Tag Customer Service

Entries 25 Total

What are you selling is not always as clear as it may seem?

Oct 11, ’11 11:14 AM
Author Adrian Swinscoe Categories Business Marketing, Customer Service, market and sell

I was in Spain last week with Hana, my fiancée, and we were staying at an apartment complex near Estepona in Andalucia. As part of the complex, there was a bar and restaurant run by a young entrepreneur Sam and his wife Kat.

On our last night, we got talking and he was telling me about his other business interests including a business called: Tony’s Tellies. This is a business that provides satellite and cable TV packages, installation and services to expat residents in the local area.

He is working with a very skilled and experienced technician and they pride themselves on providing ‘service with a smile’. Things are going pretty well but he said that he was struggling a little with his marketing and how to position the business with customers. He then asked me what I thought.

I said to him that often when communicating with customers the largest part of any buying decision is not logical but emotional. Therefore, I suggested that he should not just be selling satellite and cable TV as that is what most of his competitors would be doing. Rather, thinking about the demographic of his customers, expat residents in Spain, he should consider positioning his business as providing ‘a taste of home’.

The reason I suggested is that when we buy things it’s not always about the product or service but what we get from that product or service.

That’s not always as clear as it might seem but spending the time getting inside the mind of your customers will pay huge dividends for your marketing and help differentiate you from other ‘box-shifters’ or ‘product-pushers’.

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You shouldn’t need an excuse to deliver great service

Oct 5, ’11 6:00 AM
Author Adrian Swinscoe Categories Customer Service, Relationships, Relationships, do customer service, motivate your staff

You shouldn’t need an excuse to deliver great service or to recognize great service but here’s one anyway.

Your excuse: This week is National Customer Service Week.

What does this mean?

Well, according to the Institute of Customer Service it is:

“a week long opportunity to raise awareness of customer service and the vital role it plays in successful business practice and the growth of the UK economy.”

They further explain that:

“The week gives employers an ideal opportunity to recognise the efforts and achievements of people working in customer service, particularly those involved in crucial frontline and customer-facing activities. It’s also a chance for organisations to show they genuinely care about customers.”

I think this is a worthy initiative but the fact that we have a National Customer Service Week means that the levels of service that are being delivered are not up to the standards that we would like to see.

Like in many relationships it’s easy to get caught up in the stuff of life, the day to day, the nitty gritty and to forget, neglect or take for granted the importance of the relationships that we have outside (and inside) our businesses.

So, here’s my question to you: Given that it is National Customer Service Week , which of your customers have you not spoken to in a while or who in your team have you not recognised in a while for doing a great job?

Perhaps, a phone call, a visit, a pat on the back or a thank you might be in order?

Go on. Give it a go. You never know what might happen.

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Customer relations – Sometimes it’s the simplest things in life that can offer the best returns.

Sep 28, ’11 7:00 AM
Author Adrian Swinscoe Categories Business Marketing, Customer Service, grow your business

This is my first post for The Small Business Blog and what I’ll be concentrating on in the posts to come is how we can build better relations with our customers thus raising our level of customer focus.

What that means is that I’ll be sharing with you some simple and practical strategies that will help you engage new customers, keep existing customers for longer, deliver great service and to get them to help you spread the good word about you and your business.

What that doesn’t mean is that I’ll always advocate the use of extra or new technology (Sorry, Stefan).

It also doesn’t mean that I’ll write about creating more up-sell or cross-sell opportunities.

Well, that’s possibly wrong and it may happen. But, I don’t like the up-sell or cross-sell language. Why? Because those terms are focused on the interests of your business and not necessarily on the interests of your customers.

I believe that if we focus on the relationships that you have in your business and build and develop those then the opportunities to grow your business will come.

Let me give you an example of a customer that I worked with and the sort of simple and practical strategy I helped him implement that helped him grow his business by 50% over 18 months.

My customer was an IT services company that was providing IT hardware and support to schools, charities and local professional service firms. With little or no marketing, the firm had grown organically, through word of mouth recommendation, to a point that they had a team of eight people. Their existing customers kept them very busy but they found that their growth had stalled.

Looking at this more closely, we discovered that one of the issues that they faced was that they were always busy on customer projects. You might say that’s a good thing. And it is. However, what was also happening was that they were in danger of neglecting the relationships they had with their customers.

It’s like any relationship. I think we’ve all been there, at one time or another, where we get really busy with all of the stuff that we have going on in our lives that we sometimes forget how people around us feel and the relationships we have with them.

It’s not that their customers felt or were saying that they were neglected. It’s that they weren’t taking care of those relationships as well as they could.

Therefore, what we suggested was that the Managing Director started to call and email his customers or a regular basis. Not to sell them anything but just to enquire how they were and how things were going for them. In addition to this, we also suggested that he put aside Friday afternoons, as much as possible, to go round and see his customers.

What happened? Well, they gained a much better understanding of their customers businesses and lives, they built their relationships with their customers beyond being just about business which helped put them more ‘front of mind’ in a really positive way. The result: more projects, more referrals, better testimonials and 50% more business in 18 months.

Sometimes it’s the simplest things in life that can offer the best returns.

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The Referral Engine by John Jantsch

May 23, ’11 8:31 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Book Review, Business Books, Marketing/PR

Word of Mouth – in my opinion not only the best way to gain new customers, but also the most cost-effective way, is always something to talk about, because happy customers are your word of mouth referral agents, totally free of charge.

The Referral Engine

John Jantsch in his new book “The Referral Engine – Teaching your business to market itself” , talks about exactly that. Somewhere in the archive of my blog, you will find the book review of his first business book bestseller, “Duct Tape Marketing“!

I started reading his book this morning – big mistake – I did not put it down all day. With this book, John has established himself as the undisputed master of business referral writing, best of all there is a system to referral marketing. John takes you on a tour from the psychology of human referral behavior, in order to gain social credit in your social group, to the implementation of these findings into a easy to follow marketing model for your business, not only to your benefit but that of your customers too.

This has to be one of the best books I have ever read on referral marketing and can fully recommend – or better refer – it to anyone with passion for business.

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Stop Selling. Stop Talking. Listen.

Apr 17, ’11 10:54 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Customer Service, be successful

You’ve done the marketing and your efforts have paid off – customers are contacting you – should you keep on selling?

When a customer starts talking to you he/she has already decided you are a person who could help to solve a problem, no more selling required.

If you keep on with your sales talk, in fact if you keep on talking you become the biggest hinderance to getting an order from your conversation partner for your small business.

Stop talking!

Listen – and your customer will let you know what the problem is and how you can help to solve the problem, resulting in an order!

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Customer Service – The Small Business Advantage!

Jan 25, ’11 7:35 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Customer Service, WinWeb

Winweb Console - Projects & Tickets

Customer service is one of the few great advantages that a small business has over a larger competitor. Although they are unlikely to be able to compete on price, they have the potential to provide a far more personalised and caring customer care experience. All that they need to do this better than the competition are the right tools and well trained staff.

Without the correct customer service tools, it can be diffficult for any small business to cope. Even a few support enquiries per day can soon add up to a mountain of correspondance that is simply to big and confusing to deal with. This is especially difficult if you share customer service responsibilities with other members of staff. Unfortunately, if a member of your team who has been dealing with a client enquiry is off sick, it is likely that no-one else will know anything about it.

The solution to these problems is for a small business to start using Helpdesk software to manage their customer service function. The problem with this is that most of the Helpdesk software currently on the market is too expensive for the average small business owner to purchase. The new Projects & Tickets software from WinWeb is a more affordable option for small businesses that want low-cost Helpdesk software and are not willing to compromise on features.

The latest update to WinWeb Projects & Tickets now allows even greater flexibility to the user, allowing you to work collaboratively with your staff to solve customer problems. The software now has a Ticketing dashboard that allows you to get a quick overview of ticket status. Other additions include the use of parent and child tickets, full ticket history, a powerful search function and customisable support emails.

For a complete list of changes to the Projects & Tickets software, click here.

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It’s Good To Talk!

Jan 19, ’11 11:00 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Customer Service

communication

Good communication is vital for every business; whether big or small, working from an office, or from home. Without good communication it is likely that tasks will not be completed on time or to a satisfactory standard, which will lead to customers being let down. Communication difficulties can also cause problems with suppliers, leading to unnecessary confusion and ultimately, cost.

Communication can cause different problems for different businesses, depending on the size of the organisation. A large company has difficulty with internal communication because of the amount of bureaucracy involved, as well as inter-departmental communication also often being a weak link in the chain.

It would be easy to think that small businesses with members of staff who work from home would suffer communication difficulties; however, I have found this not to be the case. When managing a team working from home it is imperative to have the necessary strategies in place for communication, but after the initial set up, working remotely can lead to people communicating better than they may do in an office.

That may seem like a strange thing to say, but without body language, or the ability to chit-chat, most people’s natural instinct is to ensure that they have enough information in order to fulfill expectations. As long as all team members are responsive, either via small business software, telephone or email, working from home should not cause communication problems for small businesses.

Interdepartmental communication can be the cause of great business success, but it can also be the reason for failure. If sales and manufacturing are both working in tandem, it can cut down on waste. However, if the lines of communication are blurred then it is possible that a lot of money and valuable materials will be wasted unnecessarily.

Another important aspect about internal communication is the motivational benefits of keeping staff informed and making them feel like they have not been left “out of the loop”. If they do not feel like they are part of a team in which each person is pulling their own weight it can be difficult to retain staff in the long-term. When working from home, all this needs to be is a brief team meeting held for 10 minutes every morning. If it’s making staff members feel valued and necessarily informed to complete their tasks, it’s definitely time well spent!

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The Importance of Customer Service and Contact

Jan 12, ’11 11:30 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Customer Service

Customer Service

Small businesses often complain that they cannot really compete with larger firms. Economy of scale is usually cited as the main reason for this. Large firms are able to purchase raw materials and stock on a scale that a small business could never afford.

However, small business owners often overlook some of the benefits that a smaller scale provides them. One of the most important of these is their ability to offer better and more personal customer service than a large multinational corporation.

More than any other area of business, customer service is a way of showing customers that they have made the right choice in choosing a small firm. There is an old saying that ‘the last person to buy from you is most likely to be the next person who buys from you’. This is often true, especially if you are making a particular effort to provide excellent customer service.

Customer retention is not something that often occurs purely by accident. If a customer makes the decision to purchase from your business for a second time, they have been impressed enough to buy from you again. All of your actions should be focussed on ways that you can improve the purchasing process to make life easier for your customers and give them some impetus to return.

From the moment a customer first purchases from you, it should be a priority to automatically send a message thanking them. This is important because customers should be able to reply to this message in some fashion if there are problems with their order. Provide an email address, phone number and mailing address if necessary. Let them know that they shouldn’t hesitate to contact you if they experience problems.

If a customer does have issues, it is sometimes best in the long-run to show goodwill and generosity rather than to quibble over matters. The customer will be very impressed if you go beyond the call of duty to try and remedy problems and you are likely to gain their loyalty. Clients want to feel that you are not just out to take their money and you actually care about the service you provide.

Statistically, businesses with a focus on customer service are able to charge more than their competitors. Other statistics show that consumers that have had a bad shopping experience are likely to inform at least nine other people about it. Can you really afford not to make customer service the main focus of your business?

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Your future growth is not about your prices, it’s about your customer service and your people

Dec 28, ’10 10:36 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Customer Service, Guest Blog

Your future growth is not about your prices, it’s about your customer service and your people

I’m a great believer that a business’ greatest source of growth is its existing customer base and anyone that knows me knows that I can ‘harp’ on about it all day and what it takes to harness that growth potential.

Today, rather than me telling more stories of how and why that could work, I thought I’d share with you the content and insights of a presentation that I came across recently from Jo Causon, the CEO of the Institute of Customer Service, that she gave at a conference in November of this year.

It’s a really interesting presentation and in it she highlighted a number of things, they have found out that, including:

  1. Customer service is becoming an increasingly important element of business performance
  2. It is a key driver of profit
  3. That there is a changing relationship between businesses and their customers and that customers now hold the power
  4. There is a shift away from transactions to relationships with the focus on maximising the value of long-term relationships and not just on sales; and
  5. One-way mass marketing is losing its effectiveness and that more customer personalisation is paramount.

She goes on to explain that there are a number of bottom line benefits of making your business more customer centric and customer service driven. Customer service focused companies:

  • Have customers that are twice as likely to renew or stay as customers
  • Have customers that are three times more likely to recommend
  • On average, deliver 24% higher profit margins; and
  • On average, deliver 71% higher profits per employee

That’s all good stuff, I hear you say, but it’s a competitive market out there, we’ve just come out of a recession and price is a really important in our business.

However, many businesses make the mistake that they think that price is the main driver of whether a customer does business with them or not. Whilst, being price competitive is important it might not be as important as we might think.

According to recent research done by the Institute of Customer Service, the key priorities for customers are:

  • overall quality of product/service provided
  • friendliness of staff
  • handling problems and complaints
  • speed of service
  • helpfulness of staff
  • handling enquiries
  • being treated as a valued customer
  • competence of staff
  • ease of doing business with
  • being kept informed

What stands out here for me is that price isn’t in that mix!

So, now we know that customer service is important and that price isn’t as important as we might have thought, what stops businesses becoming more customer focused?

Well, there are many examples of businesses out there that say that they are customer focused or offer great customer service but fail to deliver on their promises.

Why is that?

Well, the primary reason comes down to one thing…….your people.

Many companies talk a good game but fail to get their people on board and engage their employees to deliver their promises.

Research shows that:

  • 70% of engaged employees have a good understanding of how to meet customer needs as opposed to only 17% of disengaged employees (CIPD)
  • Engaged employees generate 43% more revenue (Hay Group)
  • Engaged employees are, on average, sick 2.7 sick days per year, whereas disengaged employees are sick for an average of 6.2 days per year (Gallup)
  • Engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave a business providing important continuity in customer relationships (Corporate Leadership Council)
  • 67% of engaged employees advocate their organisations whereas only 3% of disengaged employees advocate their companies (Gallup)

What does this tell us?

I think this tells us that we should all be thinking about how we can make our businesses more customer focused and provide better customer service but that we can’t do it without the people in our business being involved and on-board.

So, when you are setting your new customer service strategy for the coming year, if you want to give it a good chance of working then get your employees involved and get them round a table to see how they can help you be successful.

Thanks to mnadi for the image.

Adrian Swinscoe is an author, blogger and consultant who writes about cost-effective, customer-focused business growth at Ideas for Business Growth. He has a strong belief that any established business could dispense with its traditional marketing activities and still grow itself by focusing on developing and nurturing its existing customer base and retaining its current clients. Why not connect with him on Twitter @adrianswinscoe, LinkedIn or if you liked this article then why not subscribe to his RSS Feed?

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The Customer Is Always Right!

May 19, ’10 7:30 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Customer Service

Customer service

While we all hope to make our customers 100% happy all of the time, and this must of course be what we strive for, there will be occasions where a customer is less than happy with the service you have provided. Even if your customer service is second to none misunderstanding and technical faults can still occur, so it is important to consider procedures for dealing with unhappy customers.

At WinWeb.com our aim is to remain focused on the customer at all time, customer service, customer experience and how the customer feels. If one of my customers feels worried, anxious or concerned it bothers me deeply.

Treating customers as individuals and respecting their point of view is paramount in dealing with and resolving any issues that customers may have with your service. Listen, listen and listen some more. Don’t make excuses; listen to what they have to say, apologise and discuss a possible resolution as soon as possible.

While it may be tempting to respond to disgruntled customers by letting them know you will get back to them later, I would strongly advise against this. Often, this leads to the customer sitting on their problem, stewing over what has happened, or even worse worrying or panicking that the issue won’t be resolved. The last thing any of us want is for our customers to be worrying, so always make speaking to your customer your first priority.

Dealing with criticism or complaints calmly, fairly and to the best of your ability can placate a potentially detrimental situation, and in some case amazing customer service in these situations can actually turn them in to a positive.

At the end of a long day, the last thing many small business owners want to deal with is a disgruntled customer. However, it is imperative that any issues are resolved quickly and to the customers’ full satisfaction.

In an age where social media and word of mouth is growing, a bad comment or an unhappy customer blogging about your product can be extremely hard work to undo. Stop it from happening by putting on a smile and having a “nothing is too much trouble” attitude.

Customers must be your number one priority as a small business owner – even when they are unhappy. Put on a smile, be courteous and eager to please, even if you disagree with them; remember, the customer is always right!

For the latest information about SME Technology, follow me on Twitter or become a fan of WinWeb on Facebook. I look forward to connecting with you!

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