Think customer satisfaction

Customer Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:17:00 +0000

Due to increased responsibilities in my current employment and other writing commitments, I am regretfully unable to continue updating this information on a regular basis. However, while I am no longer actively adding information to this website, I encourage you to take some time to browse through the archives. It is my sincere desire that something in these pages may spark an insight, or create some motivation that will help you increase your ability and commitment to satisfy your customers.

You may always feel free to contact me at steve@thinkcustomersatisfaction.com for any additional assistance or insights, and I will respond to all emails as soon as I can.

All my best,

Steve

Because of the customer...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:33:00 +0000

On a recent visit to a UPS store, while we were having some packages shipped, I noticed a little saying that was prominently posted near the cash register. I asked the owner if she would share it with me, and she did. See if you think it matches what we do as customer service professionals:

Because the customer has a need, we have a job to do.
Because the customer has a choice, we must be the better choice.
Because the customer has sensibilities, we must be considerate.
Because the customer has an urgency, we must be quick.
Because the customer is unique, we must be flexible.
Because the customer has high expectations, we must excel.
Because the customer has influence, we have the hope of more customers.
Because of the customer, we exist!

“It's not just customer service, it's the best customer service. It's serving your customer so well, they tell others about your products, services and customer service. Your customers should never want to stop doing business with you. Their interactions with you should make them feel they're interacting with family.” --Mike Bova

The customer satisfaction mission is not necessarily impossible

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:26:00 +0000

Daily ingenuity wins every time.

The old "Mission: Impossible" TV show was a great standard that has since grown into the multi-million dollar movie franchise with Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt.

What was cool about the old TV show was that, while every mission was different, the plot of the show always took the same path: there was the very cool “self-destruct” aspect of receiving the mission; then the villains and objective of the mission would be described to the IM team via a slide show or photographs (so we knew what all the bad guys looked like); then the team would describe some creative initial plan where they cover every possible contingency as to what they were attempting to accomplish.

Then, halfway through the show, some unexpected villain would show up at the critical moment, or some unforeseen glitch would happen with a technical device, and the team would be exposed and holding their breath until…the commercial. Then, when the action resumes, they would improvise some way around the danger, on the spot, and then the plan could resume to its inevitable success.

"Seemingly impossible achievements are accomplished by people who refuse to yield to obstacles that can get in the way of the objective."

Even though viewers knew this is the general format of each story, it still held their interest. Why? Because the team would always accomplish something that everyone else said was impossible to do? Mostly. (Plus there were all kinds of cool spy gadgets). But even beyond all that, the reason I personally enjoyed the show was that regardless of all of the planning and research, the success of the mission would typically rely on one critical moment of creative ingenuity to keep the mission moving forward. There was always some unforeseen occurrence that would need to be overcome.

What makes any mission impossible? I believe it’s that people think it’s impossible, or that they will not even try to come up with a solution. Then it really is impossible. However, seemingly impossible achievements are accomplished by people who refuse to yield to obstacles that can get in the way of the objective. Then, and only then, the impossible things transform into improbable things, and improbable things that happen regularly then move into the realm of the possible, and eventually become routine.

Hassle-free customer service can seem impossible, but it’s not. What does it take to move our impossible things into the realm of the achievable, and then ultimately into the routine? Answer: your creative ingenuity on the spot at each seemingly impossible hurdle that needs to be overcome. Then repeat that each day.

Only try to get it done before the commercial. I hate suspense.

‘The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer.” – a US Air Force motto

Overcoming challenges: What are you made of?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:30:00 +0000

Your level of character, and mine, and our ability to handle difficult situations, comes through the challenges we face. This is where the rubber meets the road, where we find out what we’re made of.

"The question is, what have you learned, and what can you improve on?"

While few people like to be challenged, no one cares to be overloaded to the point of frustration and hopelessness. However, in times of challenge, our attitude can be strongly affected by having a deeper understanding of the struggles we face. By understanding that something different and more refined can come of this, the struggle becomes a little easier; the burden a little easier to carry.

We all can take pride in the abilities we’ve demonstrated in navigating through the many changes that have occurred recently due to economic factors and re-alignment of business focus. The question is, what have you learned, and what can you improve on? Once you know what you’re made of, you know exactly where have the capacity to grow.

“In every crisis there is a message. Crises are nature's way of forcing change--breaking down old structures, shaking loose negative habits so that something new and better can take their place.” --Susan Taylor

One way to please customers...and more.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:33:00 +0000

The most important attitude adjustment you ever make will be the one you make today, in yourself. Your attitude today will define how you act, and how you act will define what you do, and what you do will define what gets done, and what gets done will represent who you are. When you boil it all down, the success of any company hangs entirely upon an attitude today.

It’s not about how you feel about yourself, but about how you perceive what you can accomplish throughout this day. If you have no desire to achieve, then you have no passion for what you do. Passionate people know no other way than to be the best at what they do, every day, even when they don’t feel like it, especially when they don’t feel like it, because there is no other way to be the best.

If you have no desire to be the best at what you do, no one can convince you. Oh, you may be able to accomplish tasks and keep schedules and goals moving forward, but if, at the end of the day, you have no thought whatsoever on how things either could have been better today or should be better tomorrow, but instead you only complain about how everything is an insurmountable problem, and how nothing ever seems to improve, then you most likely have little or no passion and are just showing up for work. And probably not for long.

If, on the other hand, you wrestle with ideas and concepts on how to improve and refine systems; if you suddenly brainstorm over dinner on a problem you’ve been working on that day, and you can’t wait to see how it can be implemented to make your job easier, or the product better, or a communication stronger, or to improve your life and the lives of others in some distinctive way, then you are demonstrating a desire, nay, a passion, to achieve something so much more significant than simply earning a paycheck: you want to succeed. And when you succeed, your company succeeds, and when a company succeeds, its customers share that success with others.

And that causes everyone to succeed even more.

Therefore, you customers’ gratefulness, and the company's collective continued success, is totally based on your attitude, your passion . . . today.

Just for fun...

Revised definition: Abdicate, v.: To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

Customer UNsatisfaction: Promises in a "perfect world"

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:05:00 +0000

If it’s true that customers are happier when promises are kept and expectations are exceeded (and it is), then the opposite is also true: break a promise and customers become (rightfully) angry, and the company loses credibility. How is it that appointments get missed, orders get lost, schedules get blown, or follow-ups are forgotten?

One root cause of broken promises comes from over-trying to satisfy someone by telling them what they want to hear, and then hoping and praying it will somehow come true. This can be called a “perfect-world” promise, which works like this: in a perfect world, the order always goes through, the product always leaves the factory on the correct day, the driver is always 100% healthy, the truck always manages to avoid traffic and shows up exactly on time, the parts are always damage-free, the colors always match exactly…you get the idea. In a perfect world, a chain of events that could potentially work out always does.

However, you and I both know that we don’t live in a perfect world. Orders get lost, parts are ordered incorrectly, shipments don’t show up on time, people get sick, traffic happens, and yes, promises are broken.

The challenge for us is to be the experts in our respective fields by anticipating the imperfections that we know are inevitable in the “real world.” This way, we are only committing to what we know can actually be accomplished. Then, and only then, IF we are graced with a “perfect world” string of events, and things happen to work out more quickly, expectations can be beaten and satisfaction increases.

Make a commitment to avoid perfect-world promises with everyone, especially with other employees. If a promise is made to help someone else, actual follow through is essential. It's much too easy to just say we will help in the "perfect world" and then get too busy with other things in the real world. Because, whether it’s with a customer or teammate, a promise that isn’t kept in the real world ultimately was never really a promise to start with; it was simply something we hoped would happen.

Just for fun...

"Isn't it strange? The same people who laugh at gypsy fortune tellers take economists seriously." -- Cincinnati Enquirer

What does your customer see?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:17:00 +0000

Most businesses I frequent in my daily travels will be experiences "as expected," with no surprises or unusual situations to draw attention to carelessness. However, every now and then, I'll hit a glitch in the basics. While something minor may be noticed by me (someone who is hyper-focused on the customer experience), it may not even be noticed by other customers.

But that's the trick, isn't it? Being so hyper-focused to be as attentive as your most detail-oriented customer, and yet be as realistic as possible with what is actually important.

Here is one example of something that is a personal pet peeve of mine when I am in a food establishment of any type:

I know, you're saying, "What the heck is that?" It's actually a lighting fixture above one of the seating areas in a local coffee shop, and all of those little "dots" at the bottom of each globe is, well, a dead bug of some sort.

Now, would most people notice this? Probably not, especially since this fixture is about 12' off the floor in a vaulted ceiling area, and you literally would have to be looking right up to see it. But it speaks to the issue of what customers consider an important issue. And in the case of restaurants, issues of cleanliness have a heightened focus. Many people seeing this might never come back in to this establishment.

Here's a poignant image of what greeted me immediately after walking into a fast food restaurant for lunch:

This was just inside the entry door, and on the way to the ordering station. Granted, it was just after the lunch rush, but still speaks to the carelessness of staff to guests entering the restaurant.

Now, on the positive side of customer satisfaction, I noticed this little feature at a Starbucks:

This Starbucks has a little doggy water dish outside its entry door on the public sidewalk for the shopping center. Now, I am not a dog owner, but I can tell you, that a little positive added feature like this just reeks of community and wide appeal. Anyone walking their dog past this area will invariably encounter this dish as their dog locates it. And what does the owner do? Stands there and reads the coffee specials posted in the window of the store. Increased business? Probably negligible at best; however, the benefit reaped in the statement of providing a need for passing pets carries much more weight and benefit. This is the type of thing that causes a good impression which spreads by word of mouth.

So both of these issues point out the fickle nature of customers, and the constantly moving target of satisfying customers - all of your customers - that come in the door. Do your diligence in ensuring your establishment leaves nothing to question in areas of cleanliness and preparedness, and find ways of providing extra benefits that may not reflect directly into your cash register. There is a good chance, however, that those added benefits will sink increased revenue to your bottom line.

Just for fun...

"Money will not buy happiness, but it will let you be unhappy in nice places." - Unknown

4 tips for truly helping customers

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:00:00 +0000

In your own life as a consumer, how many times have you encountered a customer service nightmare, where you felt as if there was no one around to give you any assistance or direction?

At a recent conference with a representative for Ace Hardware, I learned a motto that drives their customer engagement practices: “Helping you is the most important thing I have to do today.”

Wow, if a business can actually get that rubber-stamped into the conscience of everyone who comes in contact with customers, and who actually believed it and acted in accordance with that, there would be zero customer issues.

Think of your own frustrating customer experiences you may have had, where you became locked into some sort of system “loop of death”, getting bounced from rep to rep. Or perhaps you genuinely needed help, but there was no one around to even ask. These are instances where customer-helping is essential, and where encountering an employee who's “most important thing to do today is to help the customer" is a godsend.

But what about those times where you really do want to simply browse, and you have no need of assistance, but every two minutes, someone comes up to you and asks “Can I help you find something?”

A very funny clip demonstrates this quite well. (While the embed was disabled for this video, clicking on the YouTube link below will take you to see a 52-second comedy clip (clean and appropriate) from the British sitcom “Black Books”, where one of the employees tries to help a customer who apparently doesn't want it...)

Black Books: "B is for Browsing"

Whew! While you and I may not have interacted with a customer like that (please share if you have!), it does draw attention to the fact that not all customers want outstanding attention. Outstanding attention is not the same as outstanding service. Why? Because an outstanding service experience occurs when the help is genuinely needed, not when it isn't; otherwise, the repeated offers to help (even though sincere) come across as pestering and annoying.

Some tips:

Ensure employees understand how to gauge the customer's body language and act appropriately.
Craft some sort of non-threatening introduction question when they are not sure of the customer's intent, such as “Hi. Are you just browsing, or can I be of assistance in some way?”
Maintain a presence without being in the way.
Be able to instantly respond to the customer when requested, and provide all pertinent information and assistance.

As to that last point, one of the things I love about shopping at our local Target store is that even though there may be no one in sight, one press of the “Need Assistance” button brings a friendly employee within 30 seconds. Additionally, they have walkie-talkies to ensure that if they don't personally know the answer, they can reference someone else right away who does have all the information on stocking questions, or check-out assistance ready at any time.

Find ongoing ways to provide knowledgeable, accessible assistance to your customers when needed, make truly helping them “the most important thing to do today,” and you will be creating a large and loyal customer base.

Just for fun...

"Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." - Redd Foxx

Benefits of "linking" the customer experience

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:45:00 +0000

If you have any experience working with spreadsheets or hyper text in web documents, then you understand the power of linking information from one place to another, and the benefits that can be derived from allowing people to follow information “trails” so they can find out more information that is relevant to them. In fact, that's really all the internet is: one big stream of linked information. Type in a search term, get provided links. Click on the most appealing links, and a whole new level of information opens up with more links, and so on.

Taking this concept out of the realm of strict data and into the world of the customer experience can provide the same benefits. It allows the customer to have a sense of power over their experience, since they are choosing their particular experience “path,” and it provides valuable information for them to digest along with your marketing and testimonials.

But just because the customer has the power to choose the best experience for them does not mean you give up your right to control their ultimate experience with your company. After all, you would be the one making the links or the connections to other aspects of the experience or information they may find useful.

Below is a rough outline of how this process might look, based on options that a customer might experience walking into a new home sales office:

(click on the pic to view larger image)

Of course this is just a quick example for demonstration, but in reality, if you can find ways to link options to the various branches of expected or possible behaviors, you will be helping the customer choose their “own” experience, even though you are in complete control of all of the potential outcomes (or as many options as you have information available for).

Of course, the ultimate linking tree would have every customer experience ending up in a sale, but that may just not be reality. Reality is that it's okay when customers are honest enough to know that they may not be a good fit for your product or services, and to allow them that privilege.

This type of thinking can cover all aspects of your customer interaction with your business; from referred sales to ongoing service. Linking the various touch-points will ultimately create a sense of control for your customer that can increase their satisfaction by helping them avoid what they consider unnecessary stops along the way. This really is another way of maximizing their time and respecting their involvement, both of which go a long way in building the ongoing customer relationships.

Just for fun...

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable...There is another theory which states that this has already happened." - Douglas Adams

True believers only, please

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:30:00 +0000

One of the challenges of any industry is to maintain a level of consistency that customers have come to expect, but at the same time find ways to introduce new products and services without compromising successful business practices. This keeps items fresh and updated, but still allows for mainstay profitability, as well.

While that in itself would make a great topic for discussion, I encountered something else in a recent visit to one of these fine institutions we know as fast food restaurants. When I walked in to this restaurant, I was greeted by lots of marketing pictures, cardboard cutouts and ceiling hangers, all exclaiming the wonderful new menu item that had recently been introduced. As I stood there pondering my options, I thought about the new dish, but opted instead to go with a tried-and-true favorite, and thought I might try the new item at a future date.

As I sat waiting for my order to be prepared, another couple came in and reacted a little differently to the same information that I had encountered. Wanting to find out more about the new menu item, they walked up to the cashier and asked what it was, how it was put together, and if there were any special ingredients. This cashier surprised me. It wasn't the usual (or expected): "Ummm...I'm not really sure," or "I'm new here," or "I'll have to check with my supervisor;" no, the cashier instead launched into one of the most mouth-watering descriptions of this new food item. She talked about the seasonings used, the time it takes to saute the vegetables, and most importantly, she talked about how much she personally liked them. After hearing all of this, I was practically ready to cancel my previous order and order that instead!

This little encounter demonstrated two things to me: the power of good, descriptive communication, and the power or personal testimony, of someone with impassioned intent, who really believes in the product or service, to sway the decision of a customer or bystander.

The application is found in not relying on just your marketing "system" when it comes to convincing your customers of why your products or services are the best, or why they should do business with you. Some really great marketing can get people in the door, but then it is up to your front line personnel to make that marketing real. Customers need to be convinced you are trustworthy, and they can only be convinced by those who are convinced themselves!

Be sure you have employees who "get it" and can be passionate ambassadors of your products and services. This will help to increase customer satisfaction over the longer term, and will encourage repeat business. These employees represent your company to your customers, so be sure they have all of the resources and training they need; and be doubly sure they have an attitude that excites customers.

Just for fun...

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day." - Anon.

Beware the Customer Service Absolutes

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:00:00 +0000

It's not unusual to come across all sorts of all-inclusive statements that drive customer expectations about business products and services. When a business puts out a marketing statement to lure in new customers, they had better be able to deliver on it.

On a recent visit to Starbucks, I tried a cup of their "Perfect Oatmeal" for the first time. With all of the natural goodness oozing from the display photograph, I wanted to see just how "perfect" it would be. To put it kindly: it's anything but perfect. Somehow, I guess they figured out that having a photo of someone ripping open a brown packet of generic instant oatmeal into a paper cup and adding hot water from the espresso machine just wouldn't have the same draw. Go figure.

Now, did I really expect to get a perfect cup of oatmeal? No, of course not; however, with a name like "Perfect Oatmeal," I did expect to get something a little more than what I described above. Maybe a magical new Starbucks process that somehow takes oatmealy goodness to the next level by hand mixing in the added almonds that I asked for. What I got was a plastic packet of nuts, and an instruction on the lid of the oatmeal cup which says to wait three minutes before eating it. Hmmm, I guess perfection takes time.

To be sure, businesses need to beware of setting expectations with customers about experience absolutes. Things like: "We're the friendliest store in town." While scientifically difficult to substantiate, if that's a motto on your front door, you better be an extremely friendly store with employees that are innately happy all the time, or you will not be living up to the expectation you set.

"Guaranteed lowest prices; The best burger in [insert region or town]; World's best [insert product or service]"...you get the idea. Using absolute terms like "lowest; best; strongest" typically tend to overstate the product or service, and actually begin to numb customers (the very people you are trying to reach) to the real message of just how good you very well may be.

But the real determination of how good you are is not up to you (as the business); it's up to your customers to decide. If they think you have the best clam chowder on the East coast, then that's the reputation you will have. If they believe that the cars you manufacture are the coolest thing around, then they are. But only if they say so.

What's the alternative? Find creative ways to demonstrate your commitment to excellence, rather than saying you're already all that. As an example, Lexus, while delivering very cool cars (because I said so) also has a very appealing tag line: "The relentless pursuit of perfection." Now that's saying something. Are their cars perfect? No, but they give the customer the idea that this car is the closest thing to perfection that Lexus has been able to come up with so far, and that's pretty dang good. Is Lexus really pursuing perfection? I have no idea; I've never owned one of their cars. But I'd rather do business with a company that says they're pursuing perfection and misses, than to do business with a company who says their product already is perfect and still misses. Do you see the difference?

Being successful in business is all about excellence, whether it's in product manufacturing, delivery, or marketing. Always strive for excellence, and always be truthful and honest in the expectations you set about your commitment to excellence, and then let your customers tell everyone how wonderful you are. Because they will.

Just for fun...

"If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it." - Anon

How the List from Hell can help you provide Heavenly Service

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Unbelievably, customer expectations are through the roof, across industry lines. People are expecting to have immediate resolution gratification, and do you know why? I finally found out who to blame: it's all because of Taco Bell.

"What?" I hear you say incredulously. "How can Taco Bell influence how customers are going to interact with my company? I'm not even in the food business."

To this I simply retort, "Doesn't matter. Taco Bell ruined it for all of us."

Okay, all joking aside, the deeper truth here is that customer expectations are not just set by what your marketing department tells customers they're getting with your products and services. Customer expectations are set by societal norms that are beyond any one company's control, no matter how big or small your company is.

To expand further, customers who have a positive experience at Nordstrom's wonder why every company doesn't treat them the same way. Others who are "wowed" by a Westin Hotel experience use that standard to judge all other travel venues. The more these outstanding customer experiences start to blend into the overall life-experience of a customer, they begin to have internal standards that expect a certain level of service no matter where they go or what industry they frequent.

In short, the standards go up for everybody.

Now, when someone goes to a Taco Bell restaurant, they are greeted with a list of guarantees that the company provides. Seriously, from a customer service standpoint, this is the List from Hell. I think the only thing Taco Bell doesn't promise is to wash their car if the customer is not satisfied.

But from the customer standpoint, this list is like manna from heaven. It provides a clear definition of what Taco Bell means when it says they want to ensure the customer is pleased with their dining experience, and what will be done if their experience doesn't live up to these expectations.

The List from Hell, courtesy of Taco Bell

Is there room for disagreement on the customer perspective? Nope, the customer is always right. Is there a chance for a customer to take advantage of Taco Bell? Absolutely. But still, the customer is always right. Taco Bell has effectively hung it all out on the line to ensure that customers are satisfied, basically no matter what. End of story.

Now, while this works for $2 value meals and tacos, can this work in your sphere of the customer business? (Because, remember, if you're in business of any type, you're in the customer business, first and foremost). While you may disagree initially, I think you'll find that this List from Hell is just what the doctor ordered. If you can pattern a similar manifesto for your business, there will never be a question in anyone's mind that you want to please your customers. And your bottom-line will benefit, because your customers benefit.

Just for fun...

"Drive carefully, 90% of people are accidents." - Anon

How to provide exceptional customer service

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:00:00 +0000

How good are you at anticipating your customers' needs? Is this even possible? More often than not, there are stories of how this opportunity is missed, rather than accomplished.

Derek Stockley, (http://derekstockley.com.au), a trainer and performance consultant, relates a story along these lines from an experience during a hotel stay:

I recently stayed four nights in the same interstate hotel. Eventually, I needed to do some laundry. I checked the hotel guide. I decided to use the 'do-it-yourself' facilities in the basement. The guide informed me I could obtain washing powder from the reception desk on the ground floor.

I went to reception and paid $1.10 for the powder sachet with some coins. I then proceeded to the basement where I encounted the traditional Maytag washer with the coin insert slots - three one dollar coins were required. I checked my pocket full of coins. Lots of $2 coins, 50 cents, 20 cents etc, but no one dollar coins. Annoyed, I went back up to reception, obtained the coins, then returned to the basement.

My point? The hotel had two opportunities to advise me of the $1 coins requirement. Firstly, the hotel guide could have told me. More importantly, the receptionist could have told me when I bought the powder. All she had to say was: "Do you have three $1 coins for the machine? If not, I can change some money for you now."

Exceptional customer service is easy if you think about it. What happened to me must have happened before to other hotel guests. Someone needed to take note and introduce it as a rule:
"When a customer buys washing powder or enquires about the washing/drying facilities, advise them about the coins required." I would have appreciated this minor attention to detail.

In my own experience, my family also recently experienced this same issue, but from the opposite (positive) perspective when we visited the local Ikea furniture and home decorating store.

Ikea is absolutely crammed with thoughtful ways of anticipating customer needs, from providing reusable shopping bags you can borrow while you shop, to providing child care while you're in the store. My favorite is the pre-shopping station just as you enter their showroom area that has paper measuring tapes, blank shopping lists for you to write down all of the cool stuff you want to buy, and the little perfectly-sharpened "golf" style pencils to keep track of it all. Hungry? grab a meal in the cafeteria. Not that hungry? Grab an inexpensive snack in the snack bar. How many other ways can they entice shoppers to stay in the store as long as possible? It all adds to Ikea's bottom line.

By anticipating your customer needs, you provide them the reassurance that you (as a business) know what you're doing, and that your primary objective is to make their experience as pleasant as possible. By doing those two things, you set yourself in a place of distinction, and provide yourself the opportunity to generate further sales. As Derek says: "Exceptional customer service is easy if you think about it."

Just for fun...

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

4 benefits of creating redundancy in customer services

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:30:00 +0000

In order to perform the ever-necessary balancing act between costs and service, it becomes necessary to evaluate the most efficient practices to ensure the company is creating maximum customer satisfaction with minimal cost impact. One of the best ways to do that is to create redundancy within the organization to ensure that no customer needs "fall through the cracks".

Here are four benefits of creating redundancy:

Increased efficiency. By having redundant systems in place, you can typically accomplish more with less, whether that includes resources or people. How is this possible, seeing that a redundant system is a whole other "shell" or layer around an existing process?

The key to effective redundant systems is by creating a natural overlap in existing systems. By connecting these overlaps, the redundant system is created.

For example, perhaps you need a staffing cycle that requires two staff members to operate a contact center for 12 or more hours. With only three existing staff members, you can't afford to hire a fourth person to cover the extra layer. In spreading out three 8-hours shifts and overlapping them by 3 to 4 hours at peak times as needed, a semi-redundant layer is created with the existing personnel. While schedule changes may be in order for individual personnel, everyone remains gainfully employed without being overworked. Even if one employee is occupied at a peak time, a second one is in place to pick up any additional customer needs.

Increased consistency. The reason that franchises typically perform so well is that they provide a consistent experience no matter which store customers frequent. When you go to a McDonald's restaurant, you always know what the burger and fries will taste like. When you visit Starbucks, you know you can get a drink made the way you like it, probably sit in a comfy chair and listen to some relaxing music while you read the paper or visit with friends. It's a consistent experience. And customers like consistency because consistency provides a sense of security and trust. The more consistency you can build into your systems, the more trust you build with your customers.

Increased accuracy and professionalism. Have you ever composed an e-mail, and then sent it off without having the luxury of re-editing key phrases? When you receive a reply, you look back over the quoted text and say, "what was I thinking?"

I always find I have a better outlook and a more balanced perspective when I can put appropriate time and thought into planning and actions. Just like writing a report in grade school, it always helps to have several redundant drafts that "weed out" any inconsistencies or unneeded actions in your systems and processes. This way, you can always be presenting the most accurate and most professional face to your customers.

Increased availability. Your customers want to be able to get a hold of you when it's convenient for them, not for you. And while you may not be able to have staff around-the-clock, it does help to have appropriate resources available at any time of day. With all the technology available to us in this day and age, there is no reason customers should not be able to have access to company information, whether it's at night (online) or with live people during the day.

Depending on the needs of your niche market, you need to provide company availability to your customers in order to increase their level of satisfaction. There are few things more irritating than not being able to get competent information when you want it, or when you need it. How you encompass their needs will be unique to your industry and market, but the universal fact remains that you need to be accessible, and redundant communication systems help fill that void.

Creating redundancy requires a holistic approach to what it is you're trying to accomplish with your customers throughout their experience with your company. By thoughtfully evaluating the different touch points they have in your processes, you will be helping to build confidence through professionalism, accessibility and consistency.

Just for fun...

“Basically my wife was immature. I'd be at home in my bath and she'd come in and sink my boats.” - Woody Allen

4 ways to help your brand become a verb (or a noun)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 12:30:00 +0000

I was driving behind a FedEx truck this morning it occurred to me how some brands become the thing that they do. Using FedEx as an example, simply put, they are in the overnight shipping business. So if you have a document or package that needs to get somewhere overnight, you can say "overnight this." Or you can say something like, "Be sure you FedEx this before you leave tonight."

What about online services? Do you search for things online, or do you "Google" them? Their brand has now become the thing itself.

Service businesses tend to become verbs, while products tend to become associated with what they are. When you're thirsty, do you purchase a cola drink, or do you grab a "Coke"? When you reach for a facial tissue, are you reaching for a "Kleenex"? If you have chapped lips, do you apply some "Vaseline" or petroleum jelly? Do you use "Band-aids" for cuts, or do you use adhesive strips?

How does this thinking apply to customers? Well, brand recognition on this magnitude is what every serious company strives for. However, it only comes about through the repeated product and service use of customers. No matter how much you advertise, market, or broadcast your message, the transformation of your brand into the language comes about purely by customer use, and is the sign of a successful business enterprise. What are some ways to help this process along?

Ensure you are satisfying your customer. If customers are not using your product, or they're not satisfied with their service, there is no reason for them to integrate what you do with their lifestyle. The brand recognition you desire comes about only through repeated customer use, and in interactions with their friends and family.

Make it easy for your customer to do business with you. The more convenient your services and products are to use the more likely they will be used. The more that people use and talk about your products and your services, the more you become a part of their lives. By finding ways to continue to keep yourself involved in people's lives, you create deep connections that carry over into what they say and do.

Do one thing and do it well. Companies that succeed in the language integration game typically focus on one service or product that roots itself in the life of the customer. Once this "beachhead" is established, then the company can begin reaching out to other services and products.

Google for example, became invaluable by providing the best search options online. As their database continued to grow and usership continued to flourish, they began branching out into the many other areas. They now encompass a plethora of applications such as online picture albums, e-mail formats, online documents, book collections, language translation, and the list continues to go on and on. By starting with the one thing and doing it well, it allowed them the ability to leverage to move into other areas.

Simplify your message. One surefire way to confuse your customer is to muddy your message with a bunch of competing imperatives. If you diversify your marketing message so much that people have to choose between one service or product you offer and another one that you offer, then you have diluted the effective impact you are trying to make. Remember that customers are people, and people can typically focus effectively only on one task at a time. Make sure that the tasks they're focused on are directly related to the message you are attempting to convey.

By successfully accomplishing the steps, you begin employing your customers into your biggest marketing campaign. When customers love what you do and how you do it, they will share that message with others.

Just for fun...

“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.” - G.K. Chesterton

2 ways to build strong customer relationships

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:30:00 +0000

"Customer satisfaction is achieved when a customer becomes convinced through your performance that the value he enjoys from your goods and services exceeds all other options, and that his business with you is important to you and is appreciated." - Henry M. Rowan, President, Inductotherm Industries, Inc.

One of the things that I like about this quote is how neatly it packages the good solid definition of customer satisfaction into two basic areas that are at the core of the customer experience.

The customer must become convinced that the value he enjoys from your goods and services exceeds all other options. This is the holy grail of any business: when a customer recognizes that your business provides the best combination of price and functionality out of all the other competition is out there. Not only does this result in sales, but by maintaining this outlook, the customer is more likely to be involved with repeat sales as well.

How does this happen? Note that I left out a key phrase in the quote above: "through your performance." Your performance in the initial delivery of the product or service sets a standard in the mind of the customer. Your ongoing performance after the sale continues to reinforce what they believed about you when they purchased initially. This is where you have the greatest opportunity to create value for your customer. And when they recognize that value, they will continue to purchase from you and they'll refer others to you as well.

The customer must know that his business with you is important to you, and is appreciated. While you may genuinely feel this way about your customers, a key factor of this principle is ensuring that the customer understands how valuable they are to you. But in what ways do you demonstrate your customers that they are valuable to you?

Rewards. Perhaps you offer some sort of rewards program. This is something that should be sincere and offered only to those customers who truly spend the most time and money with your business. Where these programs break down is when everyone is afforded some sort of membership, or level of discount. This can have the effect of diluting the effectiveness of the program and actually becoming a negative rather than positive aspect to doing business with you.

Bogo. If your business model allows, perhaps you can offer a "buy one get one free" program, or "buy one get one half off." While not necessarily solution for higher-end products like cars or homes ( although I did hear of a local car dealer offering buy-one-get-one free), these types of offerings tend to go over quite well from the customer perspective.

Extras. Even better than a "bogo" program is simply offering something extra and unexpected to customers after they make a purchase with you. This could be as simple as a pad of paper and a pen, or a free cup of coffee. The point is, they should feel as if doing business with you involves a personal level of attention and additional value at no extra cost to them.

Tell them. The simplest way to let your customers know you appreciate them is simply to tell them. Many companies send out holiday cards or offer discounts that are mailed out to repeat customers. While these can come across as generic and mass-organized, a very simple method is a brief and sincere handwritten note. Is this time-consuming? Yes. Does it have a significant impact on your customers? Yes. This is the type of thing that can separate you from your competitors, and make an impression that lasts in your customers' minds.

In the long run, however, you want to spend the most time doing the things that provide the most value for you in building relationships with your customers by providing the basics of good value and sincere customer appreciation. How you choose to do that will be unique to your industry and to the "personality" of your company.

Just for fun...

“She said she was approaching forty, and I couldn't help wondering from what direction.” - Bob Hope

The secret to increasing customer satisfaction

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:30:00 +0000

Any of you who have ever visited a Home Depot on a regular basis may appreciate today's insight. In the course of remodeling work and improvements in my home over the years, I have established a love-hate relationship with the Home Depot. In general terms, I love all of the stuff they have, but I've hated the service.

This isn't a deep-seated emotional issue, but one that stems from an ongoing need for their products and the necessity of being at the mercy of their "system." Classically, they have high volume traffic on weekends and seem to be under-staffed on the check-out side, resulting in long delays trying to pay for the items I need for whatever my current project is. This results in the customer nightmare of the "check-out line of death."

So imagine my surprise how, on a recent Saturday visit, I was blown-away by the speed with which I was able to check out with lots of materials on my cart, at the height of their traffic peak.

How did they do it?

Home Depot's check-out secret
It's a new technology system which is, in effect, a wireless scanner. Here's how it works: while folks are standing in line waiting to check out, an employee operates the wireless hand-scanner, and goes from customer to customer scanning all of their products. When everything is scanned for a customer, they download-scan the information onto the equivalent of a gift card, and then hand the "gift card" to the customer. As the customer comes up to the cash register, they simply hand the card to the checker who then scans the information into the cash register, where it lists out all of the items, just as if they had been scanned at the checkout. Then it's just a matter of paying for the purchase; simple and quick!

Making the most of the customers' time
The elegance of the system is that it simply takes the time spent waiting in line, and puts it to good use by essentially moving a checker down the line, rather than waiting for the people to come to the checker. This has an incredible effect on speeding up the process, and also allows the "portable" checker to have a lot more interaction with the customers in a positive fashion. This also creates more flexibility with the process, since the "portable" checker only has to be in place when the lines are long; otherwise, they can be gainfully employed at some other task as needed without having to shut down a whole cash register point. Brilliant and efficient!

Everyone wants to have the feeling that their time is valuable...because it is. This is the "secret" of satisfying customers, because nothing says "you are not important to our business" more loudly than to have a customer wait in line or feel like they are wasting time unnecessarily. The more ways you can find to make the most of the customers' time, they will be more likely to be back to spend more time with you purchasing your products.

In what ways can this principle be employed with your systems and processes? How can you "move the checker down the line," so to speak, in your business? Creating efficiencies like these will have a positive impact on your customers, and their repeat business with you.

Okay, so for now, this new system has helped to turn my relationship with the Home Depot back into a positive one. And if it has this effect on someone as critical as me, think how positively it can impact some of your customers.

Heck, they may even love you for it...

Just for fun...

"Life is like a roll of toilet paper; hopefully long and useful, but it always ends at the wrong moment." - Rudyh

Sometimes customers just don't know until after the fact

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:50:00 +0000

Sometimes customers don't know what they want until after they purchase. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Let me share an example from a recent purchase in our home.

Our microwave oven had finally given up the ghost, and it was time for us to replace it. While we had owned it, we discovered that it wasn't large enough for some of our casserole dishes, and it didn't have enough power to always follow the recommended times on food items for thawing or cooking. So my wife and I determined that we would ensure when it ever needed to be replaced, we would resolve those issues.

With these thoughts in mind, we went to the local store to see what was available and what we could find that met these basic needs. We found a model that met our color scheme in the kitchen, and discovered it had a display model out so we could see the features first-hand. Everything appeared to meet all of our standards, so we purchased it and brought it home. So far, it's been a great addition to our appliances, and does everything we hoped it would.

However, I have discovered that the mechanism for opening and closing the door is really quite loud. This wasn't something that was noticed in the store, even with a display model to check out, because the ambient noise level in the store was such that it wasn't even considered by us to be an issue. But because I typically use the microwave early in the morning for coffee and breakfast while everyone else is still asleep, I am a little more hyper-sensitive to the door-latching noise to avoid waking up other family members.

Now, I don't want to give you the impression that it's such a huge noise, but it is something I think about every time I use it, and if I was to be surveyed on the product, that would be a detracting element that I would note. The machine itself works great, looks nice, and does everything as advertised and more (since it also has some cool features that I wasn't aware of when I purchased it); however, for me personally, this latching issue is one thing that takes away from my experience in actually using the product.

Is it a deal-breaker, and something that I would return the appliance to the store over? Absolutely not; it's a microwave, for Pete's sake, not a grand piano. But I am illustrating this point simply to highlight the fact that no matter how well we set expectations with our customers, no matter how well we explain and represent how our products and services function, there will always be a select margin of folks who will have some personal issue with them after the sale. Some customers will make a bigger deal out of it than others, but we need to remain sensitive to the reality of their concern, and do our best to alleviate it if possible.

Their experiences with your services and products is what matters, and when we, as business providers, can learn to appreciate and embrace those concerns (whether we personally think they are valid or not), then we can truly provide products and services that meet the needs of our customers. This is the surest way to satisfaction and loyalty.

Here's a hypothetical scenario to further illustrate: let's say that a representative of the company showed up at my house next week and said, “Sir, we like to follow up with everyone who purchases our products, and we understand you recently purchased a microwave oven from us. How are you enjoying using your new microwave oven?”

Well, after I pick up my jaw from off of the floor because I can't believe this guy showed up, I might say something like, “You know, the oven works great, looks great, and we use it every day. I just have this one issue with the door latch...”

“Issue? What issue?”

“Well, every time I open and close the door, it makes such a loud noise that I have a concern of waking up other family members early in the morning.”

“I see,” he would say. “Interesting you should point that out. It turns out we have discovered this issue from other customers who have told us the same thing, and we have created this latch-dampener to alleviate the issue for you. I have one with me and you can have it free of charge!”

Then, after he helps me up because I fainted out of shock, he would help me snap the latch-dampener into place, and be on his merry way.

Of course, the principle of this hypothetical situation is not as far-fetched as it may seem, and the more you can incorporate these kinds of actions and responses from feedback from your customers, you have a better chance of causing your customers to faint out of shock because they cannot believe how responsive you are. When that happens, you are placing yourself in the highest percentage of the customer satisfaction providers.

Just for fun...

"In the begining there was nothing and God said 'Let there be light', and there was still nothing but then everybody could see it." - Dave Thomas

How these two principles assure customer satisfaction every time

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:00:00 +0000

"Many players come to the market with a 'monopoly mindset.' They think they know what's best for customers, even without asking them. MCI knows that what customers want is important. We know how to find out what they want, and we have the resources to deliver it." - Bert C. Roberts, Jr., Chairman and CEO, MCI Communications Corp.

Even though MCI has merged now with Verizon, two key principles for any successful business are outlined here by Bert Roberts, and deserve further investigation.

Know what customers want.
Not only is this true by itself, but the secret is knowing how to find out what they want, and to do that on an ongoing basis. Discovering customer wants is not as easy as it sounds, but begins with asking them what they want. The difficulty comes when what they are telling you is not really what they want, but only what they think they want. Sound confusing?

For example, if a customer says they want the best deal in inexpensive air travel, they most undoubtedly would not want to sacrifice safety or aircraft maintenance to get the "best" price. So what they really want is not the best price, but the best deal they can get within the appropriate level of reasonableness. This "appropriate level of reasonableness" can be a moving target or a gray area that is difficult to define, but the more you can define it, the better your chances are that you can be effective at meeting a real need in a ripe market.

Have the resources to deliver with excellence.
After knowing, really knowing, what the customer wants, then you have to be able to muster up the resources to actually deliver on that product or service in an excellent way.

If, for example, you run a restaurant and you recognize a real desire for customers to have blueberry waffles every morning, then your restaurant better be able to provide enough raw materials to meet that need for the hundreds of customers you serve. However, if you know there is a real need, but you only have enough blueberry batter for three batches of waffles each day, then you will certainly sell those, but disappoint a large measure of your potential market who may not return when you are ready. The old adage is true: "Strike while the [waffle] iron is hot." Or something like that.

If this sounds overly simplistic, it's because it is. (Notice I did not say "easy," I said "simplistic"). I truly believe we make customer satisfaction much more complicated than it really needs to be. If you can repeat these two broad, yet simple principles to everything you do, then you have created a real opportunity to satisfy customers like never before.

Just for fun...

"Immorality: The morality of those who are having a better time." - H.L. Mencken

Who really creates your brand?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Since I am involved in the homebuilding industry, our company has a very public and ongoing record of how well our past product is performing. Perhaps your products are not as long-lived as a home, or perhaps they have a greater potential for survivability, such as fine jewelry. Whatever the case may be, you must understand that all of your past work speaks for your future business.

In the world of business, customers can only know who you are and what you do by two things: your brand (which is really what customers say about you), and the evidence of what you do. Anything related to marketing is simply your word for what you say you're about, but you still have to prove that to your customers before they will believe you and whole-heartedly advocate for you.

Brand
Unless you are a brand powerhouse like Nike, Intel, Coke, or Zappos, you have to ensure your customer knows what you're about. These types of companies are providing a known entity: a certain level of quality and type of product or service that has a unique feel about it. When customers hear these names, they know what to expect and what they are getting.

This may not be the case with your business, however. While branding is a very important aspect of your business, most business people fail to recognize that a brand is actually not something that is concocted in a marketing department somewhere, but your brand really is what people are saying about your business. Your customers, therefore, create your brand. If you are known for great service, then rest assured people are telling their friends and neighbors that you are a company that delivers great service. If you are known for the highest quality products, then you can be sure that people are telling others.

Evidence
If you do not have the branding of these larger entities, then the only other aspect of your business that customers have to find out more about you is your past record. What have you made, and how has it held up? How easy (or difficult) has it been for other customers to get service when needed? These are the things that push people over the edge when it comes to decisions to purchase or not.

Online investigations by customers occur routinely; in fact, if you're an internet-only business, it's expected. On Ebay, for example, sellers of products are listed by positive (and negative) comments and feedback for all to see. In the electronics world, do you want to find out which is the right camcorder to purchase? Go online; product reviews tell you everything from how the product has performed to the packaging it arrived in.

Everywhere you look, customers are looking for evidence; evidence that you are trustworthy and that a purchase from you would be a smart thing to do. Be sure that the products and services you are providing today are the absolute best they can be, because your brand, and your future business, depend on it.

Just for fun...

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people." - W.C. Fields

2 simple ways to help customers

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Recently returning from the North American Conference on Customer Management in Orlando, I had the “pleasure” of having a layover in the Atlanta airport on my way back home. My first time through Atlanta was on this trip (both ways), and after having seen how busy it was on my way down to the conference, I was anticipating a similar level of congestion on the trip back.

I was not disappointed.

However, while I had anticipated a large amount of people passing through security and out to the gates to get to my flight, what I had not planned on encountering were a couple of Transportation Security Administration employees who would make the required process a little easier, a little more fun, and a little more memorable (in a pleasant way).

As I approached the initial check point for identification and boarding pass verification, they were just making a shift change with one employee heading off to break and the next one getting started. Since I had already been in line for a while and I was the next one up, I light-heartedly suggested to the woman that had just come on duty that it appeared to me to have been a rough time to come on shift, with all of the passenger congestion coming through.

“This is nothing,” she replied, as she looked over my identification information. “In fact, this is actually kind of light for a weekday. You should be here around the holidays; now that's the time to stay away from the airport!” Then she was occupied with the next passenger in line behind me. She appeared to be in a good mood, heartily and sincerely greeting every passenger as they came through.

Simple Way #1: Genuineness comes through in all you do. If you are not happy, your customers will notice; however, if you are happy, your customers will also notice.

My second encounter with a TSA employee was indirect, but equally had an impact on me. As the passenger lines funneled into four side-by-side queues for the x-ray and metal detectors, The TSA employee was walking back and forth between the lines and repeating information over our heads for the benefit of everyone coming through to help speed the process up. These are some of the humorous things he was shouting:

“Almost there: only two and a half miles to go to your gate!”

“Please remember: laptops must be in a bin by itself through the x-ray machine. If there is anything else in the bin with your laptop...[pause for effect]...then it is not by itself!”

“Remember that only 3.5 ounces of liquid are permitted past this point. Recent scientific studies have shown that water, in bottles, is indeed a liquid...!”

I'm certain that this man's primary responsibility is to highlight the kinds of problems that are repetitively encountered in this process. His humorous spin helped make the uncomfortable “cattle-driven” feeling a little less prominent, with the added bonus of helping us to remember to avoid specific mistakes made by others. In fact, it was easy for me to remember these things to relate them to you here, and I'm sure I will recall the specifics the next time I travel, as well.

Simple Way #2: Appropriate humor helps to brighten dreary tasks, and makes things easier to remember. It lightens unavoidable wait times, and helps to embed bland, but necessary, information firmly in the mind of the hearer.

While I was unable to appropriate the names of either of these TSA employees, they made a lasting impression on me by simply being genuinely engaged in their work, and by ensuring a bit of light-heartedness eased my situation as a customer. Perhaps these simple lessons can be worked into your customer systems, as well.

Just for fun...

"The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. But not in that order." - Brian Pickrell

3 things that all customers want

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:00:00 +0000

The best principles of customer satisfaction transcend industry distinctions because, as I've said many times, customers are people, and people act and react in similar ways, no matter what the business experience is.

In the financial services sector, Bank of America has conducted their own research into what their customers are telling them. In a recent corporate article, they answered a basic question with some beneficial principles for all of us in the customer satisfaction business: "What Do Our Customers Want? Control, Choice and Clarity." Here are some thoughts on each of those areas:

Control. Customers are increasingly desiring to have a sense control of their experience with companies. They have a desire to do business more "on their terms" and not when or where it is necessarily convenient for the business. If you want their patronage, you will have to find ways to accommodate this trend.

A key aspect of your business planning should include methods of providing choices for customers that still maintain a manageable range of options for your own efficiencies. The execution of this method is in having limited, but very specific, choices for customers to choose from, any of which are within an acceptable range of operation for you.

For example, you may only have three days a week where a certain service is available, however, you may present it as : "Our next available appointments are on Monday or Wednesday; will 9 am, noon, or 3 pm work better for you?" You have now provided a concise range of legitimate choices for a customer to think through and assert some control of their own schedule. This is a necessary psychological exercise on the path to customer satisfaction, and should be incorporated into your customer experience as much as possible.

Of course, you will always have the individuals who reply that none of those options work for them. You can either provide a "second-tier" level of choices (still within your acceptable range of operation) or you can provide a concession to your standard practice in order to satisfy the customer. The key is to be thoughtful and intentional with these interactions so that you are not at the mercy of every unusual customer request that you encounter.

Choice. While making choices is common to human nature in general, I believe a large measure of this mentality is due to the level of choices that are available in online and digital products and services, which is now transferring outwardly into real-world experiences.

For example, you can customize any digital product just about any way you want: from cell phone ring-tones to browser preferences, to website templates to music and media personalization. I believe this will have an increasing effect in the marketplace overall, as the newer, highly digital generation continues to seek similar experiences across all industries and company interactions. Customization of customer experience is, and will continue to be, the norm for attaining customer satisfaction. Learning to incorporate customization methods into your business is critical.

Most of these customizations can be incorporated into your digital offerings, such as website and shopping preferences. Amazon.com is the poster child for this level of customization, as choices for new shopping selections are consistently offered based on past purchases. This provides extremely personalized interest-based shopping experiences for their customers.

Clarity. Sometimes, however, the choices and variations in a customer experience can be overwhelming, and as a customer, I simply want to use a service without having to choose how many updates I want, or which view I prefer; just give me the information or service I want, and make it simple and clear!

In a real world example, I recently stopped by a Subway restaurant with my family on the way home from a trip to the coast. While I enjoy their offerings on a personal basis, when we encountered the range of options available for all of the children's meals, the ordering process turned into a huge Q and A session of what precisely each child wanted: which type of bread, what condiments to add, which type of dessert. Then we went through the "can I add this" or "what about this" questions. Invariably, we were reduced to making simple choices available to the kids (even though there were wider options available on their meal purchase).

This is where listening to customer feedback and simplifying your systems becomes a very finely tuned balancing act. You will need to be able to provide choices for your discerning customers, but also provide the "easy" button for the customers like me who many times just want to get in and get out. Clarity is derived from balance.

By thoughtfully focusing on the customer experience and intentionally providing more opportunities for customer control and choice, along with clarifying your offerings to ensure the essentials can be readily accessed, you will be creating a stronger and more loyal customer base who will be better informed and more comfortable in carrying on repeat business with you.

Just for fun...

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong, is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." - Douglas Adams

Communicating a sense of fun to your customers brings results to the bottom line

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:00:00 +0000

"Try taking yourself and your business less seriously. You may be surprised that many others will take you more seriously." - Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Atlantic

This principle has been repeated time and time again at various companies: from the above quoted Virgin Atlantic, to Southwest Airlines, to Google, to Zappos; all of these companies creating an atmosphere of fun that benefits not only the employees, but their customers.

Why would people want buy from you if they don't enjoy doing so? Making your products and services fun to buy is simply taking the whole process of marketing one step further.

Christopher Meyer, in his book "Relentless Growth" writes: "If you can make your customers laugh, and excite them with your vision of what life can be, they are not going to walk into your outlets, but run into them."

Think of what happens when you come across a funny article or cartoon online: do you ever want to share it with others and forward on to your circle of friends? Deborah Chaddock Brown tells the story of her teenager who received a funny "April Fool's" text on his phone, and even though he was busily engaged onstage in a school play, he discreetly forwarded the text to his friends, who then continued the cycle...each one wanted to be the first one to share the fun!

If humor naturally spreads, and a primary goal of our business is to increase our customer base, then why aren't we incorporating humor more into our businesses? Maybe it's because we are intimidated by the following "3 Myths of Humor in the Workplace:" Are we afraid of appearing unprofessional? Are we concerned we will offend? Are we afraid of becoming unproductive?

Humor and professionalism. The Random House dictionary defines a professionalism as:

1. professional character, spirit, or methods.
2. the standing, practice, or methods of a professional, as distinguished from an amateur.

By this definition, it is not impossible to be professional and be humorous; in fact, a measure of humor can actually reinforce professional character by demonstrating confidence, self-assurance and wit. While many believe that humor demonstrates insecurity, it actually takes guts to present humorous insights that could potentially bomb.

However, I have worked with individuals in the past who thought they were being funny, when in fact they were simply making asses out of themselves (sorry, there's really no way to soften that one). When that happens, then unprofessionalism is absolutely evident.

Humor and offensiveness. The key to humor in the workplace is "Consider the audience - always." The reason humor in the workplace is classically considered unprofessional is because most people who attempt it are typically so bad at it, and do it at the expense of others. Inappropriate humor has no place in the workplace; if it's inappropriate for the workplace, there's a good chance it's just not going to work well anywhere.

Understand there's a difference between being humorous and telling jokes. Good, clean jokes are difficult to come by, because someone, (or some group or class of people) ultimately has to be the "butt" of the joke. This tends to alienate and offend.

Being humorous, though, typically lightens a mood, and is evidenced by the following principles:

Sharing a unique and funny way of looking at a challenge that everyone in the department or company is facing.
Helps barriers to communication come down.
Encourages and unites.
Strengthens teamwork by providing a uniting, light-hearted perspective.

If the comment you're about to make doesn't follow these guidelines, then there's a good chance it will be inappropriate, offensive, and unprofessional.

Humor and unproductiveness. Contrary to most assumptions, appropriate workplace humor actually helps to spur creativity and innovation. Many times, the humorous viewpoint is the "breath of fresh air" that breaks a chain of monotonous thinking or corporate-think. By continuing to learn new things, new twists on what you do, you can find other perspectives that lighten and enliven others.

Humor also has the ability to motivate. Herman Cain has said, "Nobody motivates today's workers. If it doesn't come from within, it doesn't come. Fun helps remove the barriers that allow people to motivate themselves." Change things up, and productivity can be spurred on to new levels.

Christopher Meyer concludes: "Running a successful business should be fun for you, and there's every reason why you should be able to communicate that sense of fun to your customers. Certainly, if you aren't having fun, you probably aren't running a successful business."

Just for fun...

"I don't need a lot of money; I just need enough to tide me over until I need more." – Bill Hoest

(Part 3) Customer Experience: Interview with Janet LeBlanc

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:00:00 +0000

About our guest:

Janet LeBlanc is an internationally recognized expert in customer value and experience management with award-winning results in driving transformational change. She was the executive responsible for leading the enterprise-wide integration of customer feedback and the transition from customer satisfaction to customer value for one of Canada’s most recognized brands, Canada Post.
From her website: http://customervaluenetwork.com (see more of Janet's bio below the interview).

View part 3 of the interview here

Some Lessons From the Interview

What type of feedback methods are the most successful in understanding the needs of the customers?

The method is not necessarily as important as what you do with the information from various collection points. It's really more important to collect the information in a measurable and meaningful way so it can be translated into action plans in an organization.

I always make sure I have one solid feedback program that is foundational that everything else feeds into.

Also, using a 10-point scale as opposed to 5-point scale gives someone a much broader range of feedback from “very good” performance to “very poor” performance. With a 5-point scale everything seems to hang around 3.5 or 3.2, without giving any real direction.

Do you know of general principles that provide the most success to a business in improving customer experience?

Value based proposition with three main areas of perception: overall value, overall quality, overall likelihood to recommend. Value is the perception of quality relative to the price that they have to pay. Figure out how your customers evaluate quality, and then see how your value compares within the marketplace.

What do you think customers value most?

It goes back to the value perception; do they feel they have received value from the exchange? They want to feel that you appreciate their business, and that you value them as a customer.

Click here for part 1 of the interview.

Click here for part 2 of the interview.

More on Janet's biography:
Janet was the winner of a 2009 Stevie Award for Women in Business (Best Executive in a Government Sector over 2,500 employees) and her leadership won Canada Post four international awards—namely an International Business Award for Best Customer Service Organization, a 1to1 Impact Award for Organizational Transformation, a World Mail Award for Customer Service, and an Aberdeen Industry Achievement Award for Business Evolution.

Janet was named to the prestigious position of Customer Champion, joining a world-wide community of top-level executives who are the voice of the customer in their organizations and whose efforts help tie customer strategies to bottom-line results. Janet is on the Editorial Advisory Board of Customer Strategist, an executive journal by the Peppers and Rogers Group and has been a member of numerous advisory councils.

A 20-year marketing veteran, Janet has covered sales, marketing, customer service, and transformational strategies since starting her career. Janet holds a Masters of Business Administration and was an adjunct professor of marketing at the University of Ottawa for over a decade. She is the co-author of Straight Talk about Children and Sport, now available worldwide in three languages.

(Part 2) Customer Experience: Interview with Janet LeBlanc

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:05:00 +0000

About our guest:

View part 2 of the interview here

Some Lessons From the Interview

Q: Do you find there's an optimum timeframe for the most efficient feedback to employees (i.e., 1 year, 6 months, or 3 months)?

It depends. With the “five pillars” of the customer experience talked about earlier (in part 1) feedback can be done on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. But if you're talking about front-line people (sales, customer service reps) the pace of change is much shorter; immediate feedback is best.

Q: In a previous article on your work at Canada Post, Louis O'Brien, Senior VP of Parcels, said the data you provided them demonstrated that "if we messed up, but fixed it, [customers] had more confidence in our service than someone who's never had a problem." Do you find this to still be true?

It was a pleasure to prove that fact; it was true at Canada Post. The resolution process had to be very well done, and the result was that the customer was more loyal to Canada Post. I'm sure that carries through to other organizations as well.

Q: What do you think is the reasoning behind this principle?

I'm sure it's a combination of several things; the emotional aspect is definitely part of that experience. If an organization can “wow” a customer, then they were more loyal. So you're looking for ways to delight or wow them.

There's an example of a family who stayed in a Westin Hotel here in Ottawa, their small child had a teddy bear. The child lost the teddy bear and the staff looked around to help, but the bear was not found. After the family left, the bear was found several days later behind a curtain. One employee went around the hotel with the bear, and took pictures of the teddy bear in different locations: the restaurant, the spa, next to the swimming pool, etc., and mailed the teddy bear back with the pictures. That family and that child will remember that experience; they had a problem, but somebody took the initiative to wow the customer, and they'll be loyal to Westin Hotel for sure.

We look for opportunities to make a difference, what I call a “memorable connection.”

Q: In your experience, do you know of a way to produce the “memorable connection” without necessarily having the customer experience a problem?

It goes back to the fundamentals of a customer experience management program. Collect data: find out what satisfies customers the most (what they value most), integrate that throughout the organization, reinforce to everyone that the objective is to delight the customer. You're trying to create, what I like to call: “Hysterical, raving fans.”

Q: Do you find that customer experiences change over time?

Customer experience definitely has grown as a field; customer perceptions certainly change over time. It depends on the industry: for example, high tech is changing very rapidly, but the postal industry doesn't change as rapidly. With all of the technology changing in society, customers are adaptable to, ready for, and come to expect change when it comes to organizations "wowing" them. The bar keeps getting raised, and expectations are raised, as well.

This is why a reliable customer feedback mechanism is so valuable to organizations for monitoring and getting ready for changes when they come.

Click here for part 1 of the interview.

Click here for part 3 of the interview.