Customers Who Rave About You and Your Service

Ten qualities you must possess to gain your own raving fans..

According to customer service studies by marketing gurus of the world, here are the following qualities, which must be present in your life and your business in order to develop raving fan customers who are not just satisfied but completely loyal to you over the long haul.

1. People want you to show an interest in their lives.

You not only know about their business, you know about their families, the hobbies they enjoy, and their life experiences. You know when they have had a win or a wow in their business, the birth of a new child, or a milestone celebration around the corner.

2. People want you to be quick!

People want their products and services yesterday, not tomorrow or 3 - 4 days down the road. In today’s fast paced world, if you take more than 24 hours to respond to a request from a client, there is a very likely chance that he/she will find someone else to take your place. These are no longer the days of the Pony Express. These are the days of overnight service by Fed Ex, Palm Pilots that call personal messaging systems, high speed internet connections, and fax machines galore. Be quick and be energetic, or you will fall behind in a flash.

3. People want you to be very available.

People are tired of automated message machines or the words “Press 1 for Bob Smith, press 2 for customer service, press 3 if you speak Spanish…press 4 if you want to hire another company!” There is very little excuse for not being available. Provide your customers with your business phone, mobile phone, fax machine, e-mail address, and your physical mailing address. If you live alone, work out of your home and don’t want to share your home office address, then get a P.O. Box. Your customers want to know that they can reach you when there is a problem or a concern with their product or service.

4. People want a friendly voice and a warm smile.

The first rule of customer service when you meet any person or when you answer the phone is to grin from ear to ear. If you are not smiling, this will come across over the phone and will definitely be seen and noticed in public, so get busy being happy when you are out and about and when you are engaging in a phone conversation. If you have a virtual company, put a fun photograph or a 5 x 7 card on your desk that says “Smile…Today is a great day.”

5. People would rather you under promise and over deliver.

Customers never forget a mistake or your delaying their product or service. If you promise something on Friday, and you deliver it the next Tuesday, they will tell the world about you…in reverse referral. They will tell the whole city that you were late, and there won’t be one thing you can do to reverse the negative publicity around your delay. Do not make promises that you cannot fulfill. Let the customer know that you will get them their product or service beyond the time that you know you can actually make it happen. When they receive it early, they will be pleasantly surprised, and will tell the world how wonderful and quick you are!

6. People want you to help them…they don’t want to be sold.

Hey folks…people do not like pushy people. Your job as a business owner is to continue to add value to the lives of your clients without pushing a new product, service, or extra fee on them before they are ready. The bottom line: Don’t be a pushy pest! It will drive folks away in a heartbeat.

7. People want to hear you say “Yes, I can do that.”

People don’t want to hear dumb excuses. Customers and clients of today are smart and savvy, and when they call for help, the last thing they want to hear is:

“That’s not my job.”

“I can’t answer that, because I don’t know the answer.”

“Can I put you on hold?”

“My policy does not allow for that.”

“I’m sorry...that is the best I can do. I am only human.”

And the frustration begins to build.

People don’t want to hear your problems. They want their problems fixed. There is always some sort of solution, even if you cannot fix the problem! You will win points forever with comments like:

“You are absolutely right. I will get the answer to your problem by the end of the day.”

“I thank you for your concerns. I am going to incorporate your idea as a way so that it works for us all.”

“This is Sally Jones. How may I help you today?”

“I do not provide that service, but I have 15 people on my team who do work with that. May I refer you to one of these men or women?”

8. People want to know that you are highly trained and skilled.

Are you continuing your training? Are you working with a coach? If not, your customers will know it in a heartbeat. Your clients want to know that you are on the cutting edge and that you are constantly devoted to the highest level of learning and training made available. To begin with, get the training…incorporate training monthly, then let your clients know what you are learning. You can show your clients how you continue your training through monthly announcements in your newsletter, e-mails about your schedule, and through blogging.

9. People want you to drop the “nit picking.”

If you are charging nickels and dimes for added extras such as an additional ten minutes on the phone or for each document you send a client, you will be viewed as “cheap,” and this will leave a bad taste in the mouths of your clients. Remember…these nickel and dime expenses can add value to the lives of your clients and will create walking billboards for your business.

10. People want to hear the magic words “Thank-you.”

This is music to a client’s ears. Say it with sincerity, and say it often. Your clients are allowing you to own and operate and business and to earn money doing it, so thank them again and again for what they add to your life.
About the Author

© Copyright 2004 by Alicia Smith & Bea Fields

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.

Should I Have My Company Mystery Shopped?

Discover what will help guarantee a successful mystery shopping program..

I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said to me, "Oh, you do Mystery Shopping; I always wanted to do that!" I think most people do find the thought of posing as a customer and reporting back on how they were treated, rather intriguing. But there is a lot more to it that skulking around in a trench coat and spy glass!

I believe most companies have taken the plunge and decided that it really is important to conduct frequent "mystery or secret shops" of their businesses.

The question remains, do they do anything constructive with the information or is it used as a disciplinary tool?

Before you start having people snoop around your company, consider the following clues that will help guarantee a successful program.

1. What's the Value in a Mystery Shopper Program?

a. The most important reason for conducting a mystery shop, is to see your business through the eyes of your customer. Not only should you consider mystery shops, but using focus groups on a quarterly basis that are made up of some of your actual customers. Both sources will provide you with excellent feedback that you can start to focus on.

b. Second, a well-thought out mystery shopper program will allow you to evaluate the accuracy of your training program. If your employees are taught in their training program that they must greet the customer in a certain way, the "shop" will show the results. It is also a way to hold employees accountable for what they learned in training. If you train them you can test them!

c. Third, it helps a company to truly focus on the areas that need improving, based on the customer's reactions. Too often management believes that there needs to be changes in one area and the customer feedback shows that the focus needs to be elsewhere in order to keep them as a loyal customer. Management may think that tightly merchandising their floor space is giving the customer the selection they want, and it turns out that the customer says it is too cramped to shop comfortably.

2. Should I do a Mystery Shop Without the Employees Knowing?

a. Pop Quiz! How many of us read those words and remember a grumpy teacher walking in the classroom to a group of rowdy kids, slamming her book on the desk and bellowing, "Ok, take out a sheet of paper we're going to have a pop quiz.," Panic just struck your soul! The same thing happens with employees. In addition you have just thrown any trust you have built with your employee's right out the window. If you want to build a team, let the players know the game plan!

b. Explain to your employees why you are planning a mystery shop. Explain in a positive way that it is part of the "on going" training program of the company and that the best way to improve business is to find out what the customer really wants. Explain also, that it is a way to hold the employees responsible for the information they were provided in any and all of their training programs. Employees are far less likely to be upset with the results of what they were tested on if they had sufficient time to "study"!

c. Your employees are part of your team. Give them the tools to be successful everyday and they will jump through every hoop you provide. It reminds me of a time my son was on a soccer team. He was five years old and this was a perfect sport to expend that energy that all five year olds seem to have pent up inside. I remember one Saturday game the coach was trying to remind the boys about the drills they had learned at practice. Game time for this age group is what I call, "like herding cats"! The boys were so excited they couldn't wait to get on that field and show the coach what they had learned. All of a sudden one of the little boys got the soccer ball and was moving the ball down field as fast as he could. The parents were screaming, the coach was jumping up and down and his teammates were following in hot pursuit! As the little boy kicked the goal everyone went crazy! The little boys face just beamed as he came to the sidelines! But the coach didn't have that same delight on his face! The coach said, "You kicked the ball into the other team's goal!!!!" Agggh!!! But the little boy snapped back as any five year old would, "You never told me which way the goal was"!

How many times have we forgotten to tell our team which way the goal is!

3. Where Do I Start?

a. Slow down and think, is my answer. First, think about the information you really want to obtain from these reports and what are you going to do with it. The questions you want to ask are one of the most important parts of the program. The best place to obtain the questions is to go back to the training material. Remember what I said earlier, if you train them you can test them.

You probably have, what I call, non-negotiable questions that you can begin with. Those are the things you teach employees that must be done, no matter what. If you want to attach points to the questions, then you can give more points to the questions that you want your employees to be the best at. Let's say answering the phone in a certain way is mandatory. If they know that, and they are held responsible for doing that, then you should have it on the questionnaire and you can feel confident about attaching a higher number of points to it.

In most companies, there are three or four areas that they like to have the shoppers give feedback on. The first area is usually the facility. Was the location easy to find? Was the entrance neat and clean? Did I feel safe parking after dark? Was the interior of the location attractive? Was it easy for me to find what I was looking for? The next area usually covered is the inventory or merchandising of the store. Was the signing helpful? Was the business in stock on what I needed? Was it easy for me to shop? The last one is usually the area of service. How was I greeted? Was the employee easy to find? Was the employee knowledgeable? Did the employee make me feel special? Again, these questions can be as many or as few as you think is important to get the feedback that you need.

b. The next step is to hire the shoppers. This can make or break your program. Too often companies think they are saving money by hiring friends and family. I suggest that you hire people you don't know. You are looking for unbiased feedback and the best way is to hire the right people for it. I recommend going to the Mystery Shopper Provider Association website for the listing of good companies to use http://www.mysteryshop.org.

You can hire a company to coordinate your entire shopper program, or you may try doing it yourself if you have a small company and want to try it first on your own. If you are choosing to find shoppers on your own to use your own materials, then I suggest http://www.shadowshopper.com. They have a massive database and it can be accessed by zip code. I will suggest, however, that you use the same techniques you use when hiring any employee. Call the potential shopper and interview them extensively just as if you were hiring a person to work for your company on a full or part time basis. You will get a good feel over the phone about their communication and grammar skills that I feel is so important in providing a company the proper feedback.

c. Lastly, I am always asked, "How often should I do a "shop" and how much should I expect to pay?" I believe consistency is key. If you are looking at saving money you can always choose to do your shops, randomly. Pay is usually based on the length of time it takes the shopper to do the "shop" from the time they leave their house until they get back. Pay can range from $25 per shop on up.

So depending on budget and whether you choose to do them weekly, monthly or randomly, make them a pivotal part of an on-going training program and do not do it for less than one year. That may translate into 12 shops to 365 shops, but either way you must ask yourself how much information would you like to have and how important could this be to your day to day business. We all know what happens when we say we are going to lose weight or exercise more or get organized, it is failure in the making if we are not dedicated to being consistent.

4. How Do I Give The Bad News?

a. The problem with mystery shopper programs is that they get a very bad rap from those employees who have been shopped because the results have been used as punishment. I tell clients that this program is not a "stick"! It is not meant to create fear in the minds of your employees. If that is your goal, you better re-think your management style.

a. Praise first! Go through the report before you bring your employee in. Make sure you are well-versed in at least 3-5 things they are doing well. Praise them for those things and remind them to continue the good work.

b. Corrections second. Make note of no more than 3 areas they can improve in. Negative comments do not motivate as well as comments such as, "Well the mystery shopper found what I always have known, you sit behind the desk the whole time I’m gone". Use the word "we" in your conversation with your employee, such as "We have seen through our reports that we all need to be working at making better eye contact with our customers. We need to make that a top priority this week. I know I can count on you and everyone else to focus on that."

c. Don't use the mystery shopper to do your human resources work! It is not the job of the mystery shopper to deliver the information that is necessary for you to let the employee go. In fact, it is probably not legal! Besides, it is a sign of a weak manager that can not deliver constructive criticism!

A mystery shopper program takes time to create a well run program that provides the feedback that can be used to further the performance of the company. It is not just about the actual "shopping" it is about the entire program and how the information is used.

By using this tool you will see that providing what your customers say is important to retaining their business shouldn't be a "mystery"!

About the Author

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.

25 Ways to Keep Customers for Life

In today's fast-changing and competitive environment, excellent customer service is essential for success. Here's how to keep your customers - for life!

In fact, the only way to differentiate yourself and to become less of a commodity in the marketplace is through good customer service. The strategies for keeping customers for life can be honed down to some basic steps that any business owner can use. To get customers, keep them and to get enthusiastic referrals follow these 25 proven techniques:

1. Reward your customers. Send them a gift, provide them a lead, generate business for them, etc.

2. Use your customers' services and buy their products. If you want to increase loyalty, there is no better way.

3. Send thank-you cards. Make sure they are handwritten and sent promptly. Peter Drucker attributed much of his success to the fact that he sent out 12 thank-you cards every day.

4. Return phone calls promptly. Since so many people don't return calls, you automatically look good when you do.

5. Do what you say you are going to do.

6. Do things when you say you're going to do them.

7. Under promise and over deliver.

8. Be accessible. Make sure you are available and willing to help customers whenever there is a problem. Your business should be open to meet the convenience of your customers and not only for your convenience.
Be credible. If you can't establish that trust right away, customers may start to look at your competitors.

9. Appearance counts. Perception is reality, and the reality is that people do judge a book by its cover.

10. Show empathy. Remember the best customers are your currents ones. Stay in touch and continue to service their wants and needs.

11. Have a "Goof Kit." If you make a mistake, it's not enough to say, "I'm sorry."

12. Promote customers' products and services. By getting business for your clients, you ensure you will have a customer for life.

13. Do things for the customer's convenience not yours. Make it as easy as possible for your customers to do business with you. The easier you can make it for your customer to do business with you, the more business you will have.

14. Determine all the ways you can eliminate the hassle factor.

15. Send an invoice periodically with a "no charge" on it. This will help your customers remember you. And if it is unexpected, it will have a much larger impact.

16. Have a customer advisory panel. Only by knowing your customers' wants and needs can you successfully grow your business and be totally customer-oriented.

17. Hire mystery shoppers. To really find out how good your customer service is, hire someone to go out and use your service from start to finish.

18. Be a resource. No matter what your customer needs, try to find it for them -- even if it has nothing to do with your business.

19. Shower customers with kindness.

20. Speak your customers' language. If you use jargon your customers can't understand, they won't use you.

21. Have a great attitude.

22. Treat your employees well. If they are treated poorly, there is a good chance your customers will also get poor service.

23. Give your customer what they want, when they want it and how they want it.

24. Give back to your best customers. If you run a special price or product offer for first-time customers, ensure your current customers are offered the same opportunity.

25. Don't show an attitude of indifference to your customers. In a recent study on why people give up on a company, 68 percent quit because of an attitude of indifference toward the customers by the owner, manager or employees - 68 percent!

Conclusion

Customer service is more than just smile training - it's about treating people the way they wanted to be treated," "It's also about giving the client what they want, when they want it and how they want it. It really comes down to the fact that good communication and human relations skills equals good customer relations.

About the Author Arnold Sanow, MBA, CSP (certified speaking professional) delivers content driven, interactive and entertaining keynotes, seminars, training programs and consulting.

Conducting Business With Kindness

Instead of introducing a new concept when it comes to customer service, it's time to re-introduce an old twist - kindness..

Back in the "day," if you wanted to be successful in business, it was all about kindness and the way people felt after leaving your establishment or after a business transaction. That is what truly kept them coming back, even if you product was mediocre.

Let's face it, we all want to be treated kindly in every circumstance of our life. But this seems to have gotten lost in the technologically advanced and fast-paced corporate world.

But consider this, there is a way to conduct business under these stressful conditions by adopting a new "old" philosophy that will set you apart as different and unique and it doesn't cost a dime. In fact, it saves money as people who are kind and happy are more likely to show up for work and more likely to stay with their company.

Start by incorporating empathy and compassion into your daily work life. By having the ability to look at business from the human side of things, this new business model based upon an old one can be reborn. But now it will appear fresh and new. Use the simplicity of kindness as the guide.

If you are on the fence about this, ask yourself this question: Is there a reason that each day cannot be the best possible experience for you and everyone you come into contact with? After all, the bottom line is that we are
human beings dealing with other human beings who have needs that must be filled. So why not fill them quickly and happily?

By putting a new twist on "service," everyone wins. And when people feel that they are being treated well and with respect while they are doing business with you, chances are that it will run smoothly, efficiently and expediently.

But what if you feel attacked and the person you are dealing with is harsh and unreasonable? Here are some tips for conducting business in a kind way, even if you are in an adversarial situation:

1. First, look for the hidden meaning in the agenda. What is the person worried about (typically it is financial). Know that there is always a reason why someone is upset and that you have the ability to resolve the issue if you act with compassion and look at the situation from the other's perspective before responding.

2. Remember that most people are not born angry. They become angry in negative situations where they feel they are threatened in some way. They are reacting due to fear.

3. Apologize, even if it appears unreasonable, which shows empathy for that individual's level of stress.

4. Clearly state a plan of action, the timeline for accomplishing the plan and the ultimate intended goal.

5. Elevate to a manager who has the experience to analyze the situation and deal with the issue in an objective manner if necessary.

Remember, the desired result is a win/win for all concerned.

Everyone, regardless of whether they are the actual customer, should be treated in this manner.

Can you make someone else's day brighter? Can you restore faith that people are inherently kind? Can you conduct business happily when you are in a less than joyful situation? The answer is yes, you can! With the right attitude and perspective, everyone can win every single time.

While kindness is not in and of itself quantifiable, it will eventually show up on the bottom line.

About the Author

Jane Schulte is Executive Vice President and COO of PRISM Title & Closing Services, Ltd. located in Greater Cincinnati, and Author of WORK SMART, Not Hard!

Are Customer Service Standards Declining - Or Are Customers More Demanding?

Here that question is examined - along with some key tips for harmonious customer relationships..

The Mental Health Foundation’s ‘Boiling Point’ report from March 2008 found that in a survey of just under 2,000 people, 64% believe that people are in general, becoming angrier. People working in Customer Service delivery form a buffer zone, and are perfectly aware of this development.

We are used to customer needs and expectations constantly increasing - after all how many people in the western world would be thrilled with a small black and white TV set, or a party line on their home telephone?

Technology changes all the time, and with it goes customer demands. We have quickly become accustomed to instant telephone and electronic communication, and can watch television programmes “on – demand”. Whether working on the telephone or customer facing, Customer Service Professionals need more coping strategies than ever to maintain standards, and personal confidence.

Human evolution is a slow process and some things don't change at all. When it comes to interpersonal communication, the human race still responds according to the primal 'fight or flight' mechanism that is lodged in the oldest, sub cortex part of the brain.

Back in the caves, when we lived in tribes, we painted our faces with a design specific to a particular group. We still take information according to that system. When we first see someone, the first thing notice is the overall face (tribal identification), next is the mouth (to register either a smile or a snarl), and finally the eyes. If we sense danger, the adrenal gland, situated close to the liver, activates and pumps round adrenaline, moving blood to the muscles.

This gives the body both extra strength and immunity to pain, in order to either run away or fight it out, according to what was, and is, best for survival. Fight or flight is clearly defined. What we are not programmed to deal with is being ignored. Our system doesn’t know how to cope, and goes into panic mode.

If front line staff only knew that they are able to affect both customer response, and personal well – being, by some tiny details of their own behaviour. For example, when we smile, the mind does not compute whether or not we are happy. It takes the instruction without judgement and produces endorphin. This reduces both physical, and emotional pain, making us feel more cheerful and optimistic.

Eye contact and a nod of the head to tell a waiting customer that they have been noticed, recognised, and will be attended to as soon as possible, will usually relieve the customer’s anxiety and shorten the perception of time spent waiting.

These small, easy, cost - free measures make each interaction more pleasant, fruitful and satisfying. Anger levels diminish, and the quality of life improves all round. Unfortunately it's the tiny essentials that often go by the board.

Whatever the business may do, it is all about people.

Six Key Points For Harmonious Customer Relationships

1. Always acknowledge a customer if they are waiting to be served

2. Most people will respond positively, even commenting that they are pleased to take a brief break whilst they wait.

3. Make eye contact, especially at the very beginning and end of an encounter

4. It’s absolutely fine not to know something – the essential issue is taking the trouble to find out.

5. Always call a customer when you promised – even if to say that you need more time to check details or complete the order.

6. There is a Chinese proverb that states that every crisis contains an opportunity. On the same basis, the most challenging customers are potentially the most satisfying.

About the Author

© Candy Bowman 2008.

Candy Bowman is a specialist trainer in Customer Service and Assertive communication skills.

Customer Service Policy Geared For Customer Service PolicyExcellence

An excellent customer service policy is important for any organization. Here are some key points for you started..

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 so begin thinking about what it is that you want to know that will improve the effectiveness of your company.

About the Author © Copyright 2008 by Alicia Smith

Alicia Smith is a professional Coach and Trainer. This article is part of just one of the 90 lessons contained in her e-course, 90-Day Marketing Marathon.

Turning Customer Service Inside Out

Focusing on your internal customers is just as important as focusing on your external ones..

While companies focus thousands of dollars on external customer service in hopes of wooing and retaining customers, little attention is being paid to the effect poor internal customer service has on customer satisfaction. It all starts within your organization. Sooner or later the ripple effect reaches your customers. To really walk your service talk, make sure your commitment to internal customer service matches your company's external focus on customer care.

When we think of customer service we think of staff serving customers over a counter or over the phone. But customer service occurs within your organization as well. How well is your staff serving its internal customers: other departments, its management, vendors and consultants? Believe it or not, it all counts. Internal customer service refers to service directed to others within your organization. It refers to your level of responsiveness, quality, communication, teamwork and morale.

I define Internal Customer Service as effectively serving other departments within your organization. How well are you providing other departments with service, products or information to help them do their jobs? How well are you listening to and understanding their concerns? How well are you solving problems for each other to help your organization succeed?

Teaming with Success

How well do you work with other departments? Does your Marketing department communicate well with the Legal department? Does Fulfillment relate well with Shipping and Receiving? Do Catering and Facilities work well together? When it's time to communicate with others from different departments do you take a deep breath, or smile and relish a chance to renew contact with colleagues from elsewhere in the company?

As a manager I once joined a publishing company and found myself in the midst of a war between departments. Production resented Editorial for the way they missed deadlines and delivered shoddy copy. Conversely, Editorial had little respect for the resulting manuscripts they received back from Production, full of errors and oversights. Poor teamwork, poor communication and myopic thinking had led to a hardening of positions over time. They each cared about the finished product but were putting pressure on each other without realizing it. It took time, but eventually both groups came to appreciate each other and how to best work together to achieve win-wins for the greater good of their customers.

Do you relish or dread committee work with other departments? Does it seem their aims are contrary to your department's? When other departments contact you for help do you regard it as a nuisance, a distraction and a drain of your valuable time? Can you see the greater good that comes from helping them solve their problems or fulfill their needs?

You can take pride in opportunities to help other departments look good. Obviously, you don't want their success to come at your expense. Usually helping others doesn't mean you lose a zero-sum game, where only one of you can win and helping others hurts you. In most instances helping other departments leads to a win-win situation. And what goes around usually comes around. Helping other departments succeed can help yours too when the roles are reversed.

Up with People

Good internal customer service starts with good morale within your group. Are your people happy? Do they feel good about themselves and their contributions to the goals of the department and to the company at large? They should, and effort should be made to help them do so. Happy employees are productive, and customers take note. Happy employees are also better team players. Will you fly the airline whose employees are striking with management, or the airline whose employees are management? Employees invested in employee stock purchasing plans with matching contributions see themselves as much more a part of the company. Thus, as the company goes, so do they go.

When I fly out of Oakland Airport I use an outlying parking lot and shuttle van. This shuttle is shared by employees from Southwest Airlines, coming to work or returning to their cars after their shifts. I've found them as happy and upbeat when they're starting their shifts as when they're finishing their shifts. That's great morale, and tells me they like their jobs. It's contagious! Sometimes I'm envious on that shuttle when I know I'll be checking in at a competitor's ticket counter.

Who's On Top?

Many organizational charts employ an inverted pyramid with customers at top. Some companies instead put their employees at the top. In many senses, the employees are management's customers. Corporate values that emphasize treating employees well translate to good customer care too. Does your organization value its people? Invariably, companies that care about their people can better ask their people to care about their customers.

Catering to Customer Service Needs

Here are five tips for your organization to help strengthen its internal customer service orientation.

1. Employees should never complain within earshot of customers. It gives them the impression your company isn't well run, shaking their confidence in you.

2. Employees should never complain to customers about other department's employees. Who wants to patronize a company whose people don't get along with each other.

3. Employees at every level should strive to build bridges between departments. This can be done through cross training, joint picnics, parties or offsites, or creative gatherings, as well as day-to-day niceties.

4. Utilize post mortems after joint projects so everyone can learn from the experience. Fences can be mended and new understandings gleaned when everyone reviews what went right...or wrong. By doing do after the project the immediate pressure is off, yet stronger bonds can be forged while the experience is fresh in peoples' minds. Not doing so can result in lingering animosities that will exacerbate future collaborations.

5. Consider letting your employees become "Customer for a Day" to experience firsthand what your customers experience when doing business with you.

Congratulations on turning customer service inside out! By improving internal customer service you have just enhanced the customer service your external customers receive. You're walking your talk regarding customer service.

About the Author Professional speaker Craig Harrison's Expressions of Excellence!™ provides sales and service solutions through speaking.

Learning from Your Employees' and Customers' Complaints

Listening to customer complaints is an important part of every manager's job..

Sometimes complaints can be overwhelming. However, by taking them in stride with an open mind, we can learn much from our employees' and customers' feelings about the workplace.

After all, a complaint is nothing more that a person telling you that his (or her) needs haven't been met. As dissatisfied customers, they are giving us a second chance to correct something that should have been done properly the first time around. (In this case the customer happens to be your employee.)

If you listen to them patiently and attentively, their complaints will alert you to a real or potential problem, or tell you of a better way to handle a situation.

We are not use, however, to coping with complaints. We let our emotions rule our thinking usually. Consequently, we let complaints wear us out because we take on the complaint as a personal attack on us. It is not!

The next time you are faced with an irate employee, here are some steps to consider:

· Try doing something new and different.

· Listen attentively, patiently, and with good nature.

· Even if the complaint seems unreasonable, don't tell him so. Keep it to yourself.

· Because nobody wants to be accused of being unreasonable, especially if it's true, admit that he might be right. (The implication is that you may be wrong.)

· Invite him to offer you in his own words a solution to his complaint. Say, for example, "If you were in my shoes, what would you do to correct the situation?" (Be careful not to call his complaint or situation a problem, because doing so might aggravate him to the point that he loses his ability to think and express himself clearly.)

· Listen carefully and actively. Read his body language.

· Use feedback questions or statements to let him know that you're trying to understand and meet his needs. (Begin responses with statements like, "If I understand you correctly...")

When you take the time to listen to your complaining customers or employee, you'll hear what he’s telling you. Then you’ll be in a better position to turn him into a satisfied customer.

Remember: When you maximize your potential, everyone wins. When you don't, we all lose.

© Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW.

About the Author

Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts seminars, lectures, and writes articles on his theme: ... helping you maximize your potential.

Is Your CRM System Doomed To Fail?

Make your CRM implementation a success by first defining the rules of use..

“Right, People. Let’s blast out that mail campaign we’ve been planning for so long.”

It’s time to put your trusty CRM software to work; to let it earn its keep. You run a search of people and companies you want to target.

You soon realize something’s wrong when your list is far smaller than anticipated. A quick check reveals many profiles/categories have not been filled in, impacting your search results. Further inspection shows numerous records are incorrect; others are riddled with typos. And that’s just for starters.

With a sinking feeling, you realize that last push isn’t going to happen in a hurry.

Time for some Damage Control or Preventative Maintenance.

Fortunately one of the most common reasons cited for the high failure rate of CRM systems - poor data quality - is also one of the easiest to avoid.

Your CRM software is only as good as the information it contains. As the old programmers motto goes ‘garbage in, garbage out’.

So how can you avoid incomplete, incorrect, irrelevant or out-of-date and generally unfit-for-use data from permeating your CRM software?

You need to gather your key CRM users together and thrash out a DATA CAPTURE PROCEDURE document, defining the rules of use.

Spell out:

• Who has what rights to the system; who can Create, Insert, Modify or Delete records, assuming your software supports all these functions? Forward this information to your system administrator to action.

• Decide on a procedure to check for any duplicates before creating a record. Depending on what ‘de-duping’ or ‘data scrubbing’ features your system has, this might require some simple searches before starting a new record.

• Do you allow abbreviations or acronyms? For example: IBM, or I.B.M, or International Business Machines Inc. or Incorporated and so on. A policy on ensuring consistency of input will help to avoid duplications in future.

• Are records going to be created in Upper and Lower case and when are CAPS acceptable?

• By when do you expect records, notes and so on to be created or updated? Same day, on return to the office?

• Check to see whether your Postal Services have specific requirements. Ensure your data meets these criteria.

• Is the primary address of clients to be created as a postal or a physical address?

• Make sure everyone checks spellings if they are unsure and do not trust spellchecker! When in doubt, ask the client – they’ll respect that. Is it Clark with an ‘e’; Shawn, Sean or Shaun? One certain way to get your mail binned is to spell someone’s name incorrectly.

• Also confirm the kind of corporation e.g. LLC, Inc, PTY Ltd. and so on.

• Make rules for creating new profiles or User Definable Fields (UDF) (or whatever your specific CRM software calls them.) Place a lot of emphasis on this. Every time a new UDF is needed, it should first be approved. Otherwise duplicates will permeate your database e.g. Lead Source: Yellow Pages, YP, yelo pages.

• Ensure that email addresses are put in correctly. Basic but common mistake!

• Set up procedures, if not supported by your software, of how to create records from inbound emails.

• If applicable, are you going to use Mandatory/Forced fields?

You might as well address the issue of Backups while you are about it.

• Who is the responsible person for backing up your databases/s? Who covers for them when they are absent or unavailable?

• How frequently are backups to be done? Diarise!

• How are backups done e.g. by the Grandfather, Father, Son method.

• Ensure backups are made on good quality CD’s or whatever format you are using. It’s no good doing a backup, then finding on attempting a Restore that it doesn’t work! It is also a good idea to copy backups onto more than one data format.

• Where are the backups to be stored?

• Are the backups secure? This is important for both security and practical reasons.

Once your Data Capture Procedure Document is finished, get everyone to sign it off as READ!

As standard practice, ensure that document is handed to all new employees at your company.

Refer back to this document for possible revision every three months or so.

Try this: select a couple of records - both good and bad - every week, to put on the overhead at staff meetings. Make sure you don’t unduly embarrass anybody but watch this become the light-relief highlight of your meetings! People learn best when having fun!

What if your database is in one unholy mess?

Has the rot set in so deeply that your database needs a complete overhaul? Turn this seemingly insurmountable task into an opportunity to you. This is an excellent excuse to re-establish contact with your clients and let them know you care. You can always put lapses down to data crashes but tell them you have fixed the problem!

Importantly, help your staff understand what you need from the data to facilitate more accurate marketing and reporting and hence the success of your business and their careers.

By creating a sense of pride and ownership in the company database, you are nurturing the essential process of buy-in, necessary for the success of your CRM initiative. Don’t compromise this critical tool by allowing your CRM software to be infected by inferior data.

About the Author

Perry Norgarb has specialized in Small Business CRM solutions for the last 15 years. Contact him or find out more about CRM, Contact Management

Motivate Your Team For Outstanding Customer Service

Providing outstanding customer service is one of the most rewarding yet challenging activities..

Exceptional organizations that provide outstanding customer service will experience the following benefits:

* Increased customer satisfaction
* Increased revenues
* Increased repeat and referral customer traffic
* Less employee turnover
* Increased profits

So how do we support and motivate our customer service team to give outstanding customer service? The following are five secrets to motivate your customer service team to give exceptional customer service to your customers:

1. Provide Ongoing Learning – It’s important that you not only provide training on organizational policies and technology, but also how to handle customers. Create an ongoing system for training and feedback. Request continuous feedback and have the “courage to listen” to your customer service team’s responses. Your customer service team members, because they are on the frontline, can provide you with excellent information on how to service your customer. Market conditions are changing all the time and the one piece of information your customer service team can share with you can make the difference between success and failure. After receiving the information from your customer service rep, if necessary, provide the training to your customer service team so that they can provide outstanding customer service.

2. Adjust the Attitude – Constantly work on your own attitude and your team’s attitude to providing outstanding customer service. As a customer service leader, always be aware of the tone you set and how your customer service team will be motivated by your attitude. If you are upbeat, your team will follow the lead and provide outstanding customer service. If you have a negative attitude, your customer service team will follow your lead and communicate this negative attitude to the customers they serve.

Work with your customer service team members to create a positive attitude in the following ways:

* Look at every customer service experience as a learning experience that is preparing them for future opportunities.

* Put your team in the customer’s shoes to understand the customer’s “pain” and create empathy for outstanding customer service solutions

* Have your customer service team take on the persona of a positive individual they admire to help them through a difficult customer service situation.

* Create “positive triggers” to remind your customer service team why it is important to give outstanding service. Your trigger could be as simple as a family picture or a picture of an item (new car, home, etc.) that is important to you.

3. Give Incentives – Motivate your customer service team by giving incentives based on meeting your organization’s mission, goals, and values. Be timely, fair, and public with your incentives. Also, when putting together an incentive program, ask your customer service team what they would like as incentives. Many times organizations will invest thousands of dollars on incentives which are not the ones their customer service team wants. Just ask!

4. Show Appreciation – Appreciate to motivate your customer service team as much as possible. Remember, many times they are facing very challenging customer service situations everyday. Keep them motivated by sharing your appreciation in a timely, sincere, fair, and encouraging way. For more detail on this, go to my article, Appreciate to Motivate, on my website. By consistently showing appreciation, you will motivate your customer service team to excel when it is most difficult for them to do so.

5. Support Outstanding Customer Service – Support and motivate your customer service team in a number of ways. You can support and motivate your customer service team by making sure the technology supports them and the customers. For example, I recently called my internet broadband company about a mistake on a bill. The automated system disconnected my call five times before I finally spoke with a customer service representative; and I told him that he must experience many upset customers if they experience the same. The customer service representative agreed and said it made his job very difficult.

Support your customer service team by “cheer leading” their concerns to upper management. Champion their concerns to upper management and let your customer service team know the progress of each concern.

Support and motivate your customer service team by keeping standards high for customer service. When your organization is facing challenging times, it is very tempting to lower standards. That’s the last action you should take. By lowering standards, you decrease customer satisfaction, increase customer service turnover, and muddy your organization’s name in the marketplace.

Apply these customer service motivation secrets with your customer service team and you will have highly motivated customer service teams and happy customers, and your organization’s bottom line will increase.

About the Author Ed Sykes is a motivational speaker based in Virginia and is published in the areas of leadership, change management, customer service, presentation skills, and teamwork.

5 Simple Steps To Improve Your Customer Service Right Away

Need to turn around your customer service fast? Here are 5 Simple Steps that you will help make a difference right away..

1. Teach them to SMILE. I know, it seems too simple, doesn't it? Why would I need to point that out? It's because I travel all over the country and consistently receive better service whenever I am Smiled at. And I can always tell when I am about to receive less than Average Service when I don't receive a Smile.

In today's faster, unfriendly and discourteous world it makes a HUGE difference.

It may not seem too scientific, that Smiling thing. Just try NOT Smiling to your Customers for a couple of days and see what happens. Understand this is a big part of the Perception. When people Smile at us, we perceive it to be a much better experience, even if it was mediocre.

I recently had a meal at a restaurant that quite frankly, was average. It was not bad, it was not great, it was good. Average. However, if you asked me my Perception of that restaurant I would say it was Great! based on the interaction and Smile quotient that my waitress gave me. She was outstanding! Smiles will make the meal taste better and the Service sweeter.

2. Say their Name. It's the most wonderful sound to our ears. Our Name. And when someone takes the time to learn ours, we feel really appreciated and will respond appropriately. Even in a quick Customer Service environment like fast food or dry cleaners, we will always return to a place that remembers our name.

It's quite simple to do actually. Introduce yourself, and ask their name. It goes like this, "Hello, my name is Leonard, it's a pleasure to meet you. Your name is...?" Whew, that was hard, wasn't it? Here is the trick. Remember it by focusing on their name and either the color of their eyes or an article of clothing.

If you are in the restaurant business, introduce yourself, ask their name and when delivering their order, set it in front of them and say "Mary, you'll really enjoy this dish." Watch your tips go up.

3. Use Courtesy. Use those words you learned when you were little. They include "Please", "Thank You", "May I help you", "How are you doing", "Is there anything else I can do for you today", "How did you find your service experience today".

Courtesy also extends to actions, not just words. I worked at a dealership that emphasized things like walking your Customer to the item they asked about, cleaning the bathroom sink with a paper towel after using it and presenting the best possible face to the Customer along with other things that demonstrated their commitment to the Service Experience.

4. Ask for feedback from the Customer. Ask the right way. Instead of "How was our service today?" which will get you a "Oh, it was fine" kind of answer, ask "On a scale of 1 to 10 how would we score on providing Service to you today?" (It is the "Specific" question that gets results) You might get a lot more interesting answers especially if you ask the follow up question "Specifically, how could I make it a 10 in your eyes?" for any answer that is not a 10.

5. Invite your Customer to come back. The right way. It's all in the presentation. "It was good to see you today, and I look forward to seeing you again. If for any reason you remember something we could have done better, call me at 111-111-1111 and ask for me personally." If that is too long winded, say "My name is _____. Please ask for me when you come back." You might even say "It was a pleasure to take care of you. Please come back and ask for me, ________."

I read somewhere that the most complex questions we face in our society are often solved with the simplest of solutions. Here are 5 Simple Steps you can take right away.

Customer Service is not that complex. It's a Simple Business. We make it complex.

About the Author Leonard Buchholz is a Certified Trainer, Speaker and Author. Seminars include subjects like Customer Service, Management and Communications. Known for "High Touch" seminars, participants have takeaways that include 3 immediate goals and long term learning.

Customer Loyalty Is the Key Measurement for Success

Are you missing the one figure that never shows up on financial reports: loyal customers?

Each day thousands of small business owners and C-Level Executives read their profits and loss statements (P&L), financial records to sales reports. Searching and scanning for increases in sales, orders and profits while hoping for decreases in cost of goods sold or other direct costs as well as indirect costs. Yet, through all this, they are probably missing one figure that never shows up on financial reports.

And, do you know what that number is? And the answer is relationships from your loyal customers!

Was that the answer in your head? Did you think of something else?

Since this figure is not clearly articulated in any of the traditional reporting metrics, what happens is that current problems are really symptoms in disguise. And then the solutions do not deliver sustainable change because the real problem is not addressed.

For example does your business suffer from:

- Lacklustre sales problems?
- Training problems?
- Employee turnover?

These are just a few of the many symptoms facing most businesses because they fail to understand the purpose of business: Attract and Maintain Loyal Customers.

Customer loyalty or rather the lack of customer loyalty is the real issue. For example, customer service research suggests that:

- 5% retention in loyal customers can create an increase of anywhere from 25% to 100%

- To acquire a new customer costs 5 to 10 times more than keeping an existing one

- Up to 75% of those customers who left you considered themselves to be satisfied

Small businesses to Fortune 500 organization need to leave the 20 century model of customer satisfaction and embrace the 21 century paradigm of customer loyalty as the key critical measurement to business success.

To take such bold action requires these small business owners to C Level executives to know the following:

- Average client acquisition cost

- Average client value

- Average transaction value

- Total Revenue Opportunity (based upon lifetime of customer)

- Customer Loyalty Score

- Employee Loyalty Score

When these metrics have been established and an action plan has been constructed from the Senior Executive Management Team, then focused actions will cascade down through the organization. The end result is that measuring relationships through loyal customers will become much easier. Then and only then will the business have a much clearer picture of what it truly takes for business success.

Take action

As a small business owner to senior executive, take the time to think about relationships and not just your profits. What kind of metrics or benchmarks can you establish to ensure that you are measuring both?

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Leanne Hoagland-Smith.

About the Author

Leanne Hoagland-Smith provides coaching and training services to increase profits & productivity by developing customer loyalty.

How To Keep Your Customers Coming Back - Understanding Customer Retention

A customer retention strategy is important for any business. Consider these key points..

Why do some businesses offer points, stamps or every tenth coffee for free?

These businesses understand that a customer retention program is a fantastic way to ensure that customers keep coming back. The most recognized customer retention programs are those loyalty programs used by retailers, but this same principal can be applied to any business that wishes to maintain a loyal customer base.

Ask yourself these simple questions.

• Does your business have a comprehensive retention strategy?

• Are you devoting a portion of your marketing budget to keeping current customers?

If you answered no, then you are jeopardizing the long-term success of your business.

Remember it is costs less to keep your current customers then it does to acquire new ones. That doesn’t mean that you should quit spending on marketing attempts to acquire new customers, but you should invest some of your marketing budget on retention strategies. Consider the 80/20 rule which states 80% of your business income comes from just 20% of your customers. A good Customer Retention program will work to convert those occasional customers into “loyal customers” who spend more money on a more frequent basis.

Customer retention doesn’t just happen. Poor customer service can undermine even the best retention strategy. For a customer retention program to be truly successful, the business must look at their total operation to ensure every aspect of their business is aimed at keeping the customers they already have. Is the accounting department too abrasive when collecting overdue accounts? Is the receptionist chewing gum when answering the phone? Every contact with your customer has to be positive for any retention program to work. Depending on the type of business you operate, there are several possibilities in the type of customer retention program could develop:

Frequent contact

You can develop a program that provides regular, scheduled contact with customer or prospect (a drip campaign). For example, develop a (opt-in) newsletter campaign, letter campaign or important reminder campaign (oil change, domain renewal etc). This is an excellent approach for many service industries or for sales professionals such as real estate agents or car sales people or any other industries where there is a significant lapse in time between new purchases. You can keep your business name fresh in your clients mind so that they call you instinctively when it is time for the next purchase.

Rewards

Develop a “rewards” program such as points, free product or service or discounts earned by making. This is the retail rewards program most people are familiar with, but this type of retention program is often used in business to business relationships as well. You could develop a program that will offer cash back or a discount to businesses based on the volume of purchases annually. This type of program works particularly well if you have a diversified selection of products or services, and are looking to encourage your customers to purchase a broader range of your products or services

Combination

You could develop a Members only club that combines aspects from both the frequent contact and rewards program.

The best retention programs are those that provide an opportunity for you to learn more about your clients and their spending habits. This is invaluable information that can easily give you a leg up on the competition.

About the Author

© 2004-2008 Tanya Beaudoin o/a Office on Demand, All rights reserved. Tanya Beaudoin, B.A. is a virtual assistant who specializes in e-solutions (including e-stationary) and administrative support for small businesses and non-profit organizations