A Businessman’s Guide to Great Customer Service
Many companies think they are supplying good customer service. If you were to ask customers, many would say they deal with rude people and less than great customer service daily. If someone shared some secrets to fabulous customer service, you would definitely stand out in your market. The following five points are what can make your customers happy to interact with you and your company.
1. Provide a personal touch. Most people engage in small talk at some point in a business deal. Following up on this small talk can make customers feel that they are special and wanted in your business. This can be as simple as asking a customer whether they got over a cold they were fighting or asking them how their daughter performed on the SAT’s. Although this doesn’t seem like much, it will reap huge rewards and build customer loyalty.
2. Tailor your customer service. This simply means adjusting your service to fit their needs. If a customer does not like talking about an order over the phone, you could email it or come in person to discuss it. Making adjustments for your customer will make them happy and feel like you want their business.
3. Take complaints seriously. Do not act defensive or like they are insignificant. Listen to what hte customer says and improve where needed. If a customer does not feel satisfied with the reaction, they will tell others how they feel.
4. Be honest. Telling your customers the pros and cons of your product builds trust. Being dishonest in any way ensures that they will never return. Making honesty part of your company values will set you apart in a world where everyone is out for themselves.
5. Get your employees into the act. Talk to your employees about the way you expect them to treat every employee who walks through the door. You can even offer incentives and prizes for superior customer service. Your customers should be treated well every time they interact with your business, whether it is with your secretary or with you.
Adjusting the Picture on Customer Focus
At first glance, big picture thinking and customer focus would seem to be mutually exclusive terms. After all, the first phrase connotes a farsighted, panoramic view of business, while the second implies an intense, laser-beam-like concentration on the customer. Yet as revealed in Magnifying Customer Focus: A Study of Current Trends and Future Possibilities 2006-2016, a global study commissioned by American Management Association and conducted by The Human Resource Institute, the terms are not only compatible, they are inseparable.
The study finds that customer focus is a top strategic concern for many businesses today and is ranked as one of the most important needs concerning issues ranging from leadership challenges to ethical behavior and innovation. Yet it also reveals that there is a wide disparity between what activities companies practice when it comes to customer focus and what they should be practicing.
The study asked respondents to rank a variety of strategic actions in each of five areas environment/culture, communications, HR practices, measurement and organizational practices in terms of what their companies are doing now and then to rank those same actions in terms of what their companies should be doing. Here is a closer look at the results for each of the five areas.
In environment/culture, having the support of top management ranked number one in both the should-do and doing-it-now categories. On the surface this would appear to be a heartening result leadership is doing what it should be doing.
But that good news is undercut by the number two should-do action: having leaders set the example with customer-focused behaviors. This is only number four in the doing-it-now category, meaning that while leadership may nominally support customer focus, it is not necessarily supporting it with its actions. Perhaps that helps explain why including customers in our corporate value statements ranked number two in the doing-it-now category but only number six in the should-do category; mission statements are all well and good, but its action that counts.
In the communications area, Magnifying Customer Focus finds that companies are falling short of communicating the customer focus message internally. Respondents ranked the action of having an internal plan in place to communicate customer insights number four in the should-do category, but only number seven in the doing-it-now category, suggesting that many companies are missing this crucial component. Its important to note that this doesn’t simply mean leadership handing down memos. It means employees at all levels of the organization must share their perspective and facilitate feedback from the customer so the company can get a true picture of the state of its customer service.
Companies are placing too much emphasis on market share as an indicator of customer satisfaction, according to respondents results in the area of measurement. Regularly measuring market share ranked third in the doing-it-now category, but eighth in the should-do category, strongly suggesting that respondents believe this particular metric is of little value when it comes to gauging customer satisfaction. Bain & Co.s Fred Reich held has gone even further in questioning the relevance of market share as a reliable measurement of customer satisfaction. Reichheld maintains that although companies may capture market share and generate considerable revenue from dissatisfied customers, it is actually more costly than profitable in the long run to do so.
When it comes to HR, expecting employees to anticipate customer needs ranked number one in the doing-it-now category and number three in the should-do category. It seems that while the respondents believe this strategic action is important enough to be included in the top three of actions that should be taken, it is not the overall most important action. That distinction belongs to providing customer-oriented employee training, an action that ranked number one in the should-do category and number three in the doing-it-now category, a surprising result considering the number of customer service training programs currently in place. The takeaway from this seems to be that while companies may think that they?re addressing customer service training needs, they are in reality falling far short.
While the organizational practices area is a broadly defined subgroup with substantial overlap with the other four areas, it did produce some interesting results of its own. For example, responding to demands for customization and personalization ranked eighth in the doing-it-now category but ranked only twentieth in the should-do category. Customization and personalization have been hot topics lately, with many proclaiming them the next big thing, but clearly the survey respondents consider them overrated as a customer focus issue.
Conversely, the tactic of being customer-focused at all customer touch points, not just sales training and customer service ranked fourth in the should-do category and twelfth in the doing-it-now category, revealing a large disparity between its perceived importance and the extent to which its executed.
That point an urgent reminder that customer focus needs to be instilled throughout the organization and not isolated in one or two departments serves well to sum up the entire survey.
Hold a Q&A Seminar for Your Customers
Are you looking for a way to generate some buzz about your website, increase the size of your mailing list, launch a product or just want to increase your profits? Holding a question and answer seminar for your customers can help you accomplish those things, plus more.
Q&A seminars are a great way to quickly increase your mailing list. Simply place a message on your site that explains that you are holding the session, including the day and time. Don’t announce how one is to access the seminar. Have your prospect fill out a form which is a part of your autoresponder; the autoresponder will then send them an email with the information with the teleseminar/ web conference.
When you are about to launch a product, holding a q&a session is similar to holding a press conference. It is a platform that allows you to explain the features and benefits of your product, create some buzz, and increase your sales. The more people know about your product and the more they hear about it, the more they will want it.
Question and answer seminars also give you the platform to communicate and interact with your customers on a personal level. Some businesses will have a special seminar for only past customers. This format also is a fantastic way to get feedback on how to improve your existing product, and to get some ideas for future ones.
A smart thing to do when offering such seminars, is to record them, and sell them alone or packaged together at a later date. You can also add them as free bonuses to your other products when you sell them.
You may also wish to open up a seminar to others as a way for them to advertise. Other businesses with similar, complimentary businesses may be very willing to pay a fee for the opportunity to speak to your audience. For an effective question and answer session, make sure it doesn’t come across as a sales pitch. Presenters should be giving helpful information to the listeners, as well as find good ways to promote their own products or services.
You have several options on how to hold your q&a seminar. You can reserve a teleconference line, and there are many companies who will allow you to use one for free. Alternatively, for a small fee, you could reserve a web conference room. This would allow you to show pictures, graphs, and PowerPoint presentations to your audience. You can also choose to broadcast over both a conference room and a teleconference line at the same time.
After you’ve established the method, date and time of your event, it is time to start promoting it. If you have an existing mailing list, make sure to let your followers know about your seminar. You might even display some information on your site, as well as mention it in any email or forum signatures you use. If you have a team of affiliates, get them involved as well. If you don’t have existing affiliates, as anyone you network with online to help you get the word out. You may even want to consider purchasing some targeted advertising for your event.
After you have some experience holding question and answer sessions, it becomes easier to plan and promote future ones. These can be a fun way to promote your product and service and connect you with others- be sure to enjoy the time you spend doing it.
Are You Thinking Of Working From Home?
Anyone can start the internet based opportunity easily with the internet that is easily available today.
The cyberspace has made possible the making of several home businesses and private companies.
Imagine all those private online businesses such as online gift, gardening care, online magazine etc.
You can start a personal business anytime as long as you have a good idea. All you need is an internet connection and a PC.
So many individuals around the world are trying to get rid of their current job positions.
This could be due to th3e fact that many people consider employment a necessity and you’re not supposed to enjoy your career in the first place.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. While it is commonly known that we all require an income in order to live a healthy lifestyles and pay the monthly bills, there is absolute no reason why anyone should hate the job they choose.
And for those who do hate it, well, consider a personally owned internet based business opportunity of some sort.
What do you have to offer to the massive world out there to begin with? If a product or service immediately pops into your head, then maybe you should toy with the idea a bit more in detail.
Who knows, your idea can be the next big one in the internet world.
Internet based business opportunities that are good money making machine are web publishing and paid survey.
You can easily do this at the comfort of your home.
Consider these online job seriously. It could be your ticket to quitting your day job soon.
Popular Adult Costumes
What should my child bring to Shakespeare Camp? What clothes are appropriate?
A bag lunch (no food is provided), any necessary medication, and afternoon snack if attending aftercare. Some sites have faith-based food restrictions, which you’ll be informed about in the confirmation letter. We highly recommend bringing a large bottle of water, and sunscreen for outdoor sites. We provide all worksheets, a class folder, a script, and materials for prop, scenery, and costume construction. Campers will sometimes volunteer to bring props and costumes from home.
What if my character’s shoes, or another part of the costume, are never shown?
This is a common problem, especially with secondary characters or costumes from promotional art. If some part of your costume is not shown, then you should look at the other costumes in the show and come up with an idea of what you think the artist might have done if they had drawn the missing part. Your choice could be very complicated, or very simple, but what is important is that it fit with the costume and the art style.The Jasper Cosplay Closet Their costumes are really high quality and you can order any type, not just Sailor Moon. They can supply everything from shoes to wigs but it can cost over $300.
What can I put in my blue box?
You can put a whole range of recyclates into your Blue Box in Clackmannanshire. Cans (both aluminium and steel), glass bottles, plastic milk bottles and clear plastic water bottles can go in but please rinse these recyclates out. Textiles can be bagged up separately but again can you make sure these are clean as they are sent out to third world countries for reuse. We take all types of textiles including hats, belts, shoes and costume jewellery.According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the most frequently worn suit labels are Bebe; Parallel; Tahari; Emporio Armani; Christian Frances Roth; DKNY; INC. at Macy’s; Laundry; and Claudio, from the store of the same name in the Beverly Center. The shoes are from Charles David and Kenneth Cole. Ally’s suits retail between $300 and $800.
Should I wear my SWAT outfit to look cool?
Wear your SWAT costume or camo and you’ll definitely NOT look cool. One great thing about the Practical Shooting sport is that no special clothing is required. Compare to cycling, motocross, even golf or tennis. Not to mention SCUBA. You definitely don’t want to wear camo. For some reason, there are those who take a dim view of the shooting sports and wearing inappropriate attire doesn’t help our “image”. You might want to consider wearing shoes that provide good traction on loose clothing including a windproof jacket.
Do you buy?
YES!!! We generally buy formal wear from the 1920’s to the 1970’s, casual wear and new/old stock eyewear. Also, we are always on the look out for terrific designer items (Dior, Mainbocher, Hattie Carnegie, Galanos, Travilla, Adrian, Traina-Norell, Schiaparelli, Lilli Ann, Gernreich, etc.).
What supplies should I bring to camp?
For dogs, bring dog food, dog towels, leash & collar, chew-proof tie out (stake or tree tie), water dish and food dish. Optional things to bring for your dog include brushes, costume for the contest, dog bed, dog crate, toys and treats.Wear any clothes that you can move around easily in. Wear shoes that won’t slip off or grip very much so that you can turn on the floor easily. However, it’s not too important for beginner classes. When you become more advanced, you might like to buy dance shoes or even a dance costume for special occasions. In Jazz/Funk, it is better to wear sneakers. You’re better off wearing a short sleeve top that you can strip down to because you’ll get pretty hot in most of the classes.
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