, but they are also picking up strong messages by other means which could have a significant influence on whether they choose to continue to do business with you.

What impression does the appearance of your staff give customers? Many traditional businesses still have strict rules on suitable clothes for work they know their staff are more likely to be taken seriously in formal dress than in jeans and T shirts. Conversely, creative and high-tech companies encourage casual clothing.

Similarly, absolutely everything which represents your business must convey a coherent message, whether it be your premises, vehicles, packaging or equipment. Any small glitch in the message, such as a dirty van with cigarette packets strewn on the floor, or poorly-maintained tools, can sow the seed of doubt in your customer's mind about your professionalism or integrity.

Body language can belie the words we are saying to customers. How much faith do you have in a sales assistant who avoids making eye contact? Would you happily approach them for help if they stood glaring at you with their arms crossed?

Your own attitude to your job influences the messages customers are picking up from you are they going to feel valued if you are having a bad day, or will they sense your distraction and impatience and take it personally?

The actions your business takes are the ultimate communication with its customers. If you have promised delivery by noon and nothing has turned up, it will be very hard to convince them that customer service is important to you. Better to under-promise and over-deliver.

For example, there is an internet book service I use regularly which informs me when my books have been dispatched and provides an estimated delivery date. Each time the package turns up a couple of days early. The result customer satisfaction and repeat orders, not to mention glowing recommendations to friends.

In the end, any customer will tell you that clever mission statements and expensive advertising are meaningless if the goods are not delivered or the sales assistant is offhand.

Andy Britnell specialises in sales and customer service training for the private and public sectors. Go to http://www.andybritnell.co.uk/ and you can sign up for my FREE short monthly newsletter and FREE e-mail coaching.

I coach corporate and SME clients who wish to achieve better results - see http://www.executive-coaching-for-business-growth.com/

Fun Email Quiz

2009-02-10T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Kelly Watkins

Are you creating a positive, professional impression when you email your co-workers and customers? Or, is Miss Manners shrieking in horror every time you hit the send button? Are you being efficient and effective when you send messages, or are you wasting time? To find out, take this fun quiz.

1. The tone of a professional email message should be:

a. Conversational.
b. Formal.
c. Casual like the tone you use with friends.
d. "Yo, dude! Whassup?"

Answer: A. You may be as casual as you like with friends, breaking all the grammar and punctuation rules you want. But, that isn't true for communicating with clients and colleagues. Business correspondence should be professional. In email, professional translates into conversational not too casual and not too formal.

2. One method to achieve a conversational tone is to:

a. Use slang terms and jargon.
b. Use contractions.
c. Use acronyms.
d. Stand up and yell across the office. See if you can start "the wave."

Answer: B. When you speak in a conversation, you use contractions. So, it's acceptable to use them in email to create a conversational tone.

3. When beginning to type an email, start with:

a. The addressee's email address.
b. The message.
c. The addressee's name.
d. "Yo, dude or dudette!"

Answer: C. Starting a message with the addressee's name is not only more personal, it will help avoid miscommunication and confusion. If you begin a message without the addressee's name, the person won't know if the message is intended for him/her.

4. When writing an email message, paragraphs should:

a. Be long.
b. Be short.
c. Be indented.
d. Be invisible no one can mess it up that way.

Answer: B. People aren't willing to invest time reading messages that appear too long or tedious. Short paragraphs appear easier to read because there is more white space. There is also less chance that the reader will miss a point.

5. The best way to make several points in an email is:

a. Include all the points in the first paragraph.
b. Include all the points in the last paragraph.
c. Use lists with bullets or numbers.
d. Put it on a banner and rent an airplane to fly over the office pulling the banner.

Answer: C. If you put more than one point in a paragraph, it may be overlooked. Lists and bullets make your points stand out. They are also easier for the person to see.

6. At the end of an email message, you should include:

a. Only your name.
b. Only your name and company.
c. All your relevant contact information.
d. A picture of your pet python and twin tarantulas.

Answer: C. Provide people with all the information they need to contact you in whatever way is most convenient for them. They may prefer the telephone or regular mail over email.

7. If you know the recipient reads emails quickly and is often in a hurry, the best way to send a supporting document is:

a. Paste it into the body of the message.
b. Attach it as a separate document.
c. Type slowly.
d. Have it delivered by carrier pigeon.

Answer: A. When the recipient is in a hurry, he/she will be less likely to open an attachment because it takes extra time. The person is more likely to read something that's pasted right in front of him/her.

8. When sending a message, you should copy ("cc"):

a. Everyone in the department just in case.
b. Your boss and your boss' boss so they know that you're working hard.
c. Only those people who absolutely need to know.
d. The whole world. Why not? Everyone else does.

Answer: C. The "cc" function is the most abused function in email. Don't be a pain!

9. When writing a Subject Line:

a. Use something general, such as "Greetings" or "Hello."
b. Be specific, but brief.
c. Use several sentences.
d. "If you don't respond, I'll send Uncle Guido to break your knee caps."

Answer: B. A generic Subject Line doesn't tell the recipient anything. The more specific you are, the better chance you have of getting the recipient to open the message.

10. To write a concise email message:

a. Omit wordy phrases.
b. Use very small font (8 point).
c. Type fast.
d. Omit every other letter. "Oi eey ohr lte."

Answer: A. An effective method for concise writing is to omit unnecessary words. For example, use, "now" instead of "in the immediate future" and "twice" instead of "on two different occasions."

11. When possible, email messages should be:

a. Extremely detailed, even if the message is quite lengthy.
b. Kept to one screen.
c. Forwarded to the author of a cartoon for future material.

Answer: B. Most readers won't take time to read more than one screen. The shorter the message is, the better chance you'll have of getting it read.

12. How much space can typically be viewed in the Subject Line?

a. 25 - 35 characters.
b. 25 35 words.
c. 50 75 characters.
d. 50 75 words.

Answer: A. Characters are defined as every letter or space. In other words, every time you move the space bar, it counts as one character. The subject line that appears in most people's email will display approximately 25 35 character.

13. When responding to a message regarding the best time for a meeting, you should select:

a. Reply All.
b. Reply.

Answer: B. The "Reply All" button will send a response to everyone who was sent the original message. They don't need to know your schedule. You should "Reply" only to the meeting coordinator. Then, he/she can select the best time and notify everyone.

Score:

13 = You're perfect. (But, you knew that already.) Keep emailing!

10 -12 = You're okay. Be a little more cautious, though. You could learn a few tips from my book, Email Etiquette Made Easy (http://www.keepcustomers.com).

7 - 9 = You could use some help. Try my book, Email Etiquette Made Easy (http://www.keepcustomers.com).

Less than 7 = Ugh! Call me now! We'll schedule your intense therapy immediately.

Kelly J. Watkins, MBA, based near Louisville, KY, offers motivational speeches and customized communication training. For lots of communication tips and articles (which you can reprint), visit: http://www.keepcustomers.com or call (812) 246-2424 or kelly@keepcustomers.com.

Career Advice Success Requires Management Of Change

2009-02-09T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ramon Greenwood

Change is certain and constant. Benjamin Franklin would have been wise to add "change" to his adage that "death and taxes are the only certainties of life."

We are inundated every day with new relationships, new ways to do things, new expectations and new information. The total of all knowledge doubles every five years. It has been estimated that 75 percent of all current workers will need retraining by the year 2010; today's high school graduates will have to be prepared to change jobs or careers at least 10 times in their lifetimes.

The way each of us handles change bears a direct correlation with our career success.

We can resist change deny its existence, keep on doing things in the same old ways because that's the way we've always done them. Then we will be buried with the other relics of the past, done in by what the author Alvin Toffler termed, "Future Shock."

We can merely accept change and go along with the world it produces for us. If so, we will dance on cue to whatever tune the fiddler chooses to play.

BECOME AN AGENT OF CHANGE

Or we can recognize that change is inevitable and embrace it. We can become agents of change, so we have a hand in shaping the environment in which we live and in determining our own success.

The alternative is obvious: be content to remain with the old and familiar, accepting the idea that the comfort of a known environment is worth being left behind as the world marches on.

In order to live with change, we have to realize that success is never finally achieved. Mountain climbers have a saying, "You never conquer a mountain. You stand on the summit a few moments, then the wind blows your footprints away."

Peter Drucker, the chief management guru, declares, " ... success always means organizing for the abandonment of what has already been achieved. There is no more difficult challenge."

This means to try new and unfamiliar ideas, untested ground, unthinkable thoughts. That is uncomfortable, but always exciting territory. But it can be dangerous. However, like it or not, that is where the gold is to be found.

Machiavelli wrote in The Prince in the early 1500's: "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new."

George Bernard Shaw wrote: "Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything."

Being an agent of change and a beneficiary requires flexibility and imagination, as well as courage.

CHANGE AND AMBIGUITY ARE HANDMAIDENS

But most of all, to prosper in a changing environment requires that we be able to thrive in ambiguity, because uncertainty is the constant handmaiden of change. Change and ambiguity go against the grain of human nature; many people simply can't tolerate that condition. They want everything in order and ready answers for all questions. Unfortunately, that is not the nature of organizations in flux.

The successful careerists will recognize this truth and see that uncertainties offer the opportunity for answers and for leadership. Confident in their abilities and the future, they will seize the moment.

No one ever said it would be easy. But common sense tells us that we have no choice about the fact that change at an ever increasing pace is a sure bet. We also know that unless we change ourselves and bring about change in the organization where we live and work there can be no progress.

Greenwood is a former Senior Vice President of American Express. For information about his E-Book on "boss relationshhips" and to subscriber to his f*ee semi-monthly newsletter contact him at ramon@commonsenseatwork.com

Bad Customer Service Horror Stories Watch Out Or Bloggers Will Be All Over It

2009-02-08T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tino Buntic

If you're in business today you best be watchful of your company's customer service, whether it be customer service via telephone, call centers, face-to-face, email, snail mail, or fax. Everybody loves to tell their customer service horror stories, including bloggers. But bloggers have a viral tool in their customer service wars; they can publish their stories on the internet for the whole world to see.

Take care of your customers, give great service, and you won't have a problem, unlike the following companies that were recently written about in blogs due to their bad customer service. How's this for customer service horror stories:

Don't travel British Airways unless you're referred to as Her Majesty: A blogger's sister was traveling to The United States, from India, via British Airways. British Airways required her to complete a food form on preferred food. On the flight, despite completing her food form well in advance, they had no food for her. The flight attendant suggested she share her food tray with the Indian guy beside her. I doubt Her Majesty would be asked to share her food tray.
Don't you dare try to cancel your AOL account: Apparantly, one of the most difficult things to do is cancel your AOL account. One blogger, having heard about AOL customer service horror stories, decided to tape his telephone call when he called AOL's customer service to cancel his account. The telephone recording made its rounds on the internet and has become hugely popular. AOL doesn't let you cancel. They go as far as being straight out rude and calling their customers' liars. It's right there on the recording. Solution: Don't bother signing up with AOL in the first place.
Don't put quarters into Wal-Mart gumball machines: One blogger wrote about being given a hard time when he asked a cashier to change a one dollar bill so that he could buy candy for his daughter from the gumball machines at the front of his store. He put a quarter in the machine. The machine got stuck and he couldn't retrieve his quarter. He wanted the quarter back, not for the money but for the principle. Wal-Mart's customer service asked him to complete a form before they could give him back his quarter.
Not in stock. Would you like a rain-check?: In one blogger's opinion, whenever grocery chain, Kroger, advertises an item to be on sale they never seem to have that item in stock when she visits the store. Readers get to read all about her dissatisfaction in her blog

As you can see, bad service these days gets noticed more than it did in pre-internet and pre-blog days. A dissatisfied customer can, now, tell the world about her experiences before getting a chance to cool off. Everybody has a bad customer service horror story. Let's just hope that if you're a business owner, there no bad stories about you.

Tino Buntic runs TradePals, a website providing free B2B sales leads without cold calling to business professionals across North America. Tino also enjoys reading blogs and two of his favorites include Lifehacker and Score More Sales.

Keep Your Business Promises Online And Offline

2009-02-07T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by David Malan

Keep your business promises, no matter how small they may be.

Sounds like the most basic of business principles, doesn't it? Why then do so few businesses keep their day to day promises? This is something I've always taken for granted in my business dealings, but my own recent experiences have highlighted how much of a real differentiator reliability can be to online and offline to businesses that excel in this area. If you want to make people remember and trust your brand, keep your promises, no matter how big or small.

Think about it this way. If your business website promises delivery within 24 hours, but your actual delivery time is 48 hours, what does that say to to your customers? Surely 48 hours is still a good turnaround time? Probably not to your customers, at least not any more. Simply put, you have created an expectation in your customers' minds, and your actual delivery has been 100% overtime on that expectation. If your site promised 48 hours, and you delivered on time, I doubt that your customers would pay attention nearly as much to the turnaround time as to the fact that you keep your business promises of timeous delivery.

Now, when it comes time for your customers to assess that big expectation of a one year guarantee on the quality of your products, it will certainly be skewed heavily by your performance on smaller promises to date. When it comes to the big promises, your customer will probably be having some serious doubts about your ability to deliver. After all, if you cannot keep your small promises, it's much more likely that you won't keep your big ones. That makes it very unlikely that customers will believe anything more that you say to them, simply because you didn't even keep a very simple promise made up front. That is bad for referrals, bad for repeat business, and bad for the general reputation of your business.

I recently had need to contract with a number of businesses for various facets of my wedding. Of those that promised to phone me back about something, most who made that promise never did, at least not within the time frame they promised to, and in some cases up to a week thereafter. In most cases I had to follow up and make sure that they delivered according to their promised deadlines.

One of the businesses that I contracted was a small, home-based catering business. When we visited them, we were treated like royalty, and I was promised a phone call on a specific date, a number of weeks into the future. Did I get my call on the specified date? Absolutely. In fact, at the time I was in a meeting with a client, and the caterer not only left messages on all available contact numbers, he phoned me again first thing the following morning, before I had even had a chance to return the messages. So, when it came to worrying about our catering, do you think I did? Not at all. I knew that this was one service provider who always kept his word. So while I spent a great deal of time keeping close tabs on the progress of some of our other suppliers, this was one that I knew I did not need to worry about.

Check the promises made on your website carefully. Are they well-intended but overly optimistic when it comes down to your actual ability to deliver? Do you promise high quality products and services that are actually only reasonable quality, but at a very good price? Chances are that if your sell them as what they really are you will get a far better match of customer expectations to actual results, which results in trust. And the results of customers trusting you is that they will refer you to their friends and make use of your services again, because they got what they expected the first time around.

Another point I should make here relates to first impressions and your first few interactions with prospective and new customers. I am consistently amazed by how many business still have "Contact Us" forms on their website that don't work, or that are not monitored for submissions. If a client emails you with a query, reply promptly and efficiently, and that is how they (probably correctly) will perceive your future communications with them when they really have a pressing need. When you promise to email or phone a customer on a specific date or time, make a note of it and stick to it rigidly. When you promise delivery of a product or service in a certain way, by a certain date, you can be sure that your customer will not be as forgiving as you would hope if you do not deliver as promised. If you really cannot deliver as expected, most people are reasonable if you give them a call to explain the problem, and assure them of your fullest attention at resolving it. Most people will still prefer to deal with a business that encountered difficulties delivering, but explained the problem and worked hard to resolve it, over a business that makes promises and only delivers in their own time.

Think about it. A few small basics that are neglected by your competitors can really make you stand out. After all, is it really that difficult to remember the small things like punctuality, courtesy and efficiency? If you don't, your customers certainly will!

David Malan is an internet and e-commerce expert with over ten years experience in designing and developing enterprise grade online solutions for business.

He owns and runs RealmSurfer Consulting, based in Perth, Western Australia.

Website: Web Design Perth About: About RealmSurfer Web Design Perth

The Power Of Open Consumer Feedback

2009-02-06T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jon Gropper

In the dynamic new world we live in, we might almost be forgiven for thinking that we are enslaved by technology and run over on the information highway. Yet, the other way of looking at it is how technology and all those doses of free-flowing information have empowered us, in ways previously unimaginable.

Nowhere is this new power bestowed on us more pronounced than in the world of business and marketing. The Internet has given a whole new impetus to viral and word of mouth marketing; in fact, one could say that it has led to the resurrection of these age old marketing methods. Today, news about a company or business- both good and bad- flows so quickly and with such momentum that it has the potency to create or destroy businesses.

Businesses that don't listen to what their consumers are saying and how the society rates them are bound to fail, sooner rather than later. In fact, consumer feedback and its impact on branding has become a recurring theme amongst marketing thinkers recently. A growing number of books and case studies highlight the correlation between the success of companies that are in tune with their customers' needs and feedback, or the rapid decline or fall from grace of companies that do not take customer feedback as seriously.

Most companies do have their own mechanisms to gather customer feedback in an organized and structured manner, but unfortunately many of these feedback mechanisms are designed to tell the companies what they really want to hear. Companies would be foolish to ignore the subtle signals from the market or the muffled voices of disillusioned customers floating around the Internet.

Such public feedback forums certainly have their skeptics and critics who question the creditability of comments that are not moderated. Anyone can say anything about anyone and get away with it, they say. Yet, these skeptics need to understand that the general public seems to have an uncanny knack of discerning right and wrong, and separating the genuine from the fake. Simply put, despite the susceptibility to manipulation, there seems to be a kind of auto-correction in operation that ensures that businesses can ignore their consumer sentiments voiced over public forums at their own peril.

Companies would do well to realize and accept at least the spirit of the statement: Business is for the consumer, by the consumer, of the consumer.

Jonathan Gropper is founder of ResponsePlanet.com, an open public forum for people to rate companies, businesses, music, movies and pretty much everything on the planet. ResponsePlanet.com aims to create a thriving online community for voicing opinions, letting out rants, writing reviews & blogs and even get considerable marketing mileage with free localized classifieds.

What Does A Thank You Cost What Is It Worth

2009-02-05T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Marte Cliff

You've known it all your life: Saying Thank You is a good thing. It makes people feel good, it makes people like you better, and it makes you feel good when you see a smile in return. Or better yet, a "Your welcome."

Unfortunately, in too many businesses those two words have fallen by the wayside. And they shouldn't. Some might argue that business isn't about feeling good, but I disagree. It is about making your customers feel good and glad to do business with you. It's about having employees who are glad to be with us and treat our customers well as a result. It's about us feeling good about our work, too.

And, since "no man is an island," we need our vendors and even our competitors to feel good about us. Saying thank you to them makes them more cooperative and more willing to help next time we need them.

Even better is adding a little compliment. Sometimes its hard to think of one - like when the girl in the deli hands your purchase over the counter. But if you try, you can. And you'll be shocked at the reward you get when you compliment someone who isn't used to hearing it. Their smiles can light the room. As a result, they'll feel good and do a better job all day. And - you'll feel good and do a better job all day.

Sales people, such as those in real estate and insurance, should take it one step further and send a note. It doesn't have to be long, and in fact it shouldn't be. Just say something such as:

Thanks for meeting with me on Tuesday. I enjoyed visiting with you and appreciated the tour of your home. I'd love to hang a "sold" sign out front for you!

Please call when I can be of assistance.

Retail sales people can achieve similar success with thank you notes. There was once a lady in a major department store who kept track of her customer's preferences and sent them a note when something new came in. After they came in she sent a thank you - even if they didn't make a purchase. Were her customers loyal? You bet they were. They wouldn't dream of shopping in that store when she wasn't on duty.

And then there was the furniture store man. His story is a lesson in using common sense. I purchased a recliner for my husband - the store owner even helped me trick him into trying one on for size so I'd get it right - and then he sent a thank you note immediately. So, my husband didn't see his recliner until Christmas, but he knew he was getting it two weeks earlier.

The rule is that a thank you note should be sent within 48 hours - especially if you're thanking people for donations - but do use common sense during the holidays!

Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter who specializes in writing for real estate and related industries - and in fund raising for animal rescue. Visit her at marte-cliff.com and sign up for a free monthly advertising ezine. Marte also offers a no-obligation critique of your present advertising.

Give Yourself A Vigorous Visual Audit

2009-02-04T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ron Kaufman

I recently visited my university alma mater in the United States.

This Ivy League institution is a powerhouse of education and research. But you wouldn't know it from the huge cracks and peeling paint on the walls of the Student Union.

The Student Union is not where traditional academic work is done; it's not a library or a lab.

But the Student Union is where students sip coffee and read the paper. It's where prospective students and their parents 'take in the atmosphere' and assess the student body. And it's where alumni go to feel proud of their college days and reconnect with the campus.

Millions are spent annually on research facilities and excellent faculty members, but not enough money is spent on simple maintenance to keep the Student Union looking sharp.

I was embarrassed by the dilapidation and left the campus disappointed.

Key Learning Point
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Give yourself a vigorous visual audit. Your customers do it every day.

Action Steps
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What can you do now to improve your visual image? How about: change the toner cartridge in your printer, cut away dead leaves on your office plants, update or remove old items hanging on the walls, find a better place to stash that box gathering dust in the corner, create an e-mail signature that projects a positive image, get a haircut, shine your shoes, throw out whatever is no longer current, replace every light bulb that isn't working, scrub down the walks and the handrails, put on a fresh coat of paint. Take a look around you. I am sure you can see many more.

Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling "UP Your Service!" and founder of "UP Your Service College". Visit http://www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at http://www.RonKaufman.com.

Customer Service Why Bears Make Bad Customers

2009-02-03T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Caroline Jordan

Every business owner should have a picture of his or her ideal customer. When I picture my ideal customer, I see a business owner struggling to find time for all that needs to be done, someone passionate about what they do, someone striving to find answers to make their business run better. By picturing this person in my mind, I am able to develop products and services that I know will benefit that customer. But what happens when a not-so-ideal customer enters the mix?

Recently, I moved from a suburban location to a very woodsy location. One of my first orders of business was to set up my bird feeders. In my mind, I saw my ideal customers as cheerful, little songbirds. I also knew that I would get my share of chipmunks, squirrels, and field mice. I knew the products I was providing (sunflower seeds and suet) would satisfy all those customers.

And then, along came the bear.

And with the bear, came trouble. Feeders emptied, poles knocked askew, and a suet feeder missing in action.

Now, I have nothing against bears on a personal level. They're really delightful creatures. They are also, however, dangerous and can cause a great deal of property damage. In short, the bear is NOT my ideal customer.

So, what do you do when you attract a customer who is too much trouble, too much work, and costs you far too much time and expense? For the health of your business and for your own sanity, you need to discourage those customers from using your services or buying your products.

That's a tough thing for most business owners to do. Especially when money is tight and you feel like you have to accept every sale. But the cost of trying to satisfy a customer who isn't the right fit will, in the long and short run, do more harm than good.

Suppose I decided to take on my bear as a customer. I would spend so much time, money and energy trying to feed my bear that my other customersthe ones I wanted to attract in the first placewould get no product or service. The bear would take up all of my resources and cause much damage along the way. He would become that exhausting, irritating, no fun to work with customer that we all end up with at one point or another.

Bears are easy customers to discourage. The birdfeeders come inside in the evening now, removing the primary attraction. If he still comes sniffing around, we'll progress to loud noises and other tactics that bears find obnoxious.

So, if you have a customer, like my bear, who is taking up all your resources without contributing to the success of your business, find ways to discourage him. Raise your prices, refer him to a competitor, or set clearer boundaries on your time. Doing so will allow you to take care of the customers who are the best fit for your business.

Are you a solo professional feeling Stressed, Disorganized? Tired of Working Long Hours for Less Than You're Worth? Struggling for Focus? Find out how one solo professional was able to Survive and Thrive in the Midst of Total Chaos. http://www.TheJordanResult.com .

How To Offer Delightful Customer Service Part 2 Listen

2009-02-02T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Terry Wisner

The display on the driver information center of my new car indicated the need for air in my right front tire. However, the petrol station which I generally frequent offers an air hose with no air pressure gauge attached. Therefore I needed to pay a visit to a local parts house and purchase a tire gauge. When I asked for said tire gauge, the sales clerk turned and quickly located a tire tread depth gauge and handed it to me.

Did the sales person give me what I asked for? Yes!

Did the sales person give me what I needed? NO!

Could he have asked a simple question to clarify my needs? Yes!

Was I delighted or disappointed?

One of the most important skills professional sales people must have is highly effective listening skills. Active listening will provide the listener with the customer's needs, wants, and more importantly their expectations. One of my favorite sayings is; "I have never heard of a sales person who listened their way out of a sale."

Let's take a look at some common skills used in effective listening. Following this quick review of the skills, an overview of the benefits will offered.

Keys to Effective Listening

Ask open ended questions-

If the goal in a conversation is to uncover the needs and wants of a customer, open ended questions are a must. Ask questions that start with; who, what, when, how, where, for example. One of my favorite open ended questions isn't a question at all. Simply ask the customer to "Tell me more about." and they will. The point here is to get and keep them talking. My friend in the story above could have asked one simple open ended question and solved my needs accurately. "What will you be using the tire gauge for?"

Be present-

When listening to others, this may be one of the most common mistakes people make. They do not listen. What I mean by that is, often people are distracted by outside factors. Factors such as; other conversations, background noise, other people near by, or even the overall environment can be a distraction.

Maybe the most overlooked distraction is an internal distraction. For example, many people can't remember the name of a person they just met. This happens because they are thinking of the next thing they are going to say, instead of paying attention to the person. They same thing happens to a sales person who is thinking of the next thing to say and not truly listening to the customer's point. Focus on the other person when they are talking, be present. Again, if the parts counter salesman would have thought for a second, it seems logical that a Joe Consumer would most often need an air pressure gauge and not a tread depth gauge. In fact, I didn't even know what it was when he handed it to me.

Paraphrase what you heard-

One of the preeminent listening skills is the ability to paraphrase what the customer has said. Not only does this send a strong signal that you are actually listening, but it instantly confirms the listener properly interpreted what was said. Although it may not be the best example, the salesman above could have stated the following: "So what I hear you saying is you need a tread depth gauge?" See how this would have clearly defined my needs for him?

Write it down-

Another strong listening skill is writing down a summary of what the client or customer is saying. Not only does this give you a record of what is being said, but it also shows you are intently listening to the other party. An additional benefit from scribing the points in a conversation is it will help you remember what commitments were made. If it is important enough, give a copy of your notes to the customer. This will garner greater commitment from them as well.

Now that we have reviewed a few of the keys to effective listening, let's visit how these skills help deliver delightful customer service. Effective listening will delight your customers because;

You will understand the customer's point of view.

Their needs, wants, and expectations will be clearly understood. Successful sales people uncover the need behind the need of their customer. A sales person that actually listens will also be aware of the value they provide from their customers perspective. There is an old saying that sales people should follow; "We must try harder to understand than to explain."

You will grow from the feedback you receive.

A good listener is generally more approachable and therefore will get honest feedback from their clients. The term "constructive criticism" is generally perceived as a negative, but developmental feedback can be received as a positive. If you have developed the ability to relate to your customers, as in Part 1 of this series of articles, they will be much more prone to offering sincere feedback. Customers can give a sales person feedback on the company's product, processes, and services, as well as on their personal selling style. Whenever a customer does provide feedback, be sure to inform them of any corrective actions you or your company took as a result. If feedback is given and nothing changes, the feedback will evaporate. And so will your customers.

You will learn more about the business.

It's that simple. The more you listen the more you learn. Listen to what the customer is saying about trends in the industry. As customers offer perspectives regarding their specific business, you can use that information to help other accounts. Look for every opportunity to learn from your customers and their employees.

Remember, customers don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Listening to your customers will show them you care.

In the 1500's, French essayist, Michel de Montaigne said: "Speech belongs half to the speaker, half to the listener." In order to deliver delightful customer service, the customer should speak far more than the sales person. The tire gauge story is somewhat one-dimensional, but it serves as a basic model to help understand the importance of effective listening. Using the aforementioned keys to effective listening will result in delightful customer sales and service. Don't give your customers a tread depth gauge when they require an air pressure gauge. Ask questions and listen to the response, you will understand, grow, and learn. All while delighting your customers.

Terry Wisner, the "Partnering Pro," International Speaker, Consultant, and author, shares his experience and knowledge through energetic, entertaining, and enlightening presentations and seminars. If you want your Sales and/ or Service team members to delight their customers, call Terry. If you want to increase customer retention, call Terry Wisner. If you want to attract new customers, call Terry Wisner, the "Partnering Pro." Your team members will learn how to delight your customers every time and how to encourage each other to do the same.

Visit Terry at http://www.terrywisner.com or http://www.p2s.us and learn more about Partnering and how it can help you and your organization succeed.

Talk Is Cheap

2009-02-01T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Rick Stephens

It has been my experience that most companies do not go far enough when it comes to communicating with their customers. Communicating effectively with your clients can be one of the most significant customer satisfiers in your arsenal.

I was working with a company that provided shipping services. The customer would call this business to pick up a package and process it via UPS or FedEx. As part of their process, they would record the incoming call from the client, schedule a pickup, leave the client a receipt for the pick up, and take the package back for processing. The next morning, all of the tracking codes for the packages that were shipped the previous day were emailed to the appropriate sender.

Over time the business began loosing customers. As it turns out, the customers were contacting UPS and FedEx themselves, bypassing the business and paying more to ship their package. Upon investigating why the customers were defecting, the company was told that by contacting the carriers directly, they felt more at ease that the package was on its way because the carriers would give them the tracking number immediately.

The business made a simple change in its process and restored most of their customers. Instead of waiting until the next day to send the tracking numbers, they began sending them immediately after processing the package. In addition to this communication, they implemented another step that let the client know as soon as the package had arrived at the processing location following the pickup. By implementing these two simple communications they were able to eliminate the uncertainty their customers were experiencing.

Never underestimate the power of communication. It is an easy way to turn satisfied customers into loyal customers. Talk is cheap and a great way to gain customer confidence.

To Your Success -

Rick is a recognized business advisor and consultant. He specializes in working with small to mid-sized business owners to strengthen their business processes and ultimately grow their business. Rick has been accredited by the Institute for Independent Business, an International accrediting body for senior executives.

Rick holds an MBA from the LeTourneau University located in Longview, Texas.

Rick Stephens is the Principle Advisor of the Consulting firm RG Stephens & Associates located in Plano, Texas. Rick offers business owners the opportunity to meet confidentially to discuss any business issue they may be experiencing. His initial meeting is always free and without obligation. Call him at 972-578-7895 or via his website at http://rgstephens.com to arrange for an appointment.

Making Customer Satisfaction Surveys Work

2009-01-31T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Martin Day

Why bother?

Good customer service is the life blood of any business. Although new customers are important good customer service will help generate customer loyalty and repeat business. With each satisfied customer your business is likely to win many more customers through recommendations and remember, if you are not taking care of your customers, your competition will.

A Customer Satisfaction survey will help you not only identify problem areas but will also demonstrate to your customers that you care and are proactive in looking for ways to improve the service that you provide.

Where to start?

Objective - Before you start compiling your survey you should first consider what the objectives of the survey are, in that way you will remain focused and find it easier to decide what questions to ask.

Analysis - In addition to the objective consider also how you will analyse the answers having completed the survey. Keep in mind that 'closed' questions (where the respondent is asked to choose from a limited number of responses) are easier to analyse than 'open' questions (where the respondent can reply in anyway they want). Much will depend on the volume of respondents, the higher the volume the more important it is to have an easy method of analysing the results.

Opportunity Keep in mind that as well as obtaining valuable market research data customer surveys are also a good way to publicise aspects of your service that your customers may not be aware of. After you have drafted your survey read through the survey from a market research view point and check that you are asking the right questions in the right way and that with the feedback information you will be able to make informed decisions. Then, read through the survey from a marketing view point, check that you have phrased each question so that every opportunity has been taken to promote your business? The ideal question will perform the following three functions:-

Market research - provide valuable feedback to help you improve your customer satisfaction levels and in turn your business
Marketing - promote aspects of your business
Information/Education - advertise a service that you provide that your customers may not have been unaware of

For example:- Do you find the in-store baby changing facilities useful?

By asking this question not only will the store receive good feedback on the facility they provide but they will also advertise their baby changing facilities and promote themselves as a family friendly store beyond those customers who have a specific need for the facility provided.

Warts and all to benefit most from a customer survey you need to be prepared to dig deep and accept the worst. A customer satisfaction survey should be designed to highlight problems so that they can be addressed; regular customer satisfaction will prevent complacency and will also give early warning on where your competitors initiatives may be loosing you business.

What to ask?

Although each business is likely to have specific and unique factors that are important in providing good customer services there are common areas that are relevant to all businesses be they a physical store, Internet based or a service industry. The following are some key areas to providing good customer service.

Communication - Do you make it easy for the customer to communicate with you? When a customer telephones is the phone answered promptly; are enquiries about products or services properly handled? A good business will make every effort to ensure that whatever the customers query it is resolved by the right person, quickly, politely and fairly. If a problem is not resolvable immediately do you promise to respond in a given time period and do you deliver on your promise? Use a customer satisfaction survey to confirm that all your staff are perceived by your customers as being helpful, courteous and knowledgeable.

Location Do your customers find it easy to visit you, if a physical store, is it conveniently located with good access?

Making it pleasant, making it easy - For a virtual business it is important to ensure that your website is aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. Physical store or website, is the store properly laid out, can your customers find what they need and is there sufficient information and help on hand to explain how a particular product works?

The right quality products Not only should you measure the quality of the service that you provide but you should check that the products and services that you market are what the customer wants and closely match their expectations.

Value for money Cheap or expensive is not always a good measure, value of money is. Do your customers equate your business with value for money, if not, why not?

Speed and attention No matter what the business, the majority of customers will want to be dealt with quickly but attentively. Are you doing everything you can to avoid delays? Good businesses will try to treat each customer as an individual, does yours? Attention is one thing but this has to be hand- in-hand with a quick and satisfactory resolution of the query.

Demographics and Specific issues Take the opportunity to profile your customers, for example where do they live and what is their age group? The more you try to understand your customers the better you will be able to target your business. Within the survey allow customers to highlight specific problems and provide contact details.

What next?

Having completed the survey analyse the results.

Trends Look for common and specific areas where the service is failing. Ask yourself if the criticism is valid and is there anything that can be done to resolve or minimise the problem?

Training Are the staff properly trained and do they have sufficient knowledge? Where staff training programmes have been implemented have they had a positive impact on the business?

Follow-up If a customer who has completed a survey has raised a specific issue ensure that they are contacted and their complaint addressed. Don't loose an opportunity to resolve a problem and keep a customer.

Continuously Monitor - Make-changes and then measure by issuing further surveys.

The following sample customer satisfaction survey for a store demonstrates some of the areas discussed please visit: Sample Survey

Martin Day is a Director of Survey Galaxy Ltd a web site that allows anyone to create, design and publish online surveys. For more information please visit http://www.surveygalaxy.com

The Best Kept Secret To Improved Customer Service Is To Let Your Employees Soar

2009-01-30T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Leanne Hoagland-Smith

In today's tight business market, companies continually try new strategies in developing loyal customers. Maybe the hints within this acronym will help improve your customer service and potentially increase both your customer loyalty and employee retention S.O.A.R.

S Specific Job Descriptions

Good customer service begins by thoroughly having your employees understanding the expectations in their roles as "The First Contact." All job descriptions should accurately reflect the entire performance expected, include the skills required to perform all tasks; provide a narrative explanation in how the skills are utilized on the job; contain any additional shared job responsibilities; and demonstrate how performance is evaluated and measured.

O Orientation

Customers want employees who understand the policies as well as how to deliver the products or services. Loyal customers do not want to hear phrases such as "That's not my department" or "I'm new here and I don't know." New employee orientation should not only explain the physical structure of the organization and policies, but also include the culture of the organization. HINT: A clearly articulated vision, mission and value statements would be helpful to all new employees.

A Achievement

Customers react positively when they see name badges with awards or a special designation to distinguish the outstanding customer service employees. New Employees should have the opportunity to see the achievement of existing employees and more importantly the value that such achievement provides to the company. Newsletters, awards are some of the ways to recognize employee achievement.

R Reinforce

Customers value management that is also customer service focused. Management is not only responsible for reinforcing a workplace environment in which the employees wish to return, but more importantly in modeling the desired behavior. As the old saying goes: employees don't leave companies, they leave managers!

REMEMBER: Your desired end result is loyal customers. This begins by improving your customer service training and possibly your employee retention will SOAR as well. If you don't believer this to be true, maybe the words of W. Edwards Deming, who is recognized by some as the father of Total Quality, will help your company understand the value of excellent customer service "Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service and that bring friends with them."

If doubling your results or performance is important to you in real time, then visit http://www.processspecialist.com/seminars.htm to explore the types of customer service training that can be delivered on site and tailored to meet your needs. Sign up for a free monthly newsletter. Please feel free to contact Leanne at 219.759.5601. If you truly don't believe doubling your results is possible, read some case studies where individuals and businesses took the risk and experienced unheard of results at http://www.processspecialist.com/press.htm

How Crm Software Works Creating Customer Satisfaction With A Click

2009-01-29T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lucy P. Roberts

When people ask, "What is CRM?" the literal answer is, "Customer Relationship Management," but that doesn't really convey much in terms of what all CRM does for a business. This CRM definition is too narrow to really explain everything the system does if it is working to its fullest potential and is user-friendly enough to expand and grow as a customer-client relationship changes and grows.

CRM in the broader sense encompasses not only customer relationship management itself but how customer relationship management is handled and the most important elements of a CRM program that are essential to its being successful. The range of CRM software options vary from those that provide simple customer tracking and live chat capabilities to the more complex CRM solutions that can integrate all of the customer relationship data an enterprise has on each client past, present and future in a dynamic information data network.

What should I look for in a CRM software package?

If there's an ideal CRM software package that works for every company and every situation, it hasn't been discovered yet, simply because every company has slightly different needs for their customer relationship management needs as well as software implementation.

In general, however, when you are looking for a strong CRM software package there are a few things to keep in mind. If you are shopping for a CRM package, try to forget about the initial price tag at first (as difficult as this may be) and focus on the adaptability, usability and integrity of each system you evaluate as it relates to your particular needs. A few things to consider:

What are the most important facets of customer relations are we looking to address, and does this CRM software support tracking and updating all aspects of this? For example, if your company wants to customer service to have ready access to changes in customer spending habits and an opportunity to offer new product options based on these records, make sure this capability is built into the software. Customization down the line will be time-consuming and expensive -- if you have a primary goal, make sure it is standard in your CRM software package.
Will the CRM software package integrate smoothly with all platforms currently in use at your company? If you will have to re-enter all databases such as client names, addresses and phone numbers, this will significantly increase the amount of money you'll spend in the long run. Make sure that you can either integrate smoothly or import all information needed flawlessly.
Is the product more than you need? An enterprise solution that offers fifteen functions you don't need and never will isn't a bargain if you will never expand into that market niche. Just because it's available doesn't mean you have to have it. Selling custom-sewn hats? You won't need a CRM software package for tracking million-dollar overseas accounts.
Has this CRM software package been used for a company of your size before? If it has been used for companies up to 10,000 and you have 150,000, the system may simply not be able to sustain the volume of data and crash or develop glitches. Look for something more powerful with a support system capable of understanding the size of your company.

Can you build me a dream CRM software package?

Hmmlet's see. The best CRM software package would be optimally functional across all platforms and have its own customer support backing it, and . Well, let's take a look at our own list of what we'd really like in a CRM software package if money was no object and we could "have it all," so to speak:

A CRM software provider that has partnerships with other vendors for support in the event you need it for integration of platforms.
Extensive training from certified CRM software technicians who will walk your people through the process of setting up, using and training others on the system.
Full data migration capabilities to and from all programs in current use to the new CRM software.
Offsite server storage backup for all information in the CRM system for added security.
A toolbox for company programmers for customizing templates for company use -- this will save huge amounts of time by eliminating the need to write custom codes from scratch.
Either in-house consultants or a choice of contracted consultants they recommend (try not to be at the mercy of one consultant when there is a problem).
A CRM software package designed by a company familiar with our specific industry and its structural needs.

The best CRM software packages enable customer service representatives to review the account information of each client or customer when they are talking to him or her and immediately understand something about that person's needs, wants and spending patterns.

For banks, CRM software can indicate their banking patterns -- are they investing through the bank? Have they recently looked into a money market fund? Do they have substantial funds that could be put to better use than languishing in a simple CD?

A mail order company can note your shopping tendencies and make Christmas shopping suggestions based on past purchases by seeing that you buy a lot of kids' clothes and that you spend about $200 each holiday. Used correctly, a toy company can steer you toward some bargains and suggest alternatives, enriching your shopping experience and building customer loyalty.

Why does CRM software fail so often after it's put into place?

You've heard the stories about a company buying a CRM software package and then realizing it hasn't really changed anything. The big-wigs are disappointed, customer service is frustrated, and the clients are aggravated with the new changes that don't seem to show any improvements in customer service or client relations. How does it happen?

Because CRM software was purchased that wasn't appropriate, was purchased too soon, or wasn't implemented properly. If you don't purchase CRM software that specifically addresses what your customer concerns are, you may have software that is very detailed in an area you don't need and somewhat lacking in exactly what you do need.

Purchasing too soon means you bought the software before you had evaluated what you really wanted. Many companies by CRM software with a goal "to improve customer relations," which is not a clear business goal! You should have a very specific, well-defined objective that your CRM software solution can address, and you company should have developed a formal objective before you went shopping for a solution. Retaining customers? Improving the size of current customer portfolios? Penetrating a new market niche? Reduce customer complaints? Improve customer repair response? Determine what it is you want to focus on as a goal, and then choose your CRM software solution based on how it will address it.

Finally, implementation of a new CRM program requires proper management support and effective training. That means that management must be behind it one hundred percent, and not have "head in the sand" approach where they determine that "that's for customer service, I never did understand that stuff," and avoid learning how the CRM software works. It is an attitude that will pervade the company.

Second, training is essential and must encompass the company to ensure that all levels of personnel will embrace the new system and understand the genuine need for it and the real goal of what you are trying to achieve with your new CRM software solution.

Some CRM software options for small and medium sized businesses

For small and medium businesses, the most common customer relations management software request is for anything that enhances online communications and improves the time between a customer complaint or question and resolution of the issue for them.

For many companies, there are software solutions that can be purchased or downloaded to be used through their Internet website for basic services such as online customer support through live chat and customer assistance with online purchasing that is both efficient and relatively inexpensive. If your need is primarily to improve sales volume, improve response to customer questions and complaints and to make your company website more personalized, look into these solutions that are at the lower end of the price spectrum while providing solid CRM products:

LivePerson offers two different versions, Basic and Enterprise that provide live chat, email and a variety of interactive forms customized to meet companies' needs for customer relations. This company has developed live chat solutions and online forms for everything from universities to financial services firms. This company provides a wide range of services, including online marketing, case studies, and software designed to improve online shopping cart capabilities.
LiveHelper offers many of the same features, and adds real time traffic monitoring and other data assessment features as well. For the price, LiveHelper is a very good CRM software value.
GroopZ includes customer routing software so that you can transfer entire chat strings from one customer service rep to another if you need be, along with an efficient filing system for chat transcripts and customer records. For improving customer relations, the software support suggests pre- and post-service questions for all customers who contact you.
Also included are templates you can set up with specific, pre-scripted answers to frequently asked questions in online chat to save customer service representatives time and make the process clearer and more efficient. This company does a bit more customizing on the front end to fit your needs, and pricing is adjusted accordingly.
SupportWizard gives you three CRM options that give you some flexibility -- you can buy, lease or let them host your customer service/relations solutions. Interactive FAQs, live chat, standard answers to frequent questions, and Boolean search capabilities to review past interactions all make this package extremely effective. SupportWizard also has more customizable features than some, including an "escalation alert" that can be tailored to specific situations when a supervisor would be notified if a customer service situation exceeds certain parameters.
This is one of the more expensive packages available, but rather than a monthly fee you are paying for lease or outright purchase options, so factor this into the cost. You will also get spectacular customer support and constant upgrades and patches when necessary. The integration of email, live chat and telephone information into one database is also a plus with SupportWizard.
BoldChat offers free CRM software for online customer service chat that you can use for a limited time, and offers a $9.95/month and a $39.95/month customized version of their CRM software. Both offer live customer service chat, but one adds customized windows and more options on buttons and the number of available customer service reps you can add.
CSLive offers the most comprehensive CRM software solution available for small and medium businesses, with live chat, email, and the usual customer service features you expect from a small business CRM solution, but with plenty of extras. CSLive also offers an extensive tracking and filing system, an Internet server site where you can upload and store files of customer help articles that customers can be referred to that can by emailed directly to clients by your reps. Throw in the message center and online meetings, and this is practically an enterprise sized solution at a small business price of $29.95 a month.

CRM software, whether on a monthly user basis or purchased outright and downloaded onto your own server, will make serving and understanding your clients and customers a more productive experience, and you will all be happier for it.

About the Author

Lucy P. Roberts is a successful freelance writer providing practical information and advice for businesses about everything related to CRM software solutions and live chat software. Her numerous articles include tips for saving both time and money; product reviews and reports; and other valuable insights about the customer relationship management industry. Learn more about the history of CRM and related topics when you visit CRM-Software-Guide.com today!

Your Existing Clients How A Few Clicks Amp Good Response Time Will Save You

2009-01-28T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Anthony Jewell

As you develop your company you will start to pick up clients online. This is when you will start seeing the rewards of your efforts but also when you will start to learn the lessons that will shape your company and its success down the line. This article is to show you how a few minutes of your time and a few clicks of your mouse will save you alot of headaches as well as stress. It is something that we all take for granted but will help make your company more successful and keep your clients happy.

It is as simple as just a few clicks of your mouse. Whether you check emails morning, noon or night you need to get into a routine that allows you to respond back in a reasonable amount of time. So if you are going to respond back to clients in 1, 2, 5, 10, 12, 24 or 28 hours then you need to make sure you are consistent with this. This will build trust in your clients. It will also let them know when to look for mails from you. Always try to respond back in 48 hours or less. The sooner the better. It will make your clients feel safe with their decision to use your company but it will also let them know that you are there for them and that you care about them.

Now you may be thinking that I am making too much out of your response time. Well you could be right and I could be wrong, but more then likely I am right. I know, I know, I hate it when I am right too. I speak on this from personal experience of dealing with clients as well as being a client. Responding back in a timely manner will save your clients frustration as well as worries that they won't hear back from you ever again(you will be surprised how many will think this way). It will also show that you are a professional running a smooth operation.

This is show to be especially true when ever they send you a payment. Never wait more then 12 hours to respond back to your clients when you have received a payment. As soon as they send the payment a little bit of doubt will creep into their mind wondering if you are trustworthy, proove that you are. Unless you have told them otherwise of why your response may be late, get back to them the same day if you can. This will build trust in them as well as their confidence in you and will only make your working relationship better down the line.

This information and practice will prove most valuable when you are dealing with more then one client. You will be able to organize yourself so that you will follow the proper protocols to handle each situation. Your business will run smoothly, your clients will be happy and most important you will be successful!

Anthony Jewell has over 6 Years experience in the Web & Graphics World. You can visit my business at http://www.logo2d.com

Did Your Customer Come For The Customer Service

2009-01-27T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

As a consumer we often shop at our favorite stores and go to our favorite restaurants. Many times we make a choice solely based on the customer service we get and other times it is a combination of customer service and product. Nevertheless, the customer service aspect of it all is paramount and what keeps us coming back.

As business owners we must remember these things and why customers come to our establishments or hire out our services. Ask yourself when looking at a customer; Did your customer come for the customer service? Are they here right now because they wanted to do business with you because you treat them right?

If your answer is yes that is good, but your job is not done, perhaps you should ask them privately why they like the service and if there is anything you could do better. This will reaffirm their commitment to you as a customer and give you super valuable insight. Of course if you fail to ask them then it is all a guessing game and you will never know.

Not all customers have the same preferences and many customers use your service or buy your products for different reasons. You need to know what all these reasons are and concentrate on making them so, this way you can enjoy happy customers who are pleasurable to work with and enjoy the referrals they bring you as well. Consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

The Sellers Creed

2009-01-26T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Rick Beneteau

I will not make sales. I will make Customers.

I will target the heart of my Customer. Never their wallet.

My Customer is the lifeblood of my business.

Though I may sell my Customers what they want, I will deliver what they need and make their lives better.

Courtesy and Service are cornerstones of my relationship with my Customer.

I will view complaints as opportunities . . . opportunities to create lifelong Customers.

The quality of my products and how I treat my Customers will determine the level of My Success.

My prosperity will come from 'growing' people.

My best advertisement is my product, and, the Customer service behind it.

Making money without making friends is not good business.

I will guide my business with the perfect blend of heart and mind.

I will make Integrity my trademark. After all, isn't integrity all I have and all I will be remembered for?

I will compete only against myself as the only true measurement is against myself.

It is fine to fail. In fact, it is most often a requirement of success.

My reputation is everything - my ego, nothing.

Every pittance I earn unjustly is a debt of fortune I must repay.

No matter the fame or fortune that may follow me, My values, My family and My friends must remain at the very core of my being.

Better I be trusted and respected, than be materially rich.

Better I be a dolphin swimming with sharks, than a shark.

(you can download an mp3 of The Seller's Creed here: http://www.bettersalesrightnow.com/creed.mp3)

Rick is co-creator of the breakthrough Make Every Day A Great Day Program. Read the powerful, life-changing testimonials and discover how this revolutionary product can dramatically change Your Life too! http://www.MakeEveryDayAGreatDay.com/yes

Positive Proactive Communication

2009-01-25T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ron Kaufman

Every insurance company in the world is concerned about 'persistency', keeping policies in force by making sure clients pay their premiums year after year.

A small increase in persistency can yield a very large boost in company profits.

I have policies with several insurance companies. Every year I am stunned by the incredibly impersonal notices I receive stating: 'Premium Due'.

These communications seem to regard me as nothing more than an account number, a payment amount and a due date. As a prospect, I was engaged as a real person with needs and concerns, hopes and dreams. I was treated as a valued partner in the necessary world of personal financial planning.

Now that the policy is in force, I am just an invoice.

Here's what I would much prefer. (If you have an insurance policy, you might appreciate it, too.)

Ten months into the year, two months before the premium is due, a smart insurance company should send me a simple customized letter. Something like this:

Dear Mr. Kaufman,

In two months the annual premium for your insurance policy number 123456 will be due.

I want to take a moment now to congratulate you on your decision to keep this policy in force, and to remind you of the many benefits you have been receiving, and will continue to receive, throughout the year.

In addition to basic financial protection for you and your family members, your insurance policy has provided you with (include all of the following that apply):

a guaranteed savings program

effective retirement planning

education planning for your children

risk coverage against death or disability, and

precious peace of mind.

Each year at this time, we ask valued clients like you if any major changes have occurred during the past ten months.

Have you added a new family member? Have you received a promotion or otherwise increased your income? Have you purchased a new home or automobile? Have any of your family members or friends recently married?

If any of these changes have occurred, we encourage you to speak with your insurance agent (name here), who can be easily contacted at (contact details here).

Once again, we congratulate you for maintaining the benefits of your valuable insurance program. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your agent, or our office directly at (contact details here).

With best regards,

(Fill in the blank with the name of a smart, positive, pro-active and profitable insurance company.)

Key Learning Point
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whether you are in education, marketing, retail, logistics, government service, entertainment or insurance, communicating positively and proactively with your clients makes sense.

Action Steps
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't wait until the last minute. Make an effort to stay in touch with your customers and clients with positive news and proactive views.

Think Positive Care For Your Customers

2009-01-24T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Abe Cherian

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as the byline is included and the article is included in it's entirety. I also ask that you activate any html links found in the article and in the byline. Please send a courtesy link or email where you publish to: support@multiplestreammktg.com

Operating a business on a daily basis dealing with customers can actually be frustrating and they often don't make it easy for you and your employees to treat them nicely.

You need to remember where all your revenue and sales come from for your business. Every dollar in sales that your business gets comes from these customers that can sometimes be frustrating. You want to treat them well and hope that maybe they'll return another day happy and satisfied and bring family and mends.

The old saying, "The customer is always right", is really not true. One unhappy customer, through word of mouth, can translate into a lot of lost customers. Just because customers aren't telling you how good you are, often times you think, "Everything must be okay." They may not come to you and say, "That was a horrible experience, but they might tell their family and friends that." Silence is not golden.

Each person really has different theories on this, but they have the potential to tell just one or many other people positive or negative things about your business. Look at a happy customer as free advertising. You might already know how much it costs for advertising.

It's been said that an unhappy customer will tell a minimum of 1-10 people their negative experience. Think about that. 1-10 people automatically not doing business with you. That might change the way you respond to someone. Just maybe a receptionist having a bad day and being rude on the phone - that person telling 1-10 people about that and they will never do business with you.

The first step to a better relationship is to realize customers aren't different from anyone else. They are people with feelings, reactions, wants and desires. They've been studied for the last 50 years and during that time, more than any other time in history. It's your job to understand human drive, passions, emotions, fears and target those emotions.

You want to always be looking for a response from them good and bad. Every bad response you get from a customer is an opportunity to improve.

The second step is to reverse your "Money Plan" that is always thinking of them as money machines. You want to think, "How can you get them more - better - faster - easier - less expensive - higher quality - longer service- better benefits - more options - and more desirable things that they want?"

In order for this to work you must think of your profit will come as long as you are running the business properly. You can't think like this for long without ending up with more value in your business or product or service. A greater number of customers that are doing more business with you, doing it more frequently, and they're doing it more often for a longer term and they're giving you referrals. Treat your customers like you want to be treated.

Abe Cherian is the founder of Multiple Stream Media, a leading performance-based Internet advertising company dedicated in helping small businesses create online presence, brand recognition and online automation. Main company web site: http://www.multiplestreammktg.com

How Well Do You Know Them

2009-01-23T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jeffery Glaze

It is often said that it is not who you know that matters, it is who knows you. Well I would like to extend this statement by saying that it is not only who you know and who knows you, but how well do you know them and they you?

In business, networking is the ultimate form of promotion. It can help you to obtain new clients, a new job, or even help you to move up the corporate ladder. It is the process of building relationships. Any time that you attend a meeting, trade show, or a social function, you are networking whether you realize it or not. It is the relationship that you have with people, a prospect or a client that makes the difference between success and failure.

Often we fail to realize the reasons that we have for doing business with an individual or a company. In the case of products that we regularly buy, what helps us to make the buying decision? There are those that will buy a specific brand of product because they trust that brand to be of a high quality or durability. There are others that will make a buying decision based on price, although this is less frequently the case. Often we simply do business because we feel good about it. In fact most purchases or decisions to do business are based on two things. Trust and comfort. Trust is a very intangible emotion or feeling. How do you measure it? How do you develop it?

Trust is measured by the feelings that are generated by a process of letting someone get to know more about you than just product, features and price. I know a gentleman who provides a seminar on selling to C-level executives. He says that to sell to the C-level executive you have to be more than a salesperson selling a product or service. To sell to the executive level, you have to be more of an advisor. You have to find needs other than the ones that you can fulfill and help them to fulfill these needs. In doing this, you become a "trusted advisor". They feel "comfortable" that you have their interests in mind more than just making a quick sale and a commission.

In our daily process of seeking prospective clients, do we often just look for a person to pitch, or do we spend a bit more time getting to know them before we try to sell?

When we take the time to know a persons desires, dreams, and needs, and make an honest effort to help them realize that these things are important to us, we are really on the fast track to doing business with them. We are building the trust, confidence, comfort level, and most importantly the relationship that is needed to not only make the sale, but to create in them a resource for endless referrals.

As we go into the community meeting people who are prospective clients, we should keep the following in mind. The customer is a person just like me. The customer has needs other than the one that I can fulfill. Until I understand what the ultimate goal or dream of the prospect is, I cannot fulfill it with my product or service.

Selling and networking are about relationships. You sell in everything that you do whether you realize it or not. The time is now for more effective selling. Change the way you think about the prospect and the prospect will change the way that they think about you.

Jeff Glaze is the Editor of http://www.AtlantaEvent.com, founder of http://www.privacy-first.com e-mail certification program and the author of several e-books. His company, Mostcool Media Inc.( mostcoolmedia.com ), specializes in marketing planning, coaching, business networking training, web and media development. His e-book "The Six Xtremes Of Power Business Networking" is available here: http://www.atlantaevent.com/ebook.htm Jeff Glaze is available to speak to your group and can be contacted at 678.508.5975 Copyright © 2006 by MostCool Media Inc.

Your Competitive Edge

2009-01-22T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ken Lodi

Today's retail marketplace has become an aggressive playing field. The internet provides consumers with a new medium for purchasing a world of products and services, and retailers with a new frontier to engage and retain customers. This competitive marketplace has allowed consumers to sit back and watch retailers slug it out until one brand remains standing. If most retailers deliver on what they promise, what are the attributes that make us partial to a brand? The winning brands sweat the small stuff.

Coffee Anyone?
Coffee has been around for centuries. Dunkin' Donuts got its start in 1950 and began selling "America's Best Coffee." I sat in a Dunkin' Donuts twenty years ago and read the Sunday paper. How did they fall behind Starbucks? Starbucks put their brand on the world map by creating a process and culture caffeine hounds couldn't resist. How? Starbucks sweats the small stuff.

Starbucks shifted the retail mission from coffee transaction, to coffee relationship. Baristas aren't happy to make you a cup of coffee; they are delighted to present you with one of their creations. Their employees report they can recall many first names of morning regulars and how they prefer their coffee. They handle the rush of customers with the flair of New York City bartenders. This kind of employee performance can make you believe you can taste the difference in their coffee.

The genius of this retailer began with empathizing with coffee drinkers. What else would customers appreciate with their beverage? Starbucks expanded their breadth of products to include breath mints, bottled water and even their own brand of music CD's. They created an experience people were inspired to revisit. An environment replete with "little things" (products and services) made a major difference to the average Joe visiting for his cup'o joe. That shift in thinking built an empire.

The Auto Wins the Lotto
Car dealerships have been around for seventy years. At the time of this writing, there are about 270 LEXUS dealerships in the countrycompared with 5,000 Ford dealerships. LEXUS is the number one selling luxury nameplate in the U.S. Why has their success been a steady, steep climb since its conception in 1989? LEXUS sweats the small stuff.

Consider a car buying and servicing experience from a customer's point of view. What affects where you decide to take your business? LEXUS conducted a comprehensive study and put their findings to work. It doesn't make sense to guess at what people want, or try to condition customers to like what we offer. If the dogs don't eat the dog food, all else is immaterial.

At your typical LEXUS dealership, you can sit in a comfortable customer lounge, and enjoy a cappuccino while watching CNN on a flat screen television. Still not impressed? You can connect to the internet during your complimentary carwash. These are little details that make a car shopper partial to their brand aside of product attributes. For the average buyer, the buying decision isn't based on what's under the hood. (How many pounds of torque does your car offer?) The decision is based on the subtleties of value-added services that have little to do with the core product offering.

The Ritz Service Blitz
There are an abundance of hotels in the U.S. Each promise a hassle-free, turnkey experience. They worry about us while we tend our agendas. How did the Ritz-Carlton and The Four Seasons establish luxury brand name recognition? They focused on the small stuff.

Most premier hotels provide a luxurious $500 a night room. The reasons some perform better than others is due to an obsession with the little details. Many brands can offer you a room key with a smile, few anticipate your needs days before you arrive. The best brands take note of your pillow preference, wine preferences and if you are partial to egg whites? You don't think a little chocolate on your pillow is a major coup until one night is not there. It's always the little things.

W.I.I.F.M.? What's In It For Me?
You're wondering, "How does this apply to me?" Individuals who ask themselves "what's the small stuff in my business?" and convert the answers to actions will distinguish themselves from the competition in any industry. This may mean sending a hand-written thank you note, remembering a birthday, or offering customers complimentary bottles of water. These are the deeds and gestures that nudge new business in your direction when opportunities straddle the fence.

Ken Lodi is a productivity expert, author of Tapping Potential and other performance improvement books. He can be contact at ken@kenlodi.com or 323-932-1026.

What To Do When Youve Blown It

2009-01-21T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lisa Packer

It's bound to happen sooner or later yes, even to you and your business. Sometime or other, you will make a blunder that upsets a customer. It may be an employee mistake (honest or intentional), it could be a defective product, it could even be an unreasonable expectation on the part of your customer. The cause really isn't important.

What is important is that you have an angry customer on your hands.

What, you ask, does this have to do with marketing advice? Everything. Because it costs you eight times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an old one. Because your angry customer isn't going to stop at avoiding your business she's going to tell everyone she knows just how sorry you are. Because if you have been getting a steady stream of new customers (at eight times the cost, remember) but your overall numbers aren't growing as fast, you are losing money. Bigtime.

Here's an example: Jane is a regular customer of Joe's Bargain Dry Cleaning. Once a week she brings her entire business wardrobe in for cleaning. Since her entire business wardrobe isn't that big, she spends about fifty bucks every time. This week, a stain on her favorite blouse isn't removed, and Jane calls in to complain when she gets home. The employee Jane speaks to claims to be sorry (though she doesn't sound like it) and says that not all stains can be removed by the dry cleaning process. She will, however, give Jane a coupon for a free one-item dry clean.

Well, Jane wanted to wear her favorite blouse tonight for her big date with Jim. Now she can't. Since she lives right around the corner, she asks if she can bring the blouse back now and have the stain treated. She is told that Joe's does not accept same-day orders after 10 a.m.

Jane hangs up totally disappointed. Forced to wear a less-flattering blouse on her date, she is somewhat lacking in self-confidence (it's hard to feel good about yourself when you think you look bad) and her date does not go well. She vows never to darken the door of Joe's again. And she doesn't.

Now, lets crunch the numbers: Jane was spending $50 a week at Joe's. Subtracting two weeks for Jane's vacation time, that means she was spending $2,500 a year at Joe's. Ten Jane's in a year (if Joe is really lucky) and that is Twenty-five thousand dollars Joe will not be putting in his back pocket this year. Ten more next year and Joe is losing $50,000.

But if Joe had handled the situation correctly, Jane could have turned into one of his most loyal customers. Here's what he (and you, when it happens) should do next time:

1. Own up to the mistake. The sooner the better. It's hard for people, and businesses, to admit mistakes but do it anyway. In the story above, the employee passed the mistake off to "the dry cleaning process." Never do that. Even if the problem is something completely out of your control, stand up and take responsibility. Yes, it may be hard on your ego. But what's more important: your ego, or your wallet?

2. Make it right. Immediately. Don't make them jump through hoops to get a refund or a replacement (or better yet, both.). Jane should have been allowed to come down right then and have her blouse treated while she waited. If the stain still wouldn't come out, she would know Joe's had done their best.

3. Make it better. Your customer hasn't just been irritated. She's been inconvenienced. Give her something extra for her trouble. After treating Jane's blouse while she waited, she should have been given an entire weeks dry cleaning for free. Joe would have been out $50 in the short term, but his $25k for the year would have been saved. And Jane would never even consider another dry cleaner as long as she lived.

Following these steps will give you rabidly loyal customers. And when you combine that with steady new ones, your business will grow exponentially.

Lisa Packer, author of "How To Dramatically Increase Your Business... Without A Blockbuster Budget," is an independant Copywriter and Marketing Consultant. To read more helpful articles like this one visit http://www.dramatic-copy.com

Customer Management Relationship

2009-01-20T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by NamSing Then

The catch phrase of the 1990s, Customer relationship management, was an instant darling of large and medium business houses, which in theory promised to develop and manage a happy and cordial relationship with customers. Now a decade and more into customer relationship management, organizations are slowly realizing that the unwieldy process is no longer easy to handle easily, as they initially thought, and forging a relationship forever is not gaining ground.

The reasons for the slow progress of this magnificent management tool are not very difficult to understand, although it has taken years to dawn on the organizations. However, fundamentally, the theory of CRM, customer relationship management, is still the wonderful formula for insuring your customer base. Let us see the two biggest stumbling blocks on the road to successful customer management relationship.

Two of the Biggest Stumbling Blocks to CRM
1. The success of customer relationship management depends on whether each interaction of customers with the organization was satisfying enough.
2. The cumbersome process is cost ineffective and unfriendly to maintain and track product and user data accurately

However, software managed databases are coming close to inject efficiency with advanced features to track have changed the face of CRM vastly. Nevertheless, the recent advent of internet technology has proven to take CRM to an altogether different plane wherein customer can instantaneously interact with automated answer banks and/or a customer support executive.

So, What Is the Basic Structure of Automated CRM?
To make things simple, let's take the three core structural elements of an automated CRM. These three can be enumerated as: 1) Operational structure, to automate the fundamental business processes like marketing, sales, and service; 2) Implementing analytical technology to support customer behavior analysis and finally, 3) Cooperative approach to ensuring customer contact through media such as web, phone, SMS etc.

Software based CRM brings in certain cutting edge advantages.
1. Round the clock and 365 days information delivery on products/services, usage, problem solving over the web.
2. Automated scheduling of sales and service calls
3. Automatic guidance to typical problems
4. Interactive web tools allow customer define quality and/or problems
5. Easy tracking of repeat customers facilitate quicker identification

Still There Is Shadow beneath the Lamp
As business world is moving towards ironing out lacunae, there still remains lot of things to attend to. Not all the customers who emailed to customer departments are satisfied. The general complaint is the quality of service remained the same despite interactive websites. Whosoever is answering the emails still has the traditional supportive back office works to do. Another point that could be sighted here is the bane of automated email reply.

The bottom line, however is, come what may, CRM is here to stay.

NamSing Then is a regular article contributor on many topics. Be sure to visit his other websites CRM Solution, Free Sample Business Letter and One Stop Information

Top 6 Things Not To Do With Angry Customers

2009-01-19T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Myra Golden

1. Don't make threats. Have you ever said this, "If you don't calm down, I'm not going to help you." Or, "If you continue to yell at me, I'm going to have no choice but to terminate this phone call." If you've ever made these, or similar, statements, I'd bet that your sole intent was to regain control of the conversation. But the problem is, your customer perceives this type of language as threatening and it does not make them back down and it does not create calm. Try a phrase like this instead: "I really want to help you, but your tone/language is making it really hard for me to do that." And then pause for 2-3 seconds to let your words resonate with the customer.

2. Don't argue. Trust me on this one - you can never win an argument with a customer. Certainly, you can prove your point and even have the last word, In a discussion on the futility of arguing with people, Dale Carnegie once said "you may be right, but as far as changing your customer's mind is concerned, you will probably be just as futile as if you were wrong." Your goal in complaint situations is to retain the customer, not to be right. If you win the argument, you may very well have lost the customer. Carnegie encourages us to carefully consider some hard questions before going to battle with customers: "Is my reaction one that will relieve the problem, or will it just relieve frustration? Will my reaction drive my customer further away? What price will I pay if I win (the argument)?" Carnegie advises, "The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it." By the way, customers will spread negative word-of-mouth advertising to 50 people if they get into argument with you!

3. Don't hang up on the customer. I realize I sound conservative on this one, but I stand firm. If you hang up on a customer who is already livid, do you think a "disconnect" helps the situation or hurts the situation? The customer still has the problem and most customers won't give up their fight because you chose to hit the flash button. Most will call back and guess what? They will be angrier than ever AND it will cost far more in time and money to resolve the issue. If you just can't handle the customer, offer to transfer to a supervisor or co-worker.

4. Don't make the customer feel helpless. I cringe every time I hear an employee say, "This is all I can do." When customers feel helpless, some will resort to whatever they feel it takes to get their needs met. This behavior may include yelling, demanding to speak to a supervisor, or starting a blog about your company. This simple phrase changes the entire tone of a tough situation: "Mr. Bryant, what I can do is?"

5. Don't raise your voice. When I want my five-year-old daughter to use her "inside voice", I don't yell, "Lauren, USE YOUR INSIDE VOICE!" I speak in my "inside voice" with the expectation that she will mirror the calm tone of my voice - and she does without any further prompting from me. We must use the same technique with demanding customers. Escalating your voice when dealing with an upset customer will not create calm. It will only incite your customer. Lowering your voice presents you as confident, in control, and credible. In many cases your angry customer will begin to calm down because he realizes his intimidation tactic (yelling) isn't working. Try making one of these statements in a low volume when dealing with an angry customer. "What can I do to help?" or "What can I do to fix this situation?"

6. Don't tell a customer she is wrong. You will be smart to never tell a customer s/he is wrong or mistaken. Telling a person they are wrong arouses opposition and will make the customer want to battle with you. (Ever tell your spouse they are wrong?) It's difficult, under even the most benign conditions to change people's minds. So why make it harder by starting out on the wrong foot? If you know your customer is wrong, it's better to start off saying, "I thought the contract read otherwise, but let's take a look."

The next time you find yourself the target of verbal abuse from an angry customer, keep in mind these six "don'ts" and you'll be well on your way to getting the angry customer to back down and regaining control of the conversation.

Myra Golden is an award-winning professional speaker and principal of Myra Golden Seminars, LLC, a customer service training firm serving clients in food and beverage, banking, healthcare, hospitality, and other industries. Her client list includes McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, Michelin Tires, Pirelli, and Procter & Gamble, among many others.

For hundreds of ideas for customer service improvement for use in customer service training, visit the customer service training resource portal by going to http://www.totalcustomerservicetraining.com.

Handling Angry Clients

2009-01-18T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Shamus Brown

What do you do when your client gets mad at you? How do you handle this? An angry client can be one of the biggest time and energy drains on a sales person.

What you should specifically do will obviously depend on what the client is angry about. Sometimes our clients have a legitimate reason to be angry, such as when we screw up. Other times clients get unreasonably upset because they have different expectations about your business relationship.

In either case, your objective should be to make the client happy again (unless your client is so unreasonable that you need to let them go).

The first step towards converting an angry client to a happy one is to get in rapport with your client while he is angry.

This approach may sound a little weird to you. It works though, and you'll realize its true once you reflect upon your own experiences with anger. Ever been mad at a company, or another person, or a politician for example? When you were angry, how did you feel when you spoke to someone who didn't share your anger? You felt misunderstood, maybe even to the point where you didn't want to be around them, right?

Now think about how you felt when you encountered someone who shared you anger. You felt understood and wanted to be around this person more, didn't you?

People fundamentally want to be around others who are like themselves. We seek this all the time in all of our dealings with others. And when our mood change, we often want to be around people who are experiencing the same thing.

So then, how do you get in rapport with an angry client?

The simplest and fastest way is to match their mood, while being careful not to match the content of what they are saying. You do this by getting yourself into an emotional state similar to the client. This may be anger, frustration, or whatever word you think best describes their mood. The word label doesn't really matter. You can observe the client's mood, and you know how to create a similar feeling inside of yourself whatever the name.

Remember I also said not to match the content of what the client is saying. This is very important. In other words, you don't want to say nasty things to your client just to match them. Yes this will get you into a similar mood as them, and yes you will be in rapport. But only briefly as you watch their anger skyrocket out of control.

Instead what you want to do is say something to let them know that you are going to try rectify the situation that caused the anger. You tell them something like this:

"Jack, I know you are upset. I am upset that this situation has gotten you upset. I am going to get to work right away on..."

And remember to say this from a mood that matches their anger or frustration. Don't be all nice and comforting in your tone of voice. If you do, you'll just make them madder because they won't feel understood.

Mood matching is something you do often with friends, family and many prospects already. You just do it so automatically that you don't always notice it. By choosing to match someone, you give yourself greater influence with your clients and prospects. By matching moods and getting in rapport with an angry client, you will have greater influence over the future of the relationship.

Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/

Quotcan You Help Mequot The Hidden Customer

2009-01-17T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Donovan Baldwin

I was an assistant manager for a major consumer electronics chain, and I was where you would expect an "assistant" manager to be, doing what you would expect an "assistant" manager to to do. I was on top of a ladder, less than ten minutes before closing time, trying to hang the signs for the new sales special starting the next day. I was tired, cross, worried about personal and financial problems, and not in a mood to deal politely with anybody about anything.

As I looked down at the scruffy, nondescript person who seemed to be a laborer in need of a bath and a change of clothes, I especially didn't feel like being helpful and polite. But, my parents had raised me that way, so as I wearily descended the ladder, I gathered it all together, turned towards the man, smiled, and said, "Yes Sir! How can I help you?", as sincerely as I could.

To make a long story short, he was the yard foreman at a local quarry, and his boss had sent him to us to see if we had some way he could communicate with his truck drivers who were going in and out of his site all day long.

Well, to make the story even shorter, I sold that man and his boss several hundred dollar's worth of communications equipment and made them regular customers, which earned me lots of commissions, and made lots of money and free publicity for the company I worked for.

All the training courses will tell you it is best to "target" your customer. Focus on reaching the specific individual who is interested in your product or service. They will tell you to go to where those people are found, either on the internet, in magazines, or other advertising venues.

True, most of your sales will probably come from targeted advertising such as that, but you can never tell when you will run into a "Larry" who will want to put some money in your pocket.

Who's Larry?

Well, in my younger, wilder days as a young soldier stationed in San Angelo, Texas, I used to spend a lot of time at the J&J Tavern, drinking beer and shooting pool. One of the regulars was an elderly man (about the same age I am now, only I am NOT elderly). He dressed in the same old beat-up outfit, and seemed to be content to spend his social security, or whatever he lived on, betting on his pool playing abilities and drinking beer. We would shoot him, beat him, but never play for high stakes because he wasn't very good, and we didn't like taking his limited funds away from him. We couldn't stop him from playing, however, and the games were always for money...and he always lost.

One hot summer day, in the middle of a pool game, a flashy brand-new Cadillac pulled up to the curb, and an older woman with way too much make-up and more than enough jewelry, and wearing a fur coat in the summer heat got out. Standing in the doorway of the Tavern, she yelled, "Larry! Get out here now! You know we've got to be some where!"

Poor old Larry slunk off without a word. Always laughing, drunk and boisterous, he now seemed a weak shell of himself.

As they drove off, we asked the bartender who that was.

She said, "Oh. That's Larry's wife."

She let it lay there a minute, and then said, "Bet you thought Larry was living on a Social Security check, or something?"

We nodded.

She said, "Larry scratched out a living for several years with a few head of cattle on a dirt poor ranch outside of town until one day they found oil directly under his little piece of land. Larry's been a filthy rich millionaire for several years. All he wants to do is drink his beer and shoot a little pool, and that keeps him happy, but his wife wants to be queen of the walk and every once in a while she ropes him in, cleans him up, and makes him go somewhere and do things he doesn't like to do with people he doesn't like to be with. He likes being here with you boys and shooting pool. I'm glad you never let him play for high stakes. That's nice of you. Have a beer on me."

Don't ever be so sure who ISN'T your next best customer.

The author is retired from the Army after 21 years of service, has worked as an accountant, optical lab manager, restaurant manager, and instructor. He has been a member of Mensa for several years, and has written and published poetry, essays, and articles on various subjects for the last 40 years. He has been an active internet marketer since 2000, and now makes his living online. To learn more about improving your marketing performance, please visit http://marketingsecrets.xtramoney4me.net. To read more articles by the author, please visit his blog at http://donovanbaldwin.blogspot.com/.

Boost Business With Two Simple Words

2009-01-16T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by JoAnna Carey

The economy is unpredictable. War is raging. People around the globe are expressing a renewed interest in re-evaluating priorities and rumor has it that humankind is embarking upon a major shift in consciousness. These are just a few of the reasons why adding a personal touch to your communications with customers and employees can lead to greater levels of success in today's impersonal business environment.

During the recent years of economic growth, many industries scrambled to keep up with a constant stream of new business. Buildings expanded, product lines grew and "mandatory" overtime became the norm. Customers were sometimes expected to overlook service and production delays due to an unusually high volume of business. Employees were often required to work extended hours to fulfill customer demands. Throughout these years of rising profits, many businesses promised customers and employees that the workload would return to a less frantic "norm."

Now, companies are facing an environment of slower growth and "normal" seems to be a word that can only describe a long forgotten era. Corporate down-sizings and plant closings litter the evening news and lease signs litter the industrial landscape. This uncertainty provides the perfect environment for business leaders to build more personal business relationships by offering a genuine thank-you to customers and employees.

Everyone leads busy lives. In our high tech, often impersonal society, people remember those who add a personal touch to their day. The key to success in a lean economy may be to retain, instead of having to replace, your best customers and employees. Consider the following questions.

Customers

1. Who is your best customer today and why?

2. Who was your best customer a few years ago and why?

3. When was the last time you personally asked customers to express questions or concerns?

4. What areas of your business need improvement based on customer questions and concerns?

5. How much would it cost you to replace a lost customer?

6. When was the last time you called each customer to say "thank you for your business"?

Employees

1. Who is your best employee today and why?

2. Who was your best employee a few years ago and why?

3. When was the last time you hosted an open forum for employees to express questions or concerns?

4. What suggestions do employees have in regard to customer questions and concerns?

5. How much would it cost you to replace a lost employee?

6. When was the last time you thanked your employees for helping you stay in business?

If you are wondering what all of this has to do with improving your bottom line, then think of a time when you have done a little something extra and found yourself muttering, "They didn't even have the decency to say thank you." I am not suggesting that you should thank others solely to improve your bottom line. Many kind acts do go unnoticed, but thanking others may help you focus on the things in your business (and life) that you have to be grateful for. And, aside from the bottom line, aren't you also in business for the victory, the accomplishment, the success, the reward of hearing someone say "thank you" for your contribution?

In my experience, thank-you notes are even less common in business relationships. It's a quick, thoughtful way to show clients and employees how important they are to you. An added benefit of business thank-you notes is that the receiver of that note will probably remember your gratitude long after the words have been expressed. As you move through the days and weeks ahead, think about those people in your life who deserve a genuine thank-you. Who goes above and beyond what his or her job requires? Reward that person by hand-writing a personalized thank-you note.

For readers who need statistics in order to believe in the power of saying thank you, the National Association for Employee Recognition partnered with WorldatWork to conduct a 2002 Employee Recognition Survey that showed * 41% of respondents are "doing more" with employee recognition programs than they were in the 12 months prior. * Of the companies in the survey that did not have formal recognition systems in place a full 54% of respondents expressed intent to develop policies in the coming 12 months.

Thanking customers and employees is simply the right thing to do. Challenge yourself and your leaders to express gratitude and add joy to the days of customers and employees. Commit to sending a personalized, handwritten thank-you note to one person each day of this week and pay attention to how your business improves. (Don't cheat; there are seven days of the week to be thankful!)

{This article may be reproduced and shared in any format as long as the contact and copyright information is included. Please also send us an email at mailto:j.carey@att.net and let us know how you are using the articles so we can continue to provide useful and timely information to our loyal readers. A courtesy copy of your publication is appreciated. }

JoAnna Carey, aka "The Rat Race Relaxer," is an energetic entrepreneur who delivers influential, customized presentations that meet the fluctuating needs of businesses and associations. Her background includes marketing, public relations and sales experience, spanning the non-profit, healthcare, banking and financial services industries. JoAnna is the producer and host of her own weekly television program titled The Rat Race Relaxer Show and the author of the book titled Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life. Contact Carey'D Away Enterprises, LLC; http://www.RatRaceRelaxer.com/ or call (616) 530-3787.

The Golden Rule Of Customer Service

2009-01-15T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dana Wallert

"Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you." Don't worry; I'm not trying to take you to Sunday school under the pretense of a business article! However, in one form or another we have learned this rule for as long as we can remember. Many people try their best to apply this rule in their everyday lives. But, how many of us try to follow such a simple principle when it comes to business?

If you think about it, it could single handedly be the most important rule to follow in business. After unpleasant sales encounters, most customers are not most upset with the product or service that they purchased. Sure that may have been the root of the problem. But, most people understand that we don't live in a perfect world and sometimes things don't work!

The reason most people leave these situations upset is because of the way that they've been treated. They feel that they have spent the money for your product or service that for one reason or another did not perform properly. This upsets them, but what really angers them is that they feel that no one cares.

We've all had negative customer service experiences. Those of us in sales have most likely been on both sides of such exchanges.

When we're in the salesperson role, we may be running ragged from an extremely busy day. We may have issues going on in our personal life. We might simply have gotten up in a bad mood that morning. There's nothing innately wrong with any of those things. However, it is our job to find a way to put all of those things aside to help the people we're paid to assist. This is why I feel that sales people should really be required to take Acting 101! Ideally, we would always be able to genuinely be interested in listening to our customers and helping them find the solutions that work best for them. But, we all know that that's pretty much impossible everyday, absent a fairly large prescription of Prozac! Salespeople are just that, people. We're not always going to be at the top of our game, but we must be able to "act" as if we are. Convincingly, act as if we are!

On the other hand, being that salespeople are people, we are constantly faced with these situations in which we are the customer. Undoubtedly, you have run into a few salespeople who have irritated you or who may not be quite as helpful as you'd like.

Now, obviously, we will never be able to be perfect in all of our customer interactions. However, if we were to try and keep the good old "Golden Rule" in our consciousness at all times when dealing with customers, I think we'd find our jobs more enjoyable, our customers happier and yes, even our profits growing!

Dana Wallert is the owner of an online virtual assistance company. She has many years experience in sales and marketing, as well as office management. Find more about Dana and sign up to receive her free monthly newsletter at DW Office Solutions - Virtual Assistant Services.

Dealing With Difficult Clients

2009-01-14T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Sophie Moraga

Sooner or later, if you work as a virtual assistant, you are bound to come in contact with at least one Difficult Client. These are defined by the following behaviors:

1. Impatience & Irritation

2. Angry Emails

3. Yelling

4. Irrational Demands

5. Threats

6. Late Payments, or Not Paying at All

Before you get too scared, and think about ditching your comfortable work-at-home living, let me tell you that there are several ways to work with these Difficult Clients, and even possibly train them to your way of thinking.

Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. had it right when they said that the best way to solve a conflict is with non-violence. Yelling at a difficult client is only likely to yield even worse results than you're already getting. You may lose this client forever or, if an invoice is still outstanding, not get paid. And none of us wants that. Coward's Guide to Conflict offers real-life techniques for resolving conflicts, even if you'd prefer to curl up into a little ball at the very thought of your Difficult Client. This mediation coach and former psychologist really gets it, and can help you, before you lose your mind.

The second step may be to augment your understanding of conflict, and why it arises in the first place. Universal Class has a wonderful online class called Mastery Over Anger, which teaches tools for dealing with conflict, whether physical, emotional or mental, in ways other than violence. It's extremely useful in your personal life as well as your business life, and just might teach you a few techniques for tolerating your mother-in-law, too. All lessons are conducted online, so you can complete them whenever you have the time, which may as well be now.

If things get really bad, and you aren't able to alleviate tensions with your Difficult Client through talking, you may need a lawyer. If you have a signed agreement spelling out your services, along with any deadlines for delivery, and your client still won't pay, you may need to take him or her to small claims court. Legal Zoom is an excellent source for filing your small claim, simply and easily, right over the Internet. With a minimum of (additional) stress, you can be on your way to collecting money that's rightly yours, without having to fight with your client on the phone or over email.

And if all else fails, get yourself a nice bottle of Chateau St. Jean 2002 Sonoma County Reserve Chardonnay (with a 98 point rating in Wine Enthusiast) and give yourself over to the "bright inviting notes of pineapple, nectarines, and kiwi."

When you've calmed down some, you may realize that your life is better off without this Difficult Client. You may even want to join GameFly.com, rent a few video games, and take out your frustration in a way that's not going to hurt anyone, except maybe your joystick thumb. And that hasn't landed anyone in jail yet, so far as I know.

For more stories like this, visit http://www.AssistantGirls.com

Sophie Moraga is part of the team at http://www.AssistantGirls.com She has worked for the Walt Disney Company, Sony and New Line Cinema.

Made To Order 5 Ways To Add Value

2009-01-13T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Janice Hoffmann

A recent American Demographics survey concluded that 75 percent of American adults crave more customizable products and services, and 85 percent of 18 to 24 year olds feel the same way.

THE TEST: When you come in contact with one of your customers or colleagues, in what ways can you 'personalize' the experience?

1. SHARE A LAUGH: Laughing releases even more endorphins than smiling. It also releases enkephalins, which are natural pain suppressors.

2. PAY SOMEONE A COMPLIMENT: Praise stimulates the brain. Look for the good in others and learn to appreciate small things.

3. CULTIVATE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE: A Patient-focused medical study showed that optimists are able to cope more effectively with stress. They tend to look on the bright side of things, and take extra steps to circumvent or diminish obstacles.

4. SEND THANK-YOU NOTES: 'Management guru' Tom Peter's writes, "send them by truck loads". A good will message strengthens the importance of a relationship and validates an interest in the product, service, and collaboration. It's common courtesy, and you'll stand-out.

5. FORWARD AN ARTICLE ON A TOPIC OF INTEREST: Have you talked about movies, travel, or sports with your client or colleagues? If so, clip out a review of a movie they enjoyed, send them a hot tip on a restaurant in a city they frequently travel, or pass on an inspiring story---A fun note, a newspaper clipping, or an article on a recent business trend, can send a message that you've been listening carefully.

THE RESULTS: You affect others profoundly & people want more. WOW!

Janice Hoffmann is founder of SUCCESS IS SWEETEST, A New York City Career & Lifestyle Coaching Boutique. http://www.successissweetest.com

Contact Centers Online

2009-01-12T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jimmy Sturo

Online contact centers are a great boon to customers. These centers handle e-mail newsletters, website inquiries and chats just like regular contact centers. They are provided with special software that would allow contact information to be routed to the correct people, enable contacts to be easily tracked and required data to be collected quickly.

Nowadays it has become important to provide excellent customer service on the Web. Most customers prefer the web to phone or e-mail. So the web self-service should be the top priority for every company. An effective web self-service environment can significantly reduce the workload of the regular contact center. Online contact centers can produce a substantial return on investment. Now many successful web-based service implementations are available for a wide range of industries. Contact centers online can satisfy the customers in a better way, reduce the contact center costs and provide the maximum value out of all your Internet investments.

Online contact centers act as a tool to increase sales, provide new revenue-generation opportunities and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. The web collaboration allows the contact center agents to provide immediate answers to customer questions, backed by web pages and other web based contents. The agents can also help the customers to solve complex support issues through simultaneous voice-and-visual interaction. The agents can also share web pages with the customers during a voice or text chat conversation. And it is possible to fill the online forms collaboratively in real time. They can share any windows desktop application by using a web browser and also conduct one-to-one interactions and one-to-many or many-to-many online seminars. The multi-session chat capabilities can increase the productivity of contact centers online. So the customer?s waiting time can be decreased.

There are some online contact centers powered by software catering to the needs of online merchants who wish to provide live customer service online.

Contact Centers provides detailed information on Contact Centers, Hosted Contact Center, Contact Center Consultants, Contact Center Outsourcing and more. Contact Centers is affiliated with Inbound Call Center Services.

The Nine Principles Of Customer Service For The Travel Industry

2009-01-11T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tim Warren

If you want to learn how to get your clients to do your selling for you through excpetional customer service, read on. Learn customer service secrets from tourism professionals, apply them to your business and prosper.

1. Be a Good Listener Most important, listen to your customers' concerns and complaints, as well as their praise. Discover what it is they want. Your guests are your best source of information in assessing your services and performance. Well-written guest surveys are invaluable for getting feedback, testimonials, and referrals. Help prospects qualify themselves before signing up. Make sure they understand the rigors, responsibilities, and dangers, as well as the level of exertion, entailed in the experiences you offer.

2. Exceed Expectations Under-promise and over-deliver on a consistent basis with exceptional service. This is what they'll remember and tell their friends about. It is amazing how small details can make a big impression. You work hard and spend big money to get qualified prospects to call your office or e-mail you. How professional, informative, and timely is your response? That first contact can set the tone and significantly impact a purchasing decision.

3. Practice Safety - Clients want to know the destination and activities are safe. They will feel more at ease during real or perceived risks if they have been educated about their new activities or environments in advance. Unfortunately, if most human beings' fears or worries are not addressed, their minds will grow weeds, not flowers. Advise on plant, animal, and natural resource cautions. Let them know that there is generally nothing to worry about if they respect the environment and heed your advice. Brief guests on your safety procedures for any excursions without staff away from home base.

4. Provide Great Food - Guests must eat well, never be hungry, and have adequate water and drinks. Fresh food with ample portions served at a scheduled time can make any adventure more memorable and satisfying. If meal service is going to be delayed, provide a little snack to tide guests over.

5. Cater to Sleep Needs - Guests need and want comfortable and peaceful sleep. Make sure everyone is comfortable with his or her bedding. Cater to individual needs by offering single accommodations. Charging an extra cost is okay. Provide easy access to bathrooms with safety procedures for nighttime use. Separate late evening social areas from sleep areas by distance and/or trees or a hill. Hand out earplugs if necessary.

6. Think Comfort - Provide first world standards when possible. Bathroom breaks and bathing is important on a regular basis. Give people every opportunity for comfort: hammocks, beach chairs, portable toilets, whatever you can provide. Never go too long between bathroom breaks. Some guests may have weak bladders and need more frequent breaks to feel comfortable and relaxed. Make sure everyone has adequate water, as well as appropriate clothing and footwear.

7. Be Sensitive to Capabilities - Never exceed physical or mental capacities of guests. Always ask groups and individuals if they are comfortable with the activity and exertion level before and during the activity. Be sensitive to the slowest as well as strongest in the group. Splitting the group into two smaller groups is a good option. Rest as needed. I believe in a trip rating or difficulty system that allows guests and outfitters to jointly participate in selecting the most appropriate trip.

8. Be Fun - Be friendly, helpful, courteous, and fun! Make sure your staff is there for the guests and not for themselves. Good storytellers, jokesters, and musicians can distinguish your staff and company from other companies. Be sensitive with humor and with families with kids. If you cater to kids, employ staff that loves kids. Guests sometimes need encouragement or guidance to try an activity. You are the guide and activity director combined. Discuss activities or mini- classes in advance so guests will know what is happening and when.< br>

9. Provide Information - An informed guest is safer and more relaxed, and has more fun. Our guests are educated and want to learn about their new environment. Assume that guests know little or nothing about their surroundings. Look for opportunities to provide a minimum of three details about each type of surrounding element during any outing. Be prepared to talk about the plants, animals, birds, trees, rocks, geological formations, fish, marine mammals, and shells. Include information about local culture, economy, and history, too. The more we can share, the more value we are providing our guests.

Like other businesses I know and have worked with, you, too, will experience more repeat clients and referrals by applying these details of great customer service. Your business, in time, will prosper like never before!

Since 1994, Tim Warren and Adventure Business Consultants, has helped dozen's of travel business, destinations, tourism Assn. and boards with customer service training, consulting and creating exceptional marketing material. Click Here For Free Bimonthly E-zine Tourism Business Success - http://www.AdventureBizSuccess.com News, tips, tools and specials that you can use to increase your travel business success.

Customer Feedback The Breakfast Of Champions

2009-01-10T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bill James-Wallace

Feedback is important in every sphere of life but more so in business simply because it tells how we're going and how we can improve.

If we continue to improve, we'll continue to grow.

The benefits of feedback are obvious:

1. Consolidates the relationship
2. Lets you know where you're falling down
3. Opens up communication
4. Can be the catalyst to valuable testimonials

But Many Businesses Still Don't Do It

So, why do so many businesses fail to implement a proper customer feedback process?

Every business will have their unique reasons and on the face of it, most will be very rational. Here are three:

1. Time - it's hard, in the traditional format to arrange constant customer feedback as well as track it and take action.

2. What to Ask - Some questions may seem personal, while others may seem to say "tell me how good I am". Where's the balance?

3. Customer Response - not to the survey questions but to the survey itself. Just not knowing people's reactions might hinder the implementation process.

But what if you could get the feedback when you wanted it, automatically and have it collated so you can get an overall feel for how you're doing?

How priceless would that be?

To know what your customer's think about you, your product and your service would be so powerful your business would be at the edge of its performance very quickly.

You see, you don't want "nice & fluffy" feedback.

You need feedback much like the Grand Slalom skiers are getting at the Winter Olympics in Turin at the moment.

If they miss by 2/100ths of a second, they get told. There's no apology or softening the blow.

That's what great business is about.

But How do You do This Quickly, Easily?

For those with assistants it may be easier but with any business there are simple and effective ways to get customer feedback. Some use checklists, others have it pre-prepared in the client file and hand it over or post it out at the same time every time.

One way I'm going to suggest is with an online survey.

Why Online?

To my way of thinking this is the best way to get client feedback today.

1. The population is increasingly "web aware" and are exploring the Web more and more.

2. An online survey (example below) is generally quick saving both you and your customer time.

3. Completing the survey privately will allow better responses. You can even have the responses go to a third party like a coach or a manager.

4. Inexpensive: this is a big one. Mail out surveys cost both time and money. Online surveys, once they are set up are done. All it needs is for clients to complete them.

Nothing Happens in a Vacuum

I can hear some people question the use of technology and how it might appear to be impersonal. I actually believe the opposite.

If any service provider has made enough of a connection then almost any tool used to promote the relationship (like a survey) will be beneficial. The means to that survey can be immaterial.

I will agree though that online surveys, just shot out of a cannon because it's the latest fad can do more harm than good. You need a well thought out strategy to go with the surveys.

Overcoming Resistance

If a client refuses an online survey, that in itself is feedback - not to change tools, but to develop a closer relationship, find out their objction to it and help them overcome whatever is getting in the way.

It is a signal to add value.

So How Hard Is It?

I'm not sure who said it but someone wiser than me stated: "The questions you ask are defined by the answers you need." (not want)

That is how you form your questions. And if you follow the advice the content becomes easier.

Click the link below and you'll be take to a survey site of mine where there are 6 short questions.

http://www.resultdrivensolutions.com/blog/_WebPages/CustomerFeedbackSurvey.html

Complete the questions (takes about 3 minutes).

You'll get an email with your responses and I will too.

There will be a question about wanting to discuss this tool further. Just let me know either yes or no and I'll follow your decision.

Now What To Do

The next thing to do is to work out 3 - 5 questions you'd like to know from your clients and write them out how you'd like to ask them.

If you'd like feedback on your questions you can fire them off to me and I'll oblige - f.r.e.e. of charge for the next two weeks.

I'll look forward to your responses.

Bill James-Wallace

p.s. if you know someone who is looking into this already, feel free to pass this article on to them.

Bill James-Wallace helps his clients grow their business through better and more strategic customer relationships. Drawing on his 18 years experience in the financial industry as a Sales Manager and Manager of Training & Development, he helps business owners play on the same field as corporate entities.

Bill can be contacted at bill@resultdrivensolutions.com His blog-based website is http://www.resultdrivensolutions.com

Foreign Contact Centers

2009-01-09T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jimmy Sturo

Foreign contact centers are the contact centers of a country in foreign locations. Foreign contact centers are also referred to as foreign customer interaction centers or foreign e-contact centers. These are the central points of an enterprise from where all customer contacts are managed. They typically include one or more online call centers also which process e-mail newsletters and postal mail catalogs and handle website inquiries and chats. These centers also maintain a comprehensive record of customers.

Customer feedback reveals that there is comparable difference in the quality of domestic and offshore agents. Foreign contact centers train their customer care representatives in accent neutralization, which helps them to speak slowly and include idiomatic American expressions in conversation. Foreign support agents are often well educated and a rigorous screening of applicants is usually conducted because of the high competition for jobs in developing countries.

The primary things that the companies should consider when they want to start a foreign contact centers are: their expertise in managing remote locations, the caliber and skill set of the labor force, the cost of labor, language skills, telecom bandwidth, cost and reliability, infrastructure, political stability, enforceability of intellectual property rights and business contracts, and the general maturity of the business environment.

The most obvious benefit of having foreign contact centers is the low cost. You can set up your business with excellent infra structure at reasonable costs. You can get some of the best talented people to work for you at half the cost you would otherwise incur. They provide world-class service to your clients. The foreign contact centers offer high quality, reliable and cost-effective solutions. They also provide full service-project and account management support for their clients, from initial planning to pre-delivery, straight through to final implementation, assuring that the client?s requirements and objectives are met at every stage.

Customer Service Speaker Asks How Many Difficult Customers Do You Really Have

2009-01-08T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

One of my worst mental habits is over-generalizing; I admit it.

When I'm trying to drum up business, and I get rejection after rejection, I'm tempted to tell myself, "Gee, they're just not buying out there, today!"

Well, that's just plain foolish, isn't it? "They" or at least some of "them" are certainly buying something. I just haven't found them yet, right?

Customer service reps also over-generalize, especially when they encounter a form of rejection specific to their work. Often it's called conflict or anger or simply gathered under the heading of "dealing with difficult customers."

Conversations get ragged and emotions fray, and people's voices start to elevate while faces flush. It's not a happy time, to be sure.

But really, how often does this kind of "bad call" happen?

I've done some surveys along this line and I can tell you this: Most people over-generalize when it comes to quantifying the proportion of their conversations that are negative or filled with anger or conflict.

When you ask reps, you'll frequently hear numbers up to "80%."

When the same reps' calls are monitored for customer negativity, anger, or conflict, the truer proportion is closer to "5%."

Why the gap?

A few reasons come to mind:

(1) CSR's and their supervisors crave respect, and one way to elicit it is to be seen as heroically handling one tough situation after the next.

(2) It seems a part of human nature, and possibly a deeply rooted survival mechanism, to overvalue negative feedback from our environments. That which is wrong and threatening gets our attention more than what's normal or even comfortable.

(3) Memories are selective. I can look back on certain seminars that I've taught where 99% of attendees raved about them, but 1% griped in their evaluations. Guess which ones I remember from those programs, weeks and months later?

(4) Conflict is juicy, interesting, and provocative. Secretly, some people like it because it keeps them awake and on their toes, adding drama to an otherwise routine task. For this reason, some reps unconsciously provoke negative response from customers. (If you think this is crazy, like firefighters setting blazes for the thrill of watching or snuffing them, see the fine movie: "Backdraft.")

Of course, there is a very practical hazard in over-generalizing about the amount of flak we're facing. We're more likely to develop the bad habit of "ducking" to avoid it, even when it isn't there.

We'll approach calls sounding defensive, ourselves, expecting fights where they wouldn't occur, otherwise.

And can you guess what happens when we sound defensive, especially at the beginning of conversations? Customers ECHO it back to us, and we think they "started it."

So, if you're a manager, do your own audit of transactions and note for yourself how the perception of rampant conflict is exaggerated. Then share this insight with reps.

This might reduce their stress and defensiveness, and once this happens, your customers may follow suit.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com. For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to http://www.customersatisfaction.com

You Cant Overdo Customer Service

2009-01-07T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Keith Clark

I recently had an experience with a business that went way beyond excellent customer service and they not only made a customer for life, they made me a torchbearer for their success. As you read this, imagine what your company would be like if it offered this level of service.

I was in Los Angeles for a business trip and met with a client and a consultant at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. My first impressions of the hotel were good but not great. The building was beautiful, but the parking was expensive in a area where it shouldn't have been.

My client and I found a nice table in the lobby where we could comfortably wait for the consultant. The consultant called to let us know she would be about an hour late so we decided to get a bite to eat. We asked and found out that the restaurant was closed but a cocktail waitress told us she might be able to do a "little something" for us. To our delightful surprise she returned in a few minutes with a breakfast that was everything we imagined and more. Linen napkins, fresh fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice, toasted bagels, a cheese plate and more. And this with the kitchen closed.

Our meeting ran until lunch so we decided to give the restaurant a chance. As we approached the hostess, she was talking on the phone but she quickly acknowledged us turned and nodded to someone and a waiter instantly appeared to whisk us to a beautiful outside table. The waiter was courteous and when he asked us for water he asked if my client would like some lemon in her water and then turned to me and asked if I would perhaps like some lime. I was flabbergasted. He was right. I preferred lime. But how did he know?

Later the waiter brought out our soups while my client was in the restroom. He returned a couple of minutes later to check on us and saw she was gone. He whisked her soup away and returned a few moments after she did with a fresh bowl of hot soup. He knew the cool ocean air would have made it cold. Everything the waiter did was above what I've come to expect as excellent service. He got the biggest tip I'd ever left for a meal.

We came back the next day for another meeting and got the great service all over again, this time from other employees. I asked the bartender if they could make me a real fruit smoothie. He said he only had smoothie mix at the bar, but he'd see what he could do. Moments later, he appeared at my table with a real fruit smoothie. The restaurant was closed but somehow he'd managed to get it for me. And it was great. Another big tip.

When we were about to leave, we stopped by the Concierge's desk to find out if there were any local art galleries he could recommend. He knew from what we told him that we weren't guests at the hotel, but still went on the internet, asked other employees and worked until he'd found some nice recommendations for us.

And that brings us to that overpriced parking. When I took my ticket to the valet, I found out that with the lunch validation, my parking was almost free. As I stood waiting for my car another valet came up and asked if I'd been helped. I said yes, but he still went and made sure my car was coming. It was cold outside and he just wanted to make sure. My car quickly came and two valets made sure both doors were opened and closed for me and my client.

As we drove away, I was awed by the fact that every employee that I had come in contact with at The Loews for the past two days had given me better service than I expected and better than I'd ever had. We realized that we had happily given the largest tips we'd ever given to each of the employees that helped us. Not only had they earned their tips, but they earned their company two torchbearers. From now on, when I'm in Los Angeles, you can join me at The Loews.

Business consultant and professional speaker Michael Clark has been helping businesses including Fortune 500 companies such as IBM and Cellular One succeed for over 20 years. Michael is an authority on getting business owners out of overwhem and getting the most out of their businesses. His is a serial entrepreneur having opened multiple successful businesses over the last 12 years. Before that he had a successful career in finance and accounting for large corporations. He has been interviewed on radio, tv, and in print, as well as been a featured speaker at The Learning Annex, Rotary, and other business and professional groups.

For more articles on small business success, check out http://www.biznbeyond.com. Feel free to copy this article and post it on your website as long as you keep the link to http://www.biznbeyond.com intact and give credit to Michael Clark at Business and Beyond.

Complaints In Your Business

2009-01-05T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

Generally when a business gets a complaint, only one, they can look the other way unless it is a very large client. Yet when they get two about the same perceived problem, then the businessperson ought to stop and consider the source of both complaints. Why is that you say; two complaints is not a lot really? True enough indeed, let me tell you why two complaints might actually be 40-60 complaints instead of the two that you actually heard about.

You see regarding the "only 2nd person to ever complain theory" that is somewhat irrelevant as I am sure you as a businessperson have thought of this issue yourself at one time. After all it is your business and you probably know most everything going on in it, right? Well you see then that makes three.

I am sure you have heard from business books and have listen to on Cassette Tapes of Motivational Business Speakers and Leaders that if one person complains then 20 people are upset but only one person said something. So if you think that when two people complain it means nothing then you are telling me that 40 people are worried about this, but you do not care about 40 people or customers in your business.

Indeed if you observed this issue too, whatever it is that drew these complaints from otherwise happy customers then you had thought of it too yourself, so this makes another 20. So in reality there are 60 people who are concerned, worried or thinking about it. You see my point? Now how long have you been in business; oh, it doesn't matter anyway, you see; If you fail to adequately address such issues then you will soon not have to worry about your business, for you will have none to worry about. Think on that.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Is Life Too Short To Deal With Unpleasant Customers

2009-01-03T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

One of best clients I ever had was a senior vice president at a financial company.

He didn't beat around the bush. If I asked him, how much of a budget do you have for this, he'd tell me, right away, down to the penny.

One day, we were talking and he told me, "Gary, life's too short to deal with unpleasant people."

There are certain lines, such as this one, that you hear that stick with you. Immediately, I wondered if this fellow had been able to chart a course in business that enabled him to navigate around the difficult customers, some of which seemed to have a home in my portfolio.

Then, I had a second reaction. Who can afford to be so choosy that he can toss out angry, difficult, or negative personalities? Aren't they everywhere?

Then, it hit me.

His company was distinctive, and his clientele was somewhat exclusive. Their profit margins were wide, and there was nothing but smooth sailing on the horizon.

They didn't have to worry much about customers stampeding away, because he was in a seller's market, what is called an ecological niche, a protected area to feed, without predators or substantial risks.

If there's any lesson in his situation, it's this: If you're calling the shots, you have a lock on a market, or an incredibly stable portfolio of clients, and others are politely and persistently trying to join them, well, lucky you!

Enjoy it, be choosy, and toss out the misfits.

But if you're non-distinctive, you're in a mature industry with plenty of competitors, you're facing escalating costs or shrinking margins, you have to make a specialty out of dealing with unpleasant customers.

If you can't change them, you simply have to change yourself, or at least your communication abilities, until you can create a product breakthrough or a process innovation that will enable you to stand alone on the high ground of exclusivity, again.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

No Shipment Too Big

2009-01-02T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Alfred Savio

You may have read my articles about the size limitations for both UPS and the USPS. What are you to do when these limits are exceeded? Your local The UPS Store location is one option for obtaining a freight quote.

If your package exceeds 165" in length + girth (girth = (width x 2) + (height x 2)), or it exceeds 150 pounds, you will need to ship the item via a freight carrier. The Post Office has even lower limits (70 pounds and 108" in length + girth).

Shippers, such as The UPS Store, have access to several freight vendors. If you call a freight vendor directly, their first question will likely be, "How many rooms of furniture will you be moving"? If you are interested in sending a single item, they will likely refer you to a shipper such as The UPS Store. The reason is that with nearly 5,000 retail outlets throughout the country, a freight carrier can pick up one item at one shipping outlet, one item from another store close by, and another piece at another nearby location. By the time they pack a couple of rooms for someone and then stop at some local shipping outlets, their truck will be full. Therefore, these shipping outlets can achieve a good pricing structure for you to move single objects via a freight carrier, without having to worry about filling the truck like a consumer would face.

Whether it is one piece or multiple pieces, visit your local shipping outlet for advice and a quote on the best method of packaging and shipping your oversize items.

Fred Savio is a multiple center owner of The UPS Store franchise in southern New Jersey. Visit Fred's shipping blog at http://shippinginfo.blogspot.com/ or his store websites http://www.theupsstoreeggharbortownship.com or http://www.theupsstoremayslanding.com You can email him at fredsinfo2006@yahoo.com

The Customer Service Manifesto Part Two Give Me More Satisfactions For My Money

2009-01-01T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

As customers, we all need to make these ten declarations to businesses in order to get all of the service and satisfaction we deserve.

I call it The Customer Service Manifesto.

(1) You serve me; I don't serve you.

(2) Give me as many satisfactions for my money as you can.

(3) Make the satisfactions relevant to me, to what I hold dear, and not to what is important to you.

(4) Be available to help me to achieve the results I anticipated when I purchased.

(5) Don't bullshit me.

(6) Pay me for any inconvenience I have suffered because of you.

(7) Surprise me with perks, just for the heck of it.

(8) Don't bundle what I really want with expensive, useless frills that I don't want.

(9) Make it easy for me to stop doing business with you.

(10) Never, ever completely eliminate the human touch from your service.

This article explores the second of these items: "Give me as many satisfactions for my money as you can."

Today, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about how WalMart is grinding its suppliers, once more, to help that successful retailer to lower costs.

That phrase they use, and you see it on their big trucks, "Always, the low price," is something they're constantly living up to.

Economy is not a hit and miss thing with WalMart. It's in their blood, their sweat, and everything they do.

And they pass along these savings in the form of generally lower prices. In a phrase, they're always delivering as many satisfactions to their customers as they can, knowing that this builds loyalty and a business that can last for a long, long time.

Compare this to the way most cellular phone companies operate. They are constantly lowering their prices, but not for their older, more loyal customers.

Let's say you sign up today for 1,000 anytime minutes for $39.95, and they cut their price a month from now. So, it becomes 1,000 minutes for $29.95.

Will they call you or send you a text message saying, "Good news! Your plan has been reduced or improved"?

No.

The only way you'll learn about it is by seeing their ads for NEW customers. Then, you'll have to contact them and plead to have your cost pared back.

Today's cell phone companies don't strive to lower their costs and then to pass on the savings to us. They lower costs only to meet or temporarily beat the competition and then they are very selective about whom they bestow this benefit upon.

Tell them how stupid they're being. Point out the wisdom of the WalMarts and others who cut their prices before they're forced to do so.

Remember, you'll only get the quality of service and satisfaction that you demand!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com. For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to http://www.customersatisfaction.com

The Three Elements Of Building Long Term Profitable Business Relationships

2008-12-31T03:00:00.000-08:00

Writen by Kenneth Wallace

There are three basic elements of building long term profitable business relationships. What needs to be kept in mind is that the following process should be followed FOR EACH PROSPECT. This can result in some "extra work" but the payoff is well worth the additional effort. The biggest obstacle in relationship development processes that I see is they don't get very specific with regards to individual prospects. By observing the following steps and becoming creative in the ways you apply them, you can rest assured that the outcomes will be what you want them to be for both you and your prospects.

1. BEGIN AT THE END

A. Compose a short story of what the relationship with the prospect looks and feels like, how much money this relationship will bring into the company over a specified period of time and how much value and joy your organization will bring to the prospect (what you will give so that you can receive)

B. Devise a written plan detailing the steps that will be taken to create the desired outcome; obtain input from everyone in the value-chain who will have an impact on this prospect as a customer (be sure to tell them the story of the organization's future relationship with this prospect)

C. Determine a date by which the desired outcome will occur

D. Assign specific milestones and timelines that need to be accomplished along the way

E. Budget for each prospect the amount of money needed to take the steps (if you skimp here, you'll probably wind up wasting any money you do spend; remember, you're investing to develop a long term business relationship, not a short term sale)

F. Hold "Huddles" with rotating contributors to the value-chain at least once a month to report progress, review the story (is what we've done so far helping to tell the story we wrote at the beginning of this process?) and solicit feedback and additional input; revise the relationship development plan based on the results of these Huddles

G. Engage in "Business Edification:" develop cost-free and low-cost ways you can help your prospect succeed in their business without charging them; this is an investment in the relationship and is provided without expectation of return furthermore, this sort of activity should be constantly pursued even after (especially after) the prospect has become a paying customer

H. Determine who else (what other products and/or services) could benefit the prospect in ways they haven't yet thought of (this is thinking about the prospect's business needs and opportunities before they think of them themselves); explore creative ways you can partner with your prospect to help them get more than they expected in their business enterprises; go one step further and explore ways you can help them partner with other businesses that will help them grow their business influence and profits

2. FOCUS ON YOUR CUSTOMERS BUT KEEP YOUR COMPETITORS IN VIEW

A. Review all available marketing data and current research on competitors at the Huddle meetings

B. If new information indicates the need, create a strategy and a plan for countering any competitive advantages a competitor might be developing or might now have

C. Incorporate this information and this strategy into the relationship development plan

D. Determine what makes your customers continue to do business with you and then write a story about how your customers are better at what they do because of their relationship with you (use metaphors and analogies rather than merely reporting the "facts" and inserting testimonials)

3. UNDERSTAND THAT MARKETING IS RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

A. When it comes to developing long term profitable business relationships, a sale is a natural result of marketing selling should not be considered as a separate process independent of marketing (the sales process flows out of and back into the marketing process)

B. Make every contact with the prospect (in any form phone, email, letter, face-to-face, etc.) value added regarding information they can use immediately to solve a problem and/or increase their business influence and profits; the first two contacts should be both about you and about them with all subsequent contacts primarily about them (as an example, faxing articles about their industry which demonstrates that you know about them, their industry and what they're reading or should be reading)

C. Think ahead of the curve of your prospect's need; consider their fiscal year and when they will be most likely to need your products/services and those of other businesses as well; this way, you become viewed as a solicited trusted advisor and not an intrusive salesperson (as the marketing guru Dan Kennedy says, "an invited guest, not an unwanted pest")

D. Follow up with every opportunity to define and solve a problem or create and capitalize on an opportunity; if you can help your prospects see their businesses a little more clearly from an outside perspective, you'll have gone a long way in forging a strong and lasting bond of respect and trust with them

Ken Wallace, M. Div., CSL has been in the organizational development field since 1973. He is a seasoned consultant, speaker and executive coach with extensive business experience in multiple industries who provides practical organizational direction and support for business leaders. A professional member of the National Speakers Association since 1989, he is also a member of the International Federation for Professional Speaking and holds the Certified Seminar Leader (CSL) professional designation awarded by the American Seminar Leaders Association.

Ken is one of only eight certified Business Systems Coaches worldwide for General Motors.

His topics include ethics, leadership, change, communication & his unique Optimal Process Design® program.

Tel:(800)235-5690 Claim your free eBook, "How to Do Better Than Your Best in Anything You Do" by visiting the Better Than Your Best website.

5 Simple Tips For Dealing With Nasty Customers

2008-12-30T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jason Tarasi

If you've been in business very long, you've likely heard it all! You know, the irate customer who is going to sue you over the nineteen dollar product that they claim is bogus; the one that's going to "shut your business down" because they conjure up in their minds that you might have breeched your privacy policy, or the one that takes complete advantage of your money-back guaranty. My favorite has to be the one that calls and screams vulgarities into the phone for apparently no reason.

It doesn't happen often, but if you're going to be in business, you will run across some nut cases from time to time. Some can be diffused, some can't. That's just the way things go in business.

There are some simple techniques for dealing with irate customers without burning yourself an ulcer over them and without telling them you hope they get cancer and die!

Here are some tips you may find useful

1. Don't take it personal

There is one thing that almost all nasty customers have in common. They try to attack you on a personal level. Name calling is not unusual. When you take it personal, you are likely to get into a yelling match with the customer which resolves nothing and only stands to make things worse. Try to diffuse the situation kill the anger with kindness so to speak. If that doesn't work, ask them to contact you again once they have calmed down and are willing to speak reasonably. Refuse to speak with a customer in an irate state. You don't have to put up with abuse ever.

2. Don't overdo the "customer is always right" concept

In customer service training you will always hear that the customer is always right. While that is true to some extent, sometimes they are just flat wrong. You should always try to accommodate a customer within reason, but do not allow that concept to go too far.

3. Realize it isn't always your problem

Sometimes people just have a bad day and are looking for someone to take it out on. A hateful, ugly customer is often one of these people. If you listen to their ranting and raving, then respond kindly telling them you understand their frustration and you want to work with them to come to a resolution, you will often diffuse the anger and uncover the rational human being beneath it.

4. Don't fall for fear invoking bluffs In customer service some business people tend to do anything to avoid the potential harm of a threat even if it means losing money or giving in to irrational demands. When you are threatened, consider the validity of the threat. Do you really think someone is going to pay thousands of dollars in attorney fees to sue you over a low dollar transaction? Likely not. Again, do what you can to accommodate within reason but don't give in to unsubstantiated threats.

5. Be prepared to decide whether or not a customer relationship is worth salvaging

You've heard it said that one happy customer tells one person about your business while an unhappy customer will tell 10 or more. Undoubtedly, word of mouth can be the best or the worst exposure for your business. This is the very basis of the "the customer is always right" concept. Of course it is best to salvage a customer relationship if you can, but again, do so within reason.

Jason Tarasi publishes the reciprocal links newsletter "Elite Links" Learn HOW thousands of other Elite Links members generate FREE traffic and increase their search engine rankings by swapping links. Grab your free lifetime subscription now at: http://www.elitelinksnewsletter.com

How Can Retailers Get Customer Loyalty

2008-12-29T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Harriet Hodgson

Customer loyalty. Say these words and retailers' eyes light up. Every retailer wants customer loyalty and wants to keep it. Some retailers would do almost anything to get customer loyalty, and I understand that. I'm a grandmother and, thanks to birthdays, an experienced shopper, and I think customer loyalty is waning. The question is, why?

Misreading the customer is one reason. A few months ago I went to a furniture store to look around. No other customers were in the store and when the sales associate saw me he started following me. Judging by his body language and the questions he asked, he thought I was confused. If I took a step, he took a step. When I walked to the opposite side of the store he shadowed me.

Talk about annoying. Finally, in exasperation I turned around and said, "I know where I am. I know what I want. What I don't want is to be followed." The man was so shocked he retreated to his office. Unfortunately, I've had this experience in many stores. Do sales associates think all gray haired grandmothers are demented?

The people in charge of employee training should rethink their training, it seems to me. For every time I walk into a store somebody asks, "Do you have any questions?" This is also annoying. Because I'm the age I am I know how to stand up for myself. Believe me, if I had any questions I would ask them.

Can't a person window shop any more? I know sales associates are trained to approach me in case I'm a shop-lifter. Some grandmothers may be shop-lifters, but I'm not one of them. Because I care about my community and want local businesses to succeed, I have some suggestions for retailers.

* TELL ME ABOUT YOUR NEW MERCHANDISE. I would love to hear about the new stretch jeans, colorful t-shirts, and blouses that double as jackets. Hearing about new merchandise gets my attention and may lead to a sale. Even if I don't buy anyting I'lltell my friends about your fabulous merchandise.

* BE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS. These days, many sales associates don't know squat about what they're selling. When you ask them a question they look befuddled. Some act like they don't even care. If you don't care about your merchandise, why should I?

* DRESS FOR THE JOB. Yeah, yeah, I know low-rise jeans are the fad, but it's not a fad I embrace. I've seen too much flesh - overhanging tummies, partial buns, and bare buns. Dealing with a half-dressed sales associate makes me want to walk out the door. I didn't come in the door half naked, so why did you?

* IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A SALE BE COURTEOUS. Lack of courtesy is an instant turn-off. I'm only asking for common courtesy, not false emotion, a flowery speech, or endless sales pitch. Thank me if I bought something and thank me if I didn't. Courtesy also includes a no-hassle return policy.

* RESPECT MY TIME. If you're busy with a customer, say so. Tell me how long it will be before you get around to me. Suggest something I could do in the meantime, such as looking at your catalog or the sale merchandise at the back of the store.

Though customer loyalty is worth its weight in gold, you can't put a price on it. Television and newspaper ads talk about senior citizens' spendable income. I may not have much spendable income, but I'm only shopping at stores that treat me right. If retailers want my loyalty they'll have to earn it.

http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is published by Amazon and available from http://www.amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is also posted on Amazon. You'll find another review on the American Hospice Foundation website under the "School Corner" heading.

Why Is Customer Service Important

2008-12-28T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Morgan Hamilton

If you are someone who eats out a lot then you know how important customer service is. Of course, it varies from establishment to establishment, and from person to person. Opinions and standards vary quite a bit, but I think we all agree that customer service is very important. We all want to be treated well and to enjoy that friendly service we all deserve. Having spent a decade working in customer service jobs, I can attest that it can be a rather unpleasant occupation to say the latest. However, when you deal with the public for a living and depend on their generosity to pay your bills, you don't have to ask a foolish question like, why is customer service important? That answer has been made clear long ago. The first job I landed was at a Chinese restaurant. The proprietor was an old friend of my uncle's. The first question he hit me with was, why is customer service important? It was actually kind of a tough to understand what he was trying to say in his broken English. I thought he asked me; why is cussing servants in Portland? I was taken aback for a moment but was rescued when he was distracted by another matter. My pal then mercifully translated what he had said, and I basically laughed it off with relief.

While I may not have understood every word that my new employer was trying to say, I didn't have any difficulty learning the value of good customer service. I quickly found out when my deliveries didn't make it on time. Late delivery equaled irritated hungry patron, which meant that I didn't get a tip. Over the next several years I tried jobs in video stores, malls, and taverns. Bartending brought a completely new dynamic to the question, why is customer service important? What do you people to drink, there is a whole new set of rules that you have to operate with. You really do have to keep your emotions in check. Remember, angry customers means no tips. And if you get a trunk customer who knows what he's capable of. When you work positions like these, you want and need the gratuity. You really don't hit an hourly wage that adds up to much so this is really important.

If you are in the service industry then no doubt you fully understand the value of good customer service. I know you don't even have to ask why is customer service important? Since most of us have dined our or been to a bar, we all know what things are crucial. No one likes to be kept waiting nor do they like poor service, especially when you're paying good money. This not only keeps the patrons happy, but the boss as well. Poor customer service can certainly cause a customer to never return. So you ask why is customer service important? Because it pays the bills.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning business. Get more information by visiting Why is Customer Service Important

4 Things Your Clients Want From Your Company

2008-12-27T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Darcie Davis

Sure, all clients are different. They have different kinds of strengths, weaknesses, cultures and goals. Even what blocks their efficiency and growth (blind spots) is different. Davis, Kingsley & Company has conducted hundreds of interviews and there are four strong themes that always emerge.

Listen to me. This is the Big Daddy of client desires. Your clients want you to listen to them. The implications of this theme lead to a variety of creative programs that will put you in a listening position with your clients. While surveys, at times, can be useful, we have found they do not satisfy a client's need to be heard.

Show me you've listened. If your clients take the time to speak up and offer their opinions about their experience with your company, your company must show a response. This doesn't mean thank you notes. This means showing the client that changes have been made. Showing them that their opinions made a difference. This is another opportunity to be creative about building relations with clients.

Serve, don't sell. Each client thinks they are different and unique. They also know they have needs and they know your company has some solutions. Clients want their service providers to listen to their needs and offer a response to the need when appropriate. This is different from selling although the activity may end with a sale being made. They do not want to hear your sales pitches just because you have a need to book more business or cross-sell.

Understand me. Every client thinks they are unique. You must do research to understand the problems your clients face from an individual standpoint as well as from company and industry perspectives. Demonstrating that you understand their unique personal and company concerns can be one of your key service differentiators.

Davis, Kingsley & Company can help you design and execute an effective client satisfaction assessment program to address these themes.

Provide mechanisms to listen to your clients. Companies hire us if they want candid and honest feedback from their clients. Our outsider status lets individuals talk freely about whatever is on their minds.

Be creative about demonstrating that you have listened. We work with companies to help them respond to the positive feedback to any problems uncovered. Then we make sure their clients are aware of the changes. After all, it was their opinions that offered the insights.

Build good relationships; it's still primary. It's common knowledge now that most complex sales are consummated after solid relationships are built. And we all know the best relationships are built on trust and respect. Davis, Kingsley & Company helps companies create opportunities that allow their clients to trust and respect them.

How is your organization doing? What would your clients say to us?

Darcie Davis, President of Davis, Kingsley & Company. Darcie is a management consultant, speaker, author and trainer. She works with companies to secure genuine feedback from their clients before advising them on strategic decisions about sales, marketing, and operations. Her advice will keep your clients out of the jaws of the competition.

Learn more about Darcie and the services offered at her firm at: http://www.DavisKingsley.com

Customer Service Policy Geared For Excellence

2008-12-26T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alicia Smith

One unhappy customer will tell the world about inferior service while a happy customer rarely tells a soul. Your challenge as a business owner is to create a buzz so positive about your products and services that your clients and customers will become your raving fans and will tell the world about you!

Your lesson for today is to put pen to paper and write a rock solid customer service policy for your business. This policy should state explicitly how you will treat your customers at each and every turn. By answering the following questions, you will have covered the basics of your customer service program. Are you ready?

1. Who is your customer, and what are you doing to get to know him or her on a personal level?
Examples: Customer profile cards

One employee assigned to following the wins and wows of your customers

A bulletin board celebrating the events in the lives of your customers

2. What is your return policy, and how are customers treated when they return an item?

Use the same courtesy you used when a customer purchased an item.

3. What is your policy for returning phone calls and eMails?

Customers generally want a response within 24 hours, and this policy should be stated and posted.

4. How does everyone in your company answer the telephone?

People want a cheerful voice on your end of the telephone. They also do not want a busy signal when they call.

5. What is your policy for dealing with customers during a wait?

People love special treatment. Use this time to roll out the red carpet by offering a cup of coffee, a soda, or a glass of sparkling water.

6. What is your policy for training staff on how to serve your customers?

Spend one hour, two times per month, educating your staff on how to treat your customers. This treatment could make or break your relationship with your customers.

7. What is your policy for dealing with vendors and their products?

Your vendors are a part of your company, and the quality and care, which you request from them for your customers, should be exceptional. Remember...if your vendors are not providing you with outstanding customer service, your clients/customers will suffer.

8. If you offer a guarantee or warranty, are you honoring this?

If your customer knows that your product or service is guaranteed but there are too many loopholes that make this null and void, you will lose trust with your buyers.

9. Who is your benchmark?

Benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, services, and business practices of your company against the toughest and best competition in your industry. Your benchmark can be anyone and does not have to be restricted to your local region. What is the best company in your field doing that you are not doing or that you can do better?

10. What is your policy for dealing with customer complaints?

People do not want excuses from you regarding poor service. They want help, and they want words that are empathetic such as "I can tell you are disappointed. I am so very sorry. Let me see if I can help you out of this jam." If a customer thinks there is a problem, there is a problem. A customer is always right even when he or she is wrong.

11. What is your shipping policy (if you ship products).

People want quick delivery, and they want their product delivered in impeccable condition. Work this out on paper and be prepared to tell a customer with confidence that he or she will receive the product quickly and in great shape!

12. How do you keep a client updated when an item is on backorder?

Keep the lines of communication open by sending frequent updates on the status of a customer's wait.

13. What are your hours of operation?

This seems simple, but it is very important. People want to know when you are open and when you are closed. Post these on your website and add them to your voice mail greeting.

14. What are the 20 ways that you add value to your customers?
Do you offer private sales? Do you offer discounts to current customers? Do you invite your customers in to sample new products and services before the general public gets a peek? Do your best to come up with at least 20 ways that you add value to your services, and deliver those with a wonderful attitude? Do you offer a kid's corner, Valet parking, a Concierge service, or something that makes your customers go WOW? Think creatively on this question, and come up with at least 20 ways you add value to the life of your buyers. This could be something as simple as special soap in the restrooms or the most current selection of magazines in your waiting area.

15. How often do you use customer satisfaction surveys to improve your business?

Surveys are a great way to find out what is on the minds of your customers. On Day 76, we will be asking you to develop a customer survey, so begin thinking about what it is that you want to know that will improve the effectiveness of your company.

Alicia Smith is a Coach and Trainer whose specialty is helping coaches to Make Money Now. This article is derived from just one of the 90 lessons contained in her e-course, 90-Day Marketing Marathon. To learn more visit http://www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com.

Dont Be Afraid To Give Problem Customers The Boot

2008-12-25T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tim Knox

Q: In a recent column you made the point that the customer is always right, which I agree with. However, in the same column you also said that it is sometimes necessary give problem customers the boot. If the customer is always right, at what point do you think they become so problematic that you should stop doing business with them? -- Gary M.

A: That column brought a number of emails similar to yours, Gary, requesting that I clarify the line between "the customer is always right" and "sometimes you have to give a customer the boot." Here's the bottom line: if you, as a business owner or service provider, are willing to take a customer's money in exchange for providing him with goods or services, then the customer has what I call "the right of expectation." This means that the customer has the right to expect you to deliver everything promised in the transaction between you. For example, if you own a restaurant the customer has the right to expect that their meal will be prepared and served to their satisfaction. If you are a dry cleaner the customer has the right to expect that you will launder their clothes without returning them in shreds. If are hired to perform a service the customer has the right to expect that the service will be provided to their satisfaction within the terms of the defined task.

As the business owner, it is your responsibility to meet the customer's expectations and provide good customer service. Even if your business does not involve a formal contract that spells out to the letter what should be expected, there is generally a clear understanding of what the customer expects and what you are willing to deliver. If you back peddle on your end of the bargain, let's say by serving a bad meal or losing a customer's laundry and refusing to make things right, then you are guilty of not meeting the expectations of your customer and thereby are guilty of providing bad customer service.

Unfortunately not every entrepreneur puts emphasis on delivering good customer service. They are in it for the money and damn the customer if they have a problem. Such entrepreneurs were the topic of the column you mentioned, the point of which was, if you make a habit of not meeting your customer's expectations, you will not be in business for long.

Now let's look at the flipside. Just as the customer has the right to expect that he will get his money's worth when doing business with you, you have the right to expect that your customer will not demand things that are beyond the scope of realistic expectations (or the contract). If a customer orders hamburger, he shouldn't expect it to taste like steak unless you have advertised it as such. If a customer brings you a cotton shirt to launder he should not expect a silk shirt in return. It's when the customer's expectations get out of sync with what should realistically be expected that you will have problems.

We have all had customers who expected far more than was their due: customers who were unreasonable, overly demanding, condescending, hard to please and sometimes, even dishonest in their dealings with you. When a customer's reasonable expectations become unreasonable demands you must decide whether or not that customer is doing more harm to your business than good.

So here is the line in the sand between the "customer is always right" and "sometimes you have to give the customer the boot" - if a customer crosses the line from being an asset to being a detriment to your business, you should consider giving that customer the boot.

This is easier said than done if that customer constitutes a large chunk of your revenue, but even then you have to consider what your business might be like if that problem customer was not in the picture. Would the time you spend dealing with the problem customer be better spent on sales calls that might expand your client base and grow your business (a business that is dependent on one client is a house of cards)? Would your employees be happier not having to deal with this customer? Would you sleep better nights knowing that you don't have a dozen phone messages from him on your desk every morning?

The easiest way to decide how much trouble a customer is worth is to look at the amount of revenue this customer brings in versus the time and expense of meeting his expectations. If this customer pays you $1,000 a month, but costs you $2,000 in time spent keeping them happy, this customer is actually costing you money. Just a handful of these kinds of customers will put you out of business fast..

For example, I once had a client whose business was worth several thousand dollars a year to my software company's bottom line. However, this client proved to be problematic from the second the contract was signed. He and his employees called our office ten times a day and dominated my tech support team's time with IT problems that were not even related to the service we were contracted to provide. It got so bad that my employees cringed every time the phone rang because they were afraid it was this client calling again.

When the time came to renew this client's contract it wasn't hard for me to decide to give him the boot. I simply did the math. This client had added thousands of dollars to my company's bottom line, but had cost me at least that much in handholding and support, not to mention the mental anguish he had caused my employees. I opted not to renew the contract and politely invited the client to take his business elsewhere.

The perfect customer relationship is win/win, meaning that your customer benefits from your product or service and your company prospers by delivering the product or service. The relationship must be built on mutual respect and honest intention. It is when the relationship becomes win/lose that you must be ready to take action. If the customer thinks he can hold you over a barrel and get more out of you than he has paid for, the relationship and your business suffer for it.

Look, you don't need me to hit you in the head with a stupid stick on this one. You know who your problem customers are and you know that you will eventually have to deal with them. You have to consider the value of every customer in the long run, not just their value today.

Is the customer making demands that are beyond the scope of what should be reasonably expected? If the customer constantly demands more than they are entitled to and gets angry when you refuse to comply, consider giving them the boot.

Is the customer taking advantage of your good graces? Some customers may mistake your willingness to please for weakness and try to wring more out of your relationship than they should. If the customer has a record of trying to take advantage of you and plays every angle to get more from you than they deserve, consider giving them the boot.

Is this customer a threat to your reputation? Let's face it; there is nothing more harmful to your reputation than a dissatisfied customer with a big mouth. And it does not matter who is at fault in the disagreement, a disgruntled customer is going to bad mouth you in the end - especially if they were at fault. If you suspect a customer might be the sort to one day air dirty laundry in public, consider giving them the boot.

Does the customer pay in a timely manner? If you have a customer that is consistently 90 to 120 days late in paying even when your contract clearly outlines your payment terms to be otherwise, it may be indicative of other problems to come. If you feel the client is a payment risk, consider giving them the boot.

What's the best way to avoid a customer booting? The best answer is to have a contract that clearly spells out the specifics of the relationship. The contracts I use in my various businesses clearly define the services to be provided, the cost of those services, and the timeline and terms under which those services will be rendered. If there is a deviation from the contract, we write an addendum that details any changes and their effect on the contract. Do I still have to give some customers the boot? You bet, but not very often. It's hard for a customer to cry foul when everything is there in black and white right above his signature.

What if your business doesn't use contracts? Then hang a poster in your shop or have a hand-out that clearly defines what your customer can expect from your business and then deliver what you promise. If you have a poster or hand-out that clearly outlines your services, your rates, scheduling, return policy, etc., there should be very little that the customer can complain about.

I know, famous last words.

Here's to your success!

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox. Tim's latest books include "Small Business Success Secrets" and "The 30 Day Blueprint For Success!" Related Links: http://www.smallbusinessqa.com http://www.dropshipwholesale.net

Creating A Successful Call Center Script

2008-12-24T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Karin Rosner

At the beginning of my creative career, I volunteered as an overnight deejay at a college radio station. I loved playing the music and interacting with insomniac listeners, but I got a real kick out of reading the news. I would tear copy straight off the wire service printer and if I was lucky, I had a producer turn that raw newsfeed into informational text that I read into the microphone. The text was broken up into reasonable sentences that were designed for easy delivery over the air. When my producer didn't show up for my shift, I did this myself I'd mark up the page, insert pauses, and emphasize the words and sentence clauses that I wanted to stress. If I couldn't be understood over a fuzzy and weak AM signal, then what was the point of taking five minutes at the top of the hour to deliver the news? I had a lot of fun and I learned how to "speak" all over again. Whenever I do any live speaking today, I use the same exact techniques that I learned while the "On-Air" sign was flashing above the studio. I mark up my speech or the text passage I'm reading because I know that impact is everything. If I lose my breath in the middle of a sentence, then it's too long. If the last word of a sentence drops out inaudibly, my message is lost. If I stumble on an unfamiliar word or name, my audience loses confidence in my message.

Live telephone operators who work in call centers and answering services need the same help that any live speaker needs. It's the job of the call center operator to communicate the client's business image to the caller, and this begins with the first few seconds of the phone call. Many small business owners' needs never go beyond representatives answering their lines with "XYZ Company, may I help you?" and improvising the rest of the conversation to obtain the information that the client requests. When clients upgrade their accounts to more complex services, it's important that they create a script that works for both the company signing up for the service, the operator reading the script, and the customer. Your sales representative is more than willing to help you create the best script to fit all of your sales or information inquiries.

Creating a call center script begins with the "answer phrase" and the same principles continue through the entire process of creating a logical script. H ere are some important items to keep in mind when you are creating your script:

Avoid tongue twisters. Make your greeting as easy to pronounce as possible. "Doctor Perkowicz Peoria Plastic Surgery Plaza" isn't easy to say, even for the native English speaker. Make sure that your operators know how to pronounce every part of your answer phrase, and the rest of the words in your script. Keep phrases brief and avoid repeating consonant sounds that will sound awkward over the phone or might lead the operator to stutter.

Go global. A "Good Morning/ Evening" greeting can work for some businesses, but not for all of them. If your company is doing business across time zones, think about using a simple "Hello, XYZ Company" for your customer on the other end of the globe.

Humanize your greeting. Have an impartial friend or a trusted customer listen to your greeting, especially if it's a long introductory message of more than a sentence or two. Do you sound like a recording? If you give that impression to a caller, the person on the other end of the line might just hang up because she wants to talk with a live person, not a machine. Keep all parts of your script brief and give the operator relaying your message time to breathe and sound like a live person when you create your script.

Less is more. There's a temptation to try and pack all the information about your company into your call center script, including providing an operator a copy of your frequently asked questions list (FAQ) so that he or she can quickly scan the file and answer 99.9 % of your callers' questions. However, this skill takes practice and training on the part of the operator and patience on the part of the caller. Long pauses to look up information, add expensive minutes to the call and are frustrating experiences for the operator and the caller alike. Extensive account training is available through most call centers, if your budget permits. If this resource is not an option for you, limit the information available to the operators to a few facts about your product or service, and let them know that it's okay to ask callers if someone from the right department can return their call and answer their questions in depth.

Test. Call up your account weekly and test to make sure that the operators are following your instructions, are handling your scripts the way that you expect, and are able to easily access the information that they need to take your calls. After the honeymoon period with a new account, operators often grow lax and shorten your script, or improvise far beyond the call of duty. This can be detrimental to your business. Make sure that you follow up with your call center to make sure they are serving your needs.

Tweak, and tweak again. Review your script from time to time, and see if it's still leading to action. Ultimately, your script should lead to a sale, an appointment a request for more information or further contact from your office. Check your call logs and any statistics your sales representative provides you with on a monthly basis. If you notice a downward trend in your results, work with your sales rep to change your script.

These suggestions are only the beginning of creating a successful call center script for your organization. Work with your sales representative and listen to their suggestions, add your own, do your market research and your script will be a success. Clear communication starts with clear instructions from you, and clear voices on the answering end of your phone lines. Your call center will work with you to make sure that all of your needs are filled over and above your expectations.

Karin Rosner is a New York City based writer and has worked at 1-800 We Answer, a division of EFLS, Inc. ( http://www.weanswer.com and http://www.efls.com ) since 2004. When not writing articles on the call center industry or working on her first novel, she actually answers the phones for hundreds of clients who use her company's live answering and call center services.

Setting Up A Customer Of The Week Program For A Mobile Car Wash

2008-12-23T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

In a mobile detail or mobile car wash business you are on a first name basis with your customers. You sink or swim with your ability to please your customer and rely on them to build your business by referring their friends, associates and neighbors. One excellent way to insure referrals is to set up a "Customer of the Week Program." Here are some pointers to help you do just that.

Programs And Certificates

This program lets people know you value their business. If you don't have a program yet but feel someone is worthy of a discount, simply tell them that they're the customer of the week. If they ask why, tell them they're the best customer in the office and their award is a dollar discount. Sometimes a person in a bad mood will be picked up and turned around by this little bit of attention.

You'll find in your Microsoft Word or Works program that probably came on your computer has templates for various certificates, which you can easily modify. Make yourself a file for a certificate that can be printed out for a Customer of the Week award. Carry these in the work truck or van and hand them out where you feel they'll do the most good and to customers who are the most deserving.

Free Washes

If someone goes into their office, spreads the word of your arrival and brings you a bunch of customers, when they ask how much they owe you let them know you appreciate their effort by giving them their wash for a discount or for free or collect and refuse the tip and hand them a free customer of the week wash for next week, this will insure more customers next week and a new customer for life. You might even consider letting them know if they continue to bring you business (x number of customers per week), you'll wash their car for free each week. This will save you the time of selling through their building since generally they know almost everyone on a more personal basis than you do. This will create a bigger following of regular weekly customers much faster.

Always keep your grass roots marketing and word of mouth advertising simple and never forget to ask for a referral when you know you have done well and deserve it. People are glad to give referrals, but some folks just need to be asked. Think about it.

Lance Winslow

The Friendliest Airport In The World

2008-12-22T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ron Kaufman

Singapore's Changi Airport has been rated #1 in the world so many times the trophy cabinet is bulging.

They've hit #1 in efficiency, speed, shopping, security, safety and ease of use.

But the category called 'courtesy and friendliness' has eluded Changi Airport's capture. This is not surprising, perhaps, given that the local culture has grown in a city known more for 'trading and exchanging' than 'providing gracious warmth and hospitality'.

Now the airport is facing this challenge head-on. The depth and magnitude of commitment are impressive: a brand new 'service promise' with high impact launch program for 7,000 staff, customized full-day training for 3,000 frontline staff members, monthly courtesy awards, customer feedback kiosks, service improvement contests, mystery traveler audits, constant reminders for staff (and customers) with posters, badges and banners, newsletter articles, special announcements and more.

This is total commitment, typical of Singapore Changi Airport. With such intensity and clarity of focus, the program will surely work.

Key Learning Point
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Changing a culture takes time and effort, energy, creativity and focus. It's not a project to do halfway, not for the half-hearted.

Action Steps
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What upgrade or improvements are you working on right now? Are you doing everything you can to really make it happen? Need some inspiration? Come visit Singapore's Changi Airport.

Customer Service Tips 4 Steps For Turning Customer Moments Into Customer Experiences

2008-12-21T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Richard Flint

It doesn't matter much if you think your customer care is good. What do your customers think? Do you know at the beginning of the selling process that your customer is going to be satisfied? The experience that your customer has with your company has more to do with your behavior towards them than anything else.

Too many people treat a customer like a moment, rather than an important EXPERIENCE. You see, people just want to know that they matter. Not just their money or their time, but they want to know that they matter as a human being. When you treat your customers like taking care of them is the absolute most important part of your day, you solidify in their minds good thoughts of you and your company. Your customer is the one who defines whether you're good at what you do, and they do that through their definition of their experience.

Here are 4 steps that you can take to make sure your customer NEVER is treated as a "moment" but as the focus of your business:

Make sure you have plenty of time for them.

Organize yourself to take care of their needs.

Manage the moments of touch.

Empower your business associates to make decisions.

Your customers determine their own satisfaction. Don't wait until it's too late to know if they are satisfied. If you are wondering about it, then it's too late! It's your behavior that will make them feel like they are the focus of your business.

For the past 26 years, Richard Flint has been helping businesses understand the business of people. Whether it's managers, employees, or customers he has the knowledge, insight, and experience required to create an environment where everyone wins. To learn more about Richard and how to create positive customer 'experiences', visit http://www.customer-service-tips.com.

Theres A Lot To Be Said For Please Amp Thankyou Training

2008-12-20T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

Once, in the middle of a major consulting assignment I chatted with two managers about the prior customer service training that they had sponsored for their staff.

With derision in his voice, one described the program as "Please & Thank You" training.

Well that's pretty mindless and wasteful, I recall thinking.

But now, I have a different viewpoint. I believe every customer interfacing person should be taught the importance of saying please and thank you at least five times more often.

It was either Aristotle or Plato who reportedly said that education is the one good thing in life that we can't get too much of, though I don't think they encountered chocolate.

But we can definitely add to that short list, courtesy.

Customers love hearing please and thank you, repeatedly, because it makes them feel important. And by uttering these words, we remind ourselves who comes first, in business.

Over the years, there has been a steady democratizing of the employee-customer relationship, and I'm not sure it has been that productive. One sign of it is when a banking CSR asks you who he is speaking to, and you reply with your full name, and he then uses your first name through the remainder of the conversation.

Who authorized him to take such a liberty?

Growing up, the etiquette I learned was that we use someone's formal name, i.e. Dr. Mr. or Ms. along with the last name, if the person is older, if the person has higher status or power, if we have just met, or until we have been invited by that person to be less formal.

But again, the presumption is that we're ceding authority and power to the customer. If we think we're superior or equals, then I suppose we'll dispense with this customary etiquette.

Some CEO's like to invert the order of importance, saying that their employees come first, customers second, and stockholders, third. There's nothing wrong with lionizing your staff, but does it have to come at the expense of other constituencies?

No matter, I'm sure front-line folks wouldn't mind hearing please and thank you from their managers 500% more often, as well!

Putting The Quotservicequot Back In Quotcustomer Servicequot

2008-12-19T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Sean Cohen

The future of customer service is here. Technology has made seeking out support faster and easier than ever. But, has your digital age company sacrificed true service in the name of automation?

Today, finding customer support is as simple as writing an e-mail or picking up the phone. But, even though you're not face-to-face with your customers, you still leave a lasting impression. Do you come across as caring and competent, or menacing and mechanical?

Offering stand-out service on the Internet isn't as hard as it is rare. Take these simple steps towards old-style service in the digital age:

* Give Each Customer a Personal Response

* Be Clear, But Sincere

* Offer Live Customer Support

* Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All the Answers

GIVE EACH CUSTOMER A PERSONAL RESPONSE

When a customer sits down to e-mail your company, it's because he needs help. He chooses e-mail because it's quick, but his request still warrants a satisfying and personal response!

Companies eager to save time and money often take automation too far in their customer support. Each customer has a unique question, and deserves a unique answer. Even if you save time by copying and pasting stock replies, change the opening and closing to make the message sound less robotic.

BE CLEAR, BUT SINCERE

When responding to customers' e-mail, be sincere and to the point. Before sending a message, try turning the tables. Ask yourself, "Would this answer satisfy *me* if I were the customer?"

Take that extra moment to give your customer the help he deserves. It might mean the difference between a satisfied customer and a credit card chargeback!

OFFER LIVE CUSTOMER SUPPORT

E-mail has become an acceptable form of communication. But, live customer support is still necessary. The plethora of information available online can be overwhelming to customers, especially those new to the Internet!

Single your company out from the crowd by providing customers with a real person to talk to. Live phone support is an invaluable way to foster trust. When your customer has reached the end of his Internet rope, and just needs *help*, your toll free number is the answer he's looking for.

MAKE SURE YOUR SUPPORT REPS HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS

The presence of phone support will do no good if your staff doesn't know your product! Customer support reps should be warm and friendly, and willing to help with any aspect of your product.

What a good feeling it is to talk to someone who feels confident in his product. It's even better if he's knowledgeable enough to solve your problem without transferring you all around the company!

PROVIDE STAND-OUT SERVICE; GAIN LIFELONG CUSTOMERS

Too many e-businesses skimp on customer service, hiding behind web sites and message boards. Customer support is an integral part of every company, even those operating solely online. Be one of the few to offer stellar service, and gain customers for life!

Customer Service is becoming a lost art, but Sean Cohen wants to make sure that never happens at AWeber Communications! Find out what service is meant to be: http://www.aweber.com/lcs.htm

Are You Putting Technology Before Your Customers

2008-12-18T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Douglas Titchmarsh

Which is more important the technology or the customer?

The one thing about the online world you can be sure of is change. It seems like every day there is a new technology being added which will make the internet more accessible. As online marketers, we strive to keep up with all these trends and incorporate them into our marketing arsenals.

Going back to when the internet started, it was a bit of a nerdy place to be, with lots of people communicating in text only. Some savvy individuals saw how this growing community could be exploited and used to advertise their wares, and with all the hyperlinking joining them to other sites they could be easily found.

Then the world wide web evolved from the basic internet adding pictures and multimedia and eventually adding videos too, and it became even more useful to marketing. Added in with email which made it possible to reach a large audience at low cost the web became irresistable to businesses.

Each step forward brings with it even more opportunities for us online entrepreneurs to get our messages seen.

But as it marches on into new technologies are we all missing the point somewhat?

We all need our ads to be seen, but often we seem to be spending more time wrestling with new technology than actually working. Everyone is jumping on the blogging bandwagon at the moment and offering xml and rss feeds to get their messages out.

Flash video, along with audio, and video streams is also being used extensively, and often unneccessarily to market products.

But even more alarming is the reliance some people are placing on this new technology, to the point of abandoning traditional email and websites.

Let me relate this recent story which actually happened.

I received a newsletter which I read regularly, and like many others the owner was having problems with getting his email newsletter through spam filters. Like many newsletter publishers he had decided to publish his newsletter as a webpage. He started sending out regular emails when the newsletter was available, and including the link to read it. All ok so far.

It was shortly afterwards I received an update from this newsletter telling me that it would no longer be available as a web page, but would now be an rss feed only. And telling me if I wanted to carry on reading I should download some software to do so.

Whoa, backtrack there.

Your subscribers can only read your newsletter if they download some extra software and learn how to use it?

I emailed the owner to point out that I thought it was a bad idea. You want your subscribers to stick with you, make it easy for them, the reply I got was that I should join the 21st century, if I wanted to read his newsletter he would tell me how I should do it.

No I don't want to read it that bad thanks anyway.

So before you go running headlong into the latest technological marvels of the internet, think about what your customers need. Do they have the latest greatest browser to view your latest greatest multimedia masterpiece? Will they need to download some extra software just to view your newsletter?

Subscribers are humans too you know, and as humans they are fickle creatures. They will stick with you while the goings good and easy but make them work to stay with your newsletter and you're history as there are plenty more good newsletters they can get free.

Flashy animations, and new technology can be impressive, but put your customers first, and use the technology only if it helps them.

Doug Titchmarsh

Doug Titchmarsh runs several sites including http://www.cashinonline.info and http://www.titchmarsh.com and publishes an e-zine for marketers online and off which you can get by sending an email to douglastitchmarsh@getresponse.com

Boomerang Customers What You Might Not Think Brings Them Back

2008-12-17T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Anne M. Obarski

With all of the calendars and PDA's and lists I make I recently did a really dumb thing. I forgot my best friend's birthday and her anniversary. Both special days are back to back and I forgot both of them. After being friends for twenty years I feel old and stupid!

It could have been that I was packing my last child to go off to college and the constant comments like," You're going to be empty nesters", like I was a big, fat robin, were starting to wear very thin. Even having my youngest leave home was not enough of an excuse to miss two important days in my best friend's life.

So what did I do the minute I realized my mistake? I went shopping!

I drove to my local card shop in the strip center by my home because I knew that not only could I use my special coupon that I had, but that I probably could find something unique there. Just as I thought, as soon as I walked in I saw a display of "retro" Barbie items.

Not a big deal to you, but a big deal to me and I know, my best friend. You see, we grew up in that era and for a short time, I was time warped back to the sixties! I bought an armful of things! A special Christmas ornament, a photo album, a special gift bag, a card and a picture frame! I would have bought more but I was starting to feel a little less guilty at this point! I could just imagine her face when she opens the package. She and I both love "girly" things and this was the epitome of "girly"! I was so excited about these things that I decided right there in the store I needed to mail the package overnight so I could hear how much she loved each item!

As I carried all of my special "finds" throughout the store, I picked up an anniversary card and made my way to the counter. I was the only customer in the store at the time and I noticed that there was only one employee behind the counter doing what looked to be "busy work".

As she looked up she said, "Oh, don't you love this Barbie stuff?" Well, it was rather obvious. That was the end of the discussion. The conversation converted to what I call "parrot" talk. Do you have a "---------mark card?" Will that be cash or charge? Do you want the receipt with you or in the bag? Have a nice evening.

It was a simple $50 sale that had so much more potential. The average sale in a card store is between $8 and $14 so maybe that sale wasn't so average. Maybe she thought I had purchased everything I wanted. So what would make me return to that store? Why would I tell my best friend about the selection? Where else could I buy the same merchandise? When will companies learn the simple technique to bring customers back?

And how can they improve those simple communication skills.

I call this the Win-Win "W" words!

Simple words that create open-ended questions that the customer can't say "no" to but that also help to build a conversation! Employees should try to build a conversation with a customer in which each of the sentences they use begin with a "w" word; who, what, where, when, why and a non-"w" word, how.

The questions can be developed into either a service approach or a merchandise approach. Here are examples:

The Service approach:

What brings you in today?

Who is celebrating an anniversary?

When is the big occasion?

Where will the wedding be?

How are you planning to wrap this?

The Merchandise approach:

What type of frame will match their decorating style?

Who likes these fabulous scented candles?

When will you need these invitations for?

Where will you be sending this Precious Moments keepsake figurine?

How about buying a second charm to give as a stocking stuffer?

It is all about building a conversation by asking open-ended questions that will help you to learn more about your customer's wants and needs. Little children are great at this technique. They will ask you "w" questions until they are blue in the face because they want to know the answers to their questions. So should you!

I was just reading an article entitled, "Clone Your Top Performers", by Louise Anderson in a new publication called Incentive magazine. She states in the article that they worked with a bank that needed to increase sales at each branch. They taught the tellers to ask each customer an open-ended question about graduations, home renovation projects or other seasonal events. The teller would then relate a story from his or her own experience to build rapport. Based on this conversation, the teller might be able to refer the customer to the appropriate personal banker with a specific need.

Interestingly enough, when they "rewarded their people for adopting this pattern the bank averaged 26 closed sales per team member, versus15 previously- a 58% improvement!"

Amazing that the increases came simply from developing a relationship with the customer by asking simple questions that you would ask a friend or family member!

How could the sales associate at my card shop improve her sales per transaction with me? Did I mention there was a huge display board as I came in the store that stated, "If you buy $30 worth of Barbie merchandise you can get a special piece for 50% off the regular price?" Could she have reminded me of that??? I told her that I still had my original Barbie. Could she have said, "Why don't you pick something special for yourself, like the beautiful silver bracelet?" What special occasion do you have coming up that you could treat yourself to? My, how fast these ornaments have sold; you might want to get one for your Christmas tree this year! And she should have noticed that I bought a gift bag but no tissue. How easy would it have been for her to say, "I see you didn't get tissue for the bag? Did you see that great Barbie tissue with the shoes on it?" How about I grab you a pack to just add that last special touch to this gift for your best friend?"

I would have started feeling better about being "forgetful" right away!

This type of selling is built on the fast food sales strategy. "Would you like fries with that?" Sometimes I don't want fries. I don't want anything extra. But this time, I was in a "buying mood" and even a simple compliment like "What a lucky best friend you have", could have warmed up the conversation. Better yet, I would have thought, "What would I like to take home for me?"

You see boomerang customers come back to us because they know we know the right questions to ask!

Now where did I leave my day timer?

Anne M. Obarski is "The Customer Service Spy!" As a professional speaker and trainer, Anne will work with your company to provide you with the clues to keep your customers coming back. Anne presents keynotes, break-out sessions and customized training, nationwide, in the area of customer service. You'll want her two new books, "Surprising Secrets of Mystery Shoppers" and "Real World Customer Service Strategies That Work".

For a limited time get her free, "10 Big Secrets to Giving Mystery Shopper Feedback and Get the Changes You Want", by faxing 724-941-4304 on your letterhead and write the words, BIG SECRETS. For more info go to: http://www.merchandiseconcepts.com or email Anne at anne@merchandiseconcepts.com For high resolution photo of Anne, please visit www.merchandiseconcepts.com/annephoto.html

The Service Department Service The End Users View

2008-12-16T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Hubert Crowell

What is expected

Customers expect equipment to be returned in good working order in a reasonable time frame. They also expect all settings and adjustments to remain as they were when the equipment failed. The end user is reasonable, and they do not expect overnight repairs at any charge. They have been taught through experience not to expect to much. So it should be easy for a service department to exceed their expectations. A happy customer is one that is kept advised of the status of the repair and is aware of the cost before the repair is made so that they can make cost-effective decisions. I have found, in talking with customers over the years that the more that they understand about the problem the more they are willing to work with you. One must however, be careful not to disclose negative short comings of the company or of fellow employees. The best rule is that if you cannot say something good or positive about the company or a fellow employee, then say nothing at all. However mistakes do happen, even with the best employees. Mistakes will be made whenever action is being taken, we learn from these mistakes and try not to repeat them. Honest mistakes can be admitted without mentioning names and this can be a positive from the customers' view point. Mistakes are always best disclosed before the customer discovers them and brings them to your attention.

Employees should be encouraged to bring mistakes to their supervisors as soon as they are aware of them. This should not be viewed as a bad thing but a good action on the part of the employee, so that the mistake can be resolved as soon as possible. An employee that never makes mistakes may be too cautious and may not be productive, I would challenge this type of employee to be more aggressive and try new things. If your customers deal with more suppliers than you, then you need to know what the other suppliers are doing to meet their needs. End users are usually more than happy to share this information with you. This will help you in your decisions to replace or repair and to what level. You should always try to exceed their expectations. End users expect some startup problems with new products, but also expect fast corrections, this is where the need for fast and effective communications with the factory or manufacturer is required. When a customer calls in with a problem, they are grateful for any help they can receive. Any time the problem can be resolved by phone or e-mail you have exceeded their expectations. So a good service department starts with good phone support.

Experiences good and bad

The second call made by a customer relating to the same repair is a bad experience and should be prevented. If the stage of repair is phone support, the person providing the support should always try to be the person returning a call, not waiting on the customer, unless this is not convenient for the customer. There is nothing wrong in taking the customers' number or e-mail address and telling them that you will find the information and get back with them, just be sure that it is in a timely manner. After the equipment has been returned for repair contact should always be initiated by the service department by a phone call or by e-mail. E-mail is now preferred by most customers and should have a very clear subject line. Sometimes the subject line may be all that is required, letting the customer know that the equipment as arrived or that the repair is in progress. An employee that does not come in contact with the end user will be very reluctant to call or contact the customer. This fear can only be overcome by making repeated contact. I have found that even after years of phone support with end users, the more time that goes by without this contact makes it harder to start the contact again. Don't let an employee fall into the trap of just repairing equipment without becoming involved with the end user. The repair person should be contacting the end user anytime there is a question about how the equipment is used, settings that are in question or even to find out what the end user is expecting from the equipment. Many times the problem cannot be found, returned to the customer and then returned to the service department again for the same problem, only to discover that it is not the equipment but what is being expected of the equipment by the end user.

Promises not delivered

How many times have we promised a repair will be ready on a given date? If we make a commitment to a customer, then we should have a backup plan in place in case we cannot deliver. Have a service loaner available, or be prepared to replace the product with a new one or an equivalent restored unit. Employees should be encouraged to leave such commitments up to their supervisor, who would have the back up plans. There are always unknowns when making repairs, we may see a problem and make a commitment only to find another problem later which will delay the repair process. This should be viewed in the same way as an honest mistake or oversight and be brought to the attention of the supervisor and the end user, so that they can plan accordingly. One broken promise can wipe out all the promises delivered in the past to a customer. A good friend and coworker of mine had a saying "Some times you eat the bear and some times the bear eats you!" We can't always win but it helps when we have a backup plan or someone to call on for help. That fresh approach at a problem from another person is sometimes all it takes. Just don't take too long to ask for help.

Down Time

Down time is critical for a customer and when equipment arrives at the service center for repairs, every effort should be made to assure a quick turn around. Starting with the phone support, calls should not drag out. If progress is not being made on the repair, then the next step should be taken. Some companies have a Red Alert system for onsite service. A 4-4-4 Red Alert system works very well when working with an onsite service person. When the onsite service person has spent four hours on a problem and does not have the answer or know what must be done to resolve the problem, they must then call for technical support. Technical support then works up to four hours with the technician on the site. If both parties have not resolved the problem in a total of eight work hours, then the problem is escalated to a Red Alert stage. At this time sales should be advised so that they have the opportunity to work with the customer on non repair solutions. In some cases the problem is escalated to a senior technical person or maybe the factory. If repairs are normally done at the service center then the decision, by the phone support person, to return the equipment should be made within the first four hours or whatever time frame is acceptable in your market. If phone support is working with a customer doing their own repairs, then care must be taken not to proceed beyond the technical ability of the customer. This will vary greatly and will require skill on the part of your phone support person. When working for the RCA Service Company, when color television was just becoming popular, they had a 30 minute rule for the regular house call. If you did not have the answer to the problem within 30 minutes, you were required to call the bench person for assistance. They would give you a couple of things to try and if that did not fix the problem, you removed the chassis for return to the shop for repair. Taking 10 to 15 calls a day will really sharpen your skills. One trick I soon learned was to line up the easy looking calls for the morning (when possible as I laid out the route), and then I would save up some extra time so I could spend it at the end of the day working on a good problem on my own.

@ 2006 Hubert Crowell All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means-graphic, electronic, taping, or informational and retrieval systems - without the written permission of the author.

I have been fortunate to be able to work in the service area during a time when equipment was still being repaired. It has been a rewarding field to see the results of your efforts appear before your eyes as you replace a blown transistor and the equipment comes back to life, or to see the expression on some TV owners face when the picture improves. There was also the joy of teaching others from vocational school television repair courses to new product training in big corporate training rooms. There have also been hard decisions to stay in service or move onto management. I choose to remain at the repair and training level and was able to find some companies late in my career that were still making repairs at the component level. For complete paper on The Service Department, Please visit my web site at:

http://hucosystems.com/

Bad Chemistry Can Quickly Dissolve Customer Relationships

2008-12-15T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

I'm doing everything in my power to avoid doing any more business than strictly necessary with the car dealership where I leased my car.

Literally, they've been pushing away my business, since I got into my new ride.

Where I used to get free loan cars as a matter of course, they stopped subsidizing them, unless authorized under warranty repairs.

Their service department inconveniently requires appointments a full week in advance, and they're in the habit of losing parts that I've handed them that fall off the car, errant pieces of the luxury interior, for instance.

But the most problematic issue is how they've been changing their personnel, bringing in hardball communicators who speak in "mands." These include commands, "You MUST do X;" and demands, "You'll HAVE TO HAVE Y."

Indelicate at best, but usually defensive and destructive of relationships, mand-dispensers usually fly under the radar of anyone who can correct them. They disturb customers greatly, but seem to do nothing that is so obvious, that it can be detected easily.

What you do see is mysterious fallout from their word-bombs.

Customers drop-off all around the demanders and commanders, yet the offended don't feel they have a smoking gun to point to that sums up why they feel the service advisors upset them.

So, the behavior continues, until a consultant comes in and actually hears their language.

By that time, the damage has been done, customer relationships have dissolved, and irreversible losses have occurred.

And how do the defensive folks who caused these problems respond?

They blame their customers for being flakes, and worse.

It's their style.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Customer Service For Nasa Education Programs

2008-12-14T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

One of NASAs missions besides space exploration and the forward progression of mankind is to foster goodwill and educate the next generation of aerospace leaders. They do this in a number of ways and this is where the Shuttles Tires meet the runway.

It is very much about customer service. Who is the customer? Well the American People for one and lately the whole world, as so much is riding on what they accomplish up there and down here.

NASAs customer service is a good case study in public relations and how to propel our next generation. Their teams help in education of our young up and coming astronauts. In what ways does NASA give great customer service?

Well go take a look at their website and each page of important information has a link to more information and often a contact name. You can email them and they will respond to your questions, comments or ideas. I have and have been quite astounded by their excellent work.

In this case study we see that one of our nations greatest assets allows for dialogue, input and works with the public for the benefits of all. If more government agencies did this and offered this level of customer service we certainly would have more citizens praising their efforts. Please consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Prove Yourself Every Time

2008-12-13T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Larry Galler

Last week a disgruntled salesperson told me about a long-time customer who stopped buying from her. "Gosh, I thought we were good friends; we even went out together socially. I never thought I would have to worry about losing her as a customer." As soon as I heard that last sentence, I knew that I had discovered a new business-medical condition, "SCS." Salesperson Complacency Syndrome!

Too often we confuse relationships. These people had a business relationship. In the course of that relationship, it sounded as if they became friendly. But somewhere the salesperson became complacent, feeling that, "my friend would never take her business elsewhere." I don't know what triggered the defection but SCS (Salesperson Complacency Syndrome) can be identified in three possible scenarios:

1. The Relentless Competitor

An aggressive salesperson worked hard to separate the buyer's personal relationship from her responsibility as a purchaser and strove to offer better service, terms, quality and / or price.

2. She's Mine Forever Unless I Really Mess Up

The original salesperson thought her "friend" was somehow "tied-to-her-for-life" and began spending less time and effort, giving the rival an opening.

3. It Will Be Overlooked

Somehow the salesperson didn't fix an error, extend a proper discount, or give the type of service she gave at the beginning of the relationship.

Every salesperson, when dealing with a long-term purchaser, must know about SCS and never become complacent, even if they become friends. One must remember to always give that client, friendly relationship or not, the best consideration, effort, and business perks because lurking just under the surface is a rival aggressive salesperson. That rival will pounce and take over the account eventually if complacency starts eroding the business relationship.

The problem is that it is so easy to become complacent. We work hard to get a new account and to impress in the early stages of the relationship. Then we work on getting more new accounts, then more. But slowly, as relationships mature, they also erode, because of time management pressures, production quotas, and complacency. Fight "SCS." Give your long-term clients your best, every time!

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" For a free coaching session, email Larry for an appointment - Larry@larrygaller.com. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com

What Do Your Clients Really Think Of You

2008-12-12T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Laurie Hayes

*********************************************

Know Thyself - Socrates

*********************************************

I'd like to start this article with a test

What do you get when you cross a Northern Canadian male, a 4x4 truck and heavy rain?

You guessed it! Mud Bogging!!!!

That is how I spent my morning. My husband's new truck was too shinny, so he felt he had to get it dirty again just so he could wash it for the fourth time this week.

Of course, I won't say no to adventure so I hung up my leather coat and pulled out my bush jacket. Put away my fashion footwear and pulled on my rubber boots.

Then we hit the trails! I bit my tongue, possibly dislocated a shoulder and lost my sunglasses, the whole time yelling, "Yahooooo!"

We made it home in one piece but I think our mechanic is going to make some real easy money in the next couple of days. :0)

What does this have to do with business you ask? It's called balance and if you don't have balance, work and business are a whole lot tougher and a lot less fun.

This week I created a rather enlightening assignment for myself. My coach and I were discussing the importance of knowing what kind of an image we portray to the world.

How we think others see us and how we are actually perceived may be worlds apart.

Being a successful business owner, or achieving success in any endeavor, has a strong connection to how others regard us.

Building a solid, successful business is highly dependent on the relationships we build with our clients and customers.

You can provide a top quality product or service, but if a potential buyer does not feel comfortable with you or a sense of trust or caring on your part, it doesn't matter how good your product is.

In order to measure how I was portraying myself to others, I created a questionnaire and distributed it via e-mail to my family members, friends, peer coaches, clients, and acquaintances.

I asked for feedback from people I have known for only a few weeks, and some who have known me for years.

I wanted to capture a good cross-section that would cover the many different relationships over varying time periods.

I asked them to list for me the first five words or images that come to mind when they hear the name, Laurie Hayes.

The results came quick and I received close to 90 different answers. Many answers were also the same and this greatly assisted me in determining what the top five images were.

There was a tie for first place between "caring" and "funny." Actually, I collected, "humorous," "funny," "very funny" and "funny as hell!"

This gave me great peace of mind knowing that if some day I decide to abandon entrepreneurship, I can always join the circus! ;-)

This exercise was wonderful in that it demonstrated I am on track with my purpose.

My goal is to move others to where they want to be by providing support and inspiring action while keeping it fun. And through the feedback received, I know I am on course.

This was a great (and very important) exercise. How many businesses have failed because owners have failed to solicit feedback?

Often times, people will not tell you where you are falling short. And if they do, are you listening to them?

Instead of sharing their thoughts, some may let the friendship fade, find a new supplier, or even though they continue to associate with you, not recommend you to anyone else although they have ample opportunity.

It is very important to ask for feedback so you can measure your position.

If you want to portray a certain image, ask for others' opinions. This will help you know if you're accomplishing what you set out to or to the degree that you could be.

You must let those you ask know that absolute honesty is desired and that you respect their input and candor.

You should also be willing to accept what is presented. If you don't like some responses or if you disagree with them, look at the math.

If several people have indicated, "uninterested," take this seriously. Do not allow your judgment to step in and decide that they are wrong.

Think about what role you play in creating this feeling for them, and then decide what you will do about it.

If this response has been generated by several of those questioned, how many others may not have felt comfortable enough to offer you the same feedback even though they share it?

How do you think you portray yourself to others?

How are you really portraying yourself?

Measure and remain open to the results.

If you want to achieve success, you need strong, healthy relationships and you play a pivotal role in creating and maintaining them.

Laurie Hayes, founder and visionary behind The HBB Source helps government and corporate employees break free of their jobs to live their dream of entrepreneurship. To subscribe to her FREE e-zine for valuable resources designed to create business success, visit http://www.thehbbsource.com

Customers No

2008-12-11T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ron Kaufman

Customers...NO!

We were visiting in Gisborne, an attractive small town near Melbourne, Australia.

Walking along the main street I saw a small clothing store with a very bold sign pasted on the door directly above the doorknob. It read:

CUSTOMERS NO jam donuts, sticky buns, fizzy drinks, mucky boots, cigarettes, ice creams, gooey lollies, water pistols, fairy floss or half-eaten fruit in this shop. Thank you.

I understand the need to keep a shop clean, but the largest, loudest and strongest message in the sign is clearly:

CUSTOMERS NO...

In the window next to the door was an even larger sign:

UP TO 50% OFF!!

What an odd way to do business! The first sign scares customers away. The second begs them to come back by slashing prices (and profits).

Key Learning Point
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Customers form opinions about every aspect of your business: your place, people, products, packaging and procedures. Anything not 100% customer friendly is a message that screams (or whispers): `Stay Away!'

Action Steps
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What messages are you sending to your clients? Review your website, application forms, product information, customer service counters, returns procedures, etc. Actively seek out moments that are unpleasant, inconvenient, problematic, confusing, offensive or difficult to understand. Then go to work and smooth the way. Make sure every point of contact says it loud and clear: CUSTOMERS WELCOME!

Why You Should Always Honour Your Guarantees Even When The Customer Is In The Wrong

2008-12-10T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Debbie Jenkins

The Reason Why Direct Internet Marketers Have To Work So Hard To Earn Our Trust

A bad attitude to customer service can literally destroy your business.

So, I thought I'd share my response to what I read on an Internet Marketing Forum recently to illustrate my point.

It started with a genuine request made by someone looking to do the right thing despite having a frustrating run of luck...

"I've been asked for three refunds this WEEK. The product is a proven one that I've sold for 6 months and my refund rate is normally TINY. I have only been asked for four refunds ever. One of the reasons I've been given are crazy - He thought the product in question (which is about creating Income streams) was about Gardening - I kid you not!

I gave the refund because I couldn't think what to say to him, but it brought up the question of refunds? Should you ALWAYS give refunds when requested or do you sometimes argue the point?

So do you ALWAYS give refunds?"

One response which (due to the added fact that other people agreed with it) made me livid was...

"A seller on eBay was asking a similar question to yourself and the response was: 'eBay isn't a branch of Marks & Sparks, tell them to get stuffed!' Brilliant! I have actually used this response myself when dealing with timewaster buyers on eBay (minus the 'get stuffed' bit as I always try to be polite and professional) and it hasn't resulted in a tit-for-tat negative rating yet!"

So here's what I wrote...

"This is for all people who think it's funny to treat unhappy customers like a**holes!

I always give refunds when offering an unconditional guarantee - even when the mistake was "their fault". Unconditional is exactly that - without conditions. I also suggest talking first and getting clear exactly why they want their money back - you may be able to save the sale but even if you don't then all feedback is useful, right?

People who automatically assume someone who's made a mistake (or is unhappy) is a "timewaster" need to check their attitude. In fact maybe they shouldn't be in the business at all - because glib remarks, by people who should know better, telling unhappy customers (in one way or another) to "get stuffed" when they want their money back gives us all a bad name.

If your product/service is good, and you've described it accurately (giving samples where possible) then the number of refunds will be low. My experience is people who have a bad attitude when customers are unhappy get it (the attitude) because they have a higher return rate than they'd like - and think the world is full of crooks and timewasters. But maybe they should take a look at how they're describing their product and the product itself (they may unkowingly look like crooks themselves) before assuming the rest of the world is wrong."

So why am I so emphatic about this! Surely some people are crooks and timewasters?

Well you'd be right. Some people are. But many more are not.

If you recall back a few issues you'll remember I spent a lot of effort to help you hone a Bold Promise and Awesome Guarantee. Being able to offer an honest and audacious promise helps complete strangers to trust you and buy without risk of getting taken for a ride.

In fact, where Internet Marketing is concerned, a guarantee is essential. People are rightly wary until they know and trust you. It's so easy to set up a website that looks like it has something of value for sale and to take payments online that there are bound to be cheats and scoundrels out there happy to take your money without giving the promised value in return.

So a guarantee is a very powerful way to make prospective customers feel more secure in making the decision to buy from you. The problem is that scammers can make the same promises without having any intention of delivering on them.

This sorry state of affairs is why it's still difficult to gain trust from strangers on the web. And that's why it's essential to build a relationship using the pipeline and then to continue building on that relationship (again take another look at the pipeline) even if a customer later decides to call in your guarantee.

So, if we agree that our end goal is to have lots of paying customers and an army of cheerleading, evangelists telling anyone and everyone how great we are then you'll see it makes sense to be squeaky clean, to accept the odd loss and to focus on making your product and service great.

If you fail to play it straight (even when you suspect your customer isn't) then you'll be certain to completely trash your reputation faster than I can say, "Bankruptcy". The reason, quite simply, is that when a customer has a good experience they'll tell a handful of people, but when a customer has a bad experience they'll tell anyone and everyone who will listen!

This goes back to the fact that us humans will do a hell of a lot more to avoid pain than we will to gain pleasure. We simply focus on the bad stuff. Plus, a story of how AWFUL something was is far more dramatic than one about how NICE it was.

So it's simple. If you make a promise then stick to it. If you don't bad things will happen. Let the Universal Law of "What Goes Around Comes Around" take care of customers who are genuinely cheating you. You can focus on all the good stuff, like profits, instead.

In summary:

* If you make a guarantee then honour it (even if you feel you're being wronged).

* Always try to save the sale by asking questions - even if you still lose the sale you may learn something to make a return less likely in the future.

* Don't take people calling you on your guarantee personally - that's what it's there for. Be gracious and you may even gain a new evangelist where you first thought there was a problem.

'Dangerous' Debbie Jenkins
debs@debbiejenkins.com

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10 1 Strategies To Increase Customer Loyalty

2008-12-09T03:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bill James-Wallace

Introduction

Customer contact is essential in a fast paced business world. Many professionals and small businesses live off their customer contact but to many it is ad hoc and with too much strategy. Many still find it difficult to set up a strategy that will make life easier for them and better for their clients. The following points will provide and framework and kick start to those wishing to bite the bullet and create a process that is both positive and profitable.

1. Develop a 12 month Customer Contact Plan

a. Creating such a plan provides you with a broader view and allows you to 'see' where your activity time is being spent.

b. To enhance the plan consider using 'colour codes' to identify areas of commonality and where leverage can be gained.

2. Identify customer 'types' and market accordingly

a. By 'grouping' client types you will be able to market more effectively and also begin to know where your business comes from.

b. This will also allow you to react/respond differently and with 'intention' to each group.

3. Complete standard items in 'chunks' to save time and increase visibility

a. Identify items like writing out cards (birthday, Christmas, other seasonal cards) and take the time to write them all out at one time.

b. This will save time in the long run.

c. Sort each card into date order and place in tickler file. When the day arrives (or a week prior) send out the card.

4. Invest in technology to automate newsletters/messages

a. There is considerable technology that can automate messages for you. Investigate some of these.

b. These will allow you to write a few regular newsletter at once and then set them up to go out at regular intervals.

5. Create 'contact points' throughout the year

a. Key clients may require a visit, an extra call or a personal note. Diarise appropriate times up front so you are well prepared.

6. Set reminders for key actions so nothing falls through the cracks

a. Set up reminder times for cards, anniversaries etc. This will remove the requirement to remember.

7. Set up templates for standard activities

a. On reviewing your plan, you will see a lot of dates and activities. Identify those that require an invite and set this up now, so there is no pressure to do it when the time comes.

8. Create a simple yet effective loyalty program

a. Loyalty programs don't have to be complex. A simple, graded points system is all it takes. (Check with your Accountant as to allowances if necessary.)

9. Create standard surveys (automated) that seek client feedback

a. Surveys (on- and off-line) are tremendous methods for gaining feedback and testimonials.

b. There are many web-tools that can automate these for you, or you can create your own and do it manually.

c. Either way do it!

10. Request 'testimonials' at key points of interaction.

a. Testimonies are powerful tools for your business. They convince others far quicker than we can when we promote our own product.

11. Engage a third party for accountability

a. Take the time to have a third party review your plan with you every 6 12 weeks. The benefit is significant.

Bill can be contacted at bill@resultdrivensolutions.com
His blog-based website is http://www.resultdrivensolutions.com