Pete Bartilucci was one of eight kids growing up in a crowded house। Now a successful 42-year-old entrepreneur, Pete recently got together with his dad and asked him a question that had been on his mind a long time. “Dad, why were you so tough on Mom when we were growing up?”His dad was taken aback, “What do you mean?” “You were very hard on Mom. How come?”“Son, I had to make sure you kids had food and a roof over your heads,” his dad said, a defensive note in his voice.Pete asked again, “But Dad, why were you mean to Mom?”“Pete, it was tough raising a family….”Pete persisted. “I know, Dad. But why?”His dad was very quiet. Fifteen seconds crawled by like an hour. He leaned back and finally responded. “Son, I was so young and handsome. I had great potential.”Pete looked at him, a little puzzled. “You see, Pete, your mom and I were very young. I had a promising baseball career. But I was madly in love with your mom. We got married when we were 19 and, soon afterwards, she got pregnant. Family responsibilities quickly piled on. Five years later, we already had the fourth child on the way. There was just no time to pursue baseball anymore. I got a job driving a truck, and I did whatever I could to provide for you and the family.”Pete had unearthed a deep emotion. His dad had regrets. He’d never pursued his passion, and he’d resented it over the years. Yet he’d never talked about it; he’d only taken his frustration out on Pete’s mom.Pete learned something he’d never known about his father. He also learned the importance of asking why — and repeating it until he’d dug beneath the surface of the superficial conversations he’d had with his father for many years. It was a painful discussion, to be sure, but a meaningful one about the choices we make in our lives and the prices we pay. Today, Pete and his father are very close, and his parents’ relationship has improved — mostly as a result of that conversation.HOW ARE YOU ASKING “WHY?” Are there ways you can further strengthen your customer relationships or do you already know everything there is to know about them — or think you do? Of course, you’re not going to have as deeply personal conversations with your clients as you have with your loved ones, but asking appropriate “Why” questions helps you understand your customers’ motives.Some customers act out of fear, others out of self-interest, and still others out of a desire to increase profits. Being able to uncover their motives brings you invaluable insight into how your customers operate and what they truly value in doing business with you. For example, a client who seems abrupt, opinionated, short-sighted, or just plain set in his ways may still be feeling the sting of having been burned by previous vendors. Perhaps his boss is in infatuated with their current vendor, and he won’t dare put his job on the line and disrupt the relationship. Maybe he’s under pressure from upper management to produce results not in six months but NOW, or he's competing with his peers for the next job up, or he's already working 80 hours a week and you're pitching for change. No wonder our message seems to be falling on deaf ears!Unearthing our customers’ emotions and understanding where they’re coming from helps us in myriad ways, including:
Understanding better how we can present a solution that’s meaningful to them.
Realizing that the sense of urgency isn't there.
Grasping that we're not talking to the right person.
Discovering we haven’t yet uncovered what’s important to the customer, so we must keep digging.
Try these examples of different ways to ask why — to probe deeper and to better understand what’s motivating your customers:
“Tell me what’s prompting your interest in ….?”
“Share with me what’s motivating your decision to….?”
“What’s causing this to happen?”
“What’s driving this need?”
“What originally led you to this decision?”
“What do you hope to accomplish?”
“Why is this important to you?”
“What is prompting you to consider this option?”
“If you could achieve this result, what will it mean to you?”
“What concerns do you have if you don’t achieve this goal?”
Taking the time to uncover the emotions driving your customers will steer them and you on the right track to a better relationship and greater business success.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
It's Now or Never: Giving Business Relationships the Ultimatum
You’ve contacted your veteran customer again and again, leaving voicemails and e-mails, even enlisting his assistant’s help—and still not a peep out of your customer. After repeated attempts to rejuvenate an apparently fizzled business relationship, you’re wondering whether it’s worth the effort to keep going until you reach the point of no return. Research indicates that most prospects don’t buy until after the salesperson communicates with them at least five times! But where do you draw the line? When does persistence turn into harassment?
When you’ve tried everything else to reconnect with warm and fuzzy prospects who’ve been interested in you in the past, or customers who haven’t done business with you in a while, the ultimatum tactic can be very effective. It goes something like this:“Hi, Bob, this is (You) with (Your Company Name). You may recall that you had shared with me…
…the need to ______ (restate a problem he’d shared with you)…or
…the goal to ______ (a desire he wanted to bring to fruition)……I’ve tried to reach you a number of times and have not yet heard from you. Unless I hear from you in the next ______ days or by ______ (give a deadline), I’ll assume you are no longer interested, and therefore I won’t be calling back. However, if this is still an issue with you, please give me a quick reply and a suitable time when we can talk for five minutes. Thanks.”
Surprisingly, an average of 60% of the time, this type of message will breathe life into the contact when every other attempt at resuscitation and communication has failed—enough life, at least, to galvanize your contact into responding to your message.
MAKE THEM WANT YOU
Why does the ultimatum succeed where everything else fails? The psychology behind this is that contacts don’t want to risk missing out on future opportunities. Now your contact can’t get away with saying to himself, “Oh, it’s that rep from XYZ Company. He’ll call again, so I’ll just go ahead and delete the message.”
The ultimatum takes a situation that’s been in limbo and forces it into action. As a result, the salesperson is communicating to his contact that the company’s resources are valuable, including his time, and unless there is a response, he’ll start refocusing his efforts on more productive, profitable opportunities. The contact may even be thinking, “Oh, no, not on my competition, I hope!”
By now you’re thinking, “But if I give my contact an ultimatum and he decides not to call back, game over!” No, it isn’t. If you truly believe your contact has a lot of potential but you don’t want to close doors, trade your no-callback leads with another sales rep on your team who has similar no-callback leads. Just because you’re not calling your contact back doesn’t mean another sales rep from your firm can’t call him—and vice-versa. Sometimes a fresh face — or new voice — is just the shot of adrenalin the contact needs to make a business relationship come alive.
Admit it, it’s kind of fun when you can good-naturedly rub it in your counterpart’s face and say, “Hey, you know that one lead you gave me who you swore I’d never get? Well, I got through with no sweat! In fact, he was waiting for my call and told me he wants to spend money. Would you like to tag along and watch me in action?”
For customers who won’t return your calls, it all comes back to managing your time more effectively and being able to focus on other opportunities with other prospects who may want to do business with you. Remember, customers who only say “Maybe” can end up robbing you of lots of time, energy, and resources that could be better focused elsewhere. In the spirit of Jerry Maguire, you must help your contacts help you, by guiding them towards giving you a solid “yes” or “no.”
When you’ve tried everything else to reconnect with warm and fuzzy prospects who’ve been interested in you in the past, or customers who haven’t done business with you in a while, the ultimatum tactic can be very effective. It goes something like this:“Hi, Bob, this is (You) with (Your Company Name). You may recall that you had shared with me…
…the need to ______ (restate a problem he’d shared with you)…or
…the goal to ______ (a desire he wanted to bring to fruition)……I’ve tried to reach you a number of times and have not yet heard from you. Unless I hear from you in the next ______ days or by ______ (give a deadline), I’ll assume you are no longer interested, and therefore I won’t be calling back. However, if this is still an issue with you, please give me a quick reply and a suitable time when we can talk for five minutes. Thanks.”
Surprisingly, an average of 60% of the time, this type of message will breathe life into the contact when every other attempt at resuscitation and communication has failed—enough life, at least, to galvanize your contact into responding to your message.
MAKE THEM WANT YOU
Why does the ultimatum succeed where everything else fails? The psychology behind this is that contacts don’t want to risk missing out on future opportunities. Now your contact can’t get away with saying to himself, “Oh, it’s that rep from XYZ Company. He’ll call again, so I’ll just go ahead and delete the message.”
The ultimatum takes a situation that’s been in limbo and forces it into action. As a result, the salesperson is communicating to his contact that the company’s resources are valuable, including his time, and unless there is a response, he’ll start refocusing his efforts on more productive, profitable opportunities. The contact may even be thinking, “Oh, no, not on my competition, I hope!”
By now you’re thinking, “But if I give my contact an ultimatum and he decides not to call back, game over!” No, it isn’t. If you truly believe your contact has a lot of potential but you don’t want to close doors, trade your no-callback leads with another sales rep on your team who has similar no-callback leads. Just because you’re not calling your contact back doesn’t mean another sales rep from your firm can’t call him—and vice-versa. Sometimes a fresh face — or new voice — is just the shot of adrenalin the contact needs to make a business relationship come alive.
Admit it, it’s kind of fun when you can good-naturedly rub it in your counterpart’s face and say, “Hey, you know that one lead you gave me who you swore I’d never get? Well, I got through with no sweat! In fact, he was waiting for my call and told me he wants to spend money. Would you like to tag along and watch me in action?”
For customers who won’t return your calls, it all comes back to managing your time more effectively and being able to focus on other opportunities with other prospects who may want to do business with you. Remember, customers who only say “Maybe” can end up robbing you of lots of time, energy, and resources that could be better focused elsewhere. In the spirit of Jerry Maguire, you must help your contacts help you, by guiding them towards giving you a solid “yes” or “no.”
Locking-On to Customer Emotion
The lock-on sales question is a powerful tool that allows you to get customers to open up quickly. Instead of becoming bogged down in superficialities, the conversation reveals facts and experiences that really matter. You can use this information to better understand the customer’s emotions, beliefs and values.
A leading research firm has found that customers don’t verbalize their real concerns and problems 80 percent of the time. In other words, most of our time with customers is spent talking about the wrong stuff! It’s not that customers intentionally try to mislead you. It’s simply human nature to try to conceal issues that might reveal vulnerability. Here’s why lock-on questions work: Though people avoid revealing their vulnerabilities directly, they often drop verbal hints about their true state of mind. It’s as if they’re saying: “If you can show me that you’re listening carefully enough to pick up on these clues, then I’m willing to trust you.” The lock-on question shows you’ve listened well, and at the same time allows you to direct the customer’s attention to a particular point, allowing you to move toward a solution quickly.MoreAnother benefit of the lock-on question is that it helps customers clarify their thoughts and feelings. Oftentimes in conversation customers will use words and phrases such as quality, partnership and streamlining the process without really defining them. Lock-on questions prod customers to articulate their problems and expand on their ideas.You begin by inviting the customer to talk about his or her situation. You’re listening for words that suggest underlying emotions. For example:Customer: We’ve been trying to get this project off the ground for several months.Lock-on question: I noticed you said the word trying. What’s worked so far and what hasn’t?Trying is the key word to focus on in this example. It suggests some frustration at not being able to reach a goal.
Another example:Customer: I’m looking for a partner, not a vendor।Lock-on question: Could you give me some specifics of what you mean when you say partner?One more example:Customer: My company has been experiencing problems with our current vendor and we’re looking for someone new.Lock-on question: Can you give me an example of the problems you’ve been experiencing?The power that comes from asking for examples cannot be overemphasized. A customer who reveals a past problem re-experiences the emotional trauma of that problem. In all of these examples, the salesperson is alert for words that suggest emotions. Other words and phrases include: dealing with, concerns, hopeful, seeking, doubts, challenges and having difficulties. These words and others like them suggest that a customer’s needs are not being met completely. Lock-on questions are powerful, so you have to use them sparingly. A conversation peppered with lock-on questions would seem false and uncomfortable and could make customers feel they’re being interrogated. And owing to their personal nature, these questions shouldn’t be used too early in the relationship; otherwise, you may come across as insincere or even sarcastic. Use lock-on questions only after you’ve established some degree of rapport and empathy with the customer. MoreIf you feel the questions are too direct, you can use buffer statements to preface them.For example:“Help me understand…”“Would you mind…”“Could you clarify for me…”The beauty of lock-on questions is that you’re guiding the conversation without strong-arming customers. They’re the exact opposite of manipulative, high-pressure sales “questions” (“What do I have to do to get your business today?”). They’re not about the salesperson’s agenda; they’re about understanding the customer’s needs. They’re a powerful tool, easily mastered, and useful in just about every kind of sale.
A leading research firm has found that customers don’t verbalize their real concerns and problems 80 percent of the time. In other words, most of our time with customers is spent talking about the wrong stuff! It’s not that customers intentionally try to mislead you. It’s simply human nature to try to conceal issues that might reveal vulnerability. Here’s why lock-on questions work: Though people avoid revealing their vulnerabilities directly, they often drop verbal hints about their true state of mind. It’s as if they’re saying: “If you can show me that you’re listening carefully enough to pick up on these clues, then I’m willing to trust you.” The lock-on question shows you’ve listened well, and at the same time allows you to direct the customer’s attention to a particular point, allowing you to move toward a solution quickly.MoreAnother benefit of the lock-on question is that it helps customers clarify their thoughts and feelings. Oftentimes in conversation customers will use words and phrases such as quality, partnership and streamlining the process without really defining them. Lock-on questions prod customers to articulate their problems and expand on their ideas.You begin by inviting the customer to talk about his or her situation. You’re listening for words that suggest underlying emotions. For example:Customer: We’ve been trying to get this project off the ground for several months.Lock-on question: I noticed you said the word trying. What’s worked so far and what hasn’t?Trying is the key word to focus on in this example. It suggests some frustration at not being able to reach a goal.
Another example:Customer: I’m looking for a partner, not a vendor।Lock-on question: Could you give me some specifics of what you mean when you say partner?One more example:Customer: My company has been experiencing problems with our current vendor and we’re looking for someone new.Lock-on question: Can you give me an example of the problems you’ve been experiencing?The power that comes from asking for examples cannot be overemphasized. A customer who reveals a past problem re-experiences the emotional trauma of that problem. In all of these examples, the salesperson is alert for words that suggest emotions. Other words and phrases include: dealing with, concerns, hopeful, seeking, doubts, challenges and having difficulties. These words and others like them suggest that a customer’s needs are not being met completely. Lock-on questions are powerful, so you have to use them sparingly. A conversation peppered with lock-on questions would seem false and uncomfortable and could make customers feel they’re being interrogated. And owing to their personal nature, these questions shouldn’t be used too early in the relationship; otherwise, you may come across as insincere or even sarcastic. Use lock-on questions only after you’ve established some degree of rapport and empathy with the customer. MoreIf you feel the questions are too direct, you can use buffer statements to preface them.For example:“Help me understand…”“Would you mind…”“Could you clarify for me…”The beauty of lock-on questions is that you’re guiding the conversation without strong-arming customers. They’re the exact opposite of manipulative, high-pressure sales “questions” (“What do I have to do to get your business today?”). They’re not about the salesperson’s agenda; they’re about understanding the customer’s needs. They’re a powerful tool, easily mastered, and useful in just about every kind of sale.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Think Like A CEO!
Good CEOs understand the value of constantly assessing the competition to survive. Likewise, in order to thrive, they must keep on top of trends affecting the industry. Whether your prospects are CEOs or professionals who are deeper in the organization, your best bet for engaging them is to ask questions about these two crucial aspects of business—the competition and industry trends. When you speak about these core issues, you’ll create the opportunity to bring insight and added value along with your products and services.Rather than launching into a pitch about your products and services, the key is to open the conversation by asking some good questions. This will encourage your prospects to talk about the very things that drive and impact their business, and it will give you insight into the kind of business results your customer seeks. The following questions can help you focus the discussion on the future while critically analyzing the present situation. If you can get prospects to ask, “Can I get where I want to go with what I have now?,” no matter what the answer is, helping them to face that question will prove valuable to their business—and to yours—as your prospects come to look to you as a forward-thinking advisor.Use these questions to engage your prospects at a deeper level, and get into their mindset. But use them judiciously, with attention to the prospect’s reaction, and with care not to over-do it. Start with what you consider the most relevant and potentially interesting issue for a particular prospect. Then proceed accordingly, selecting subsequent questions that will lead to a discussion of how your products/services can help attain your prospect’s goals.
What has been the biggest contributing factor to your company’s success?
In the next three years, what opportunities and threats do you anticipate?
What do you think truly differentiates your company from the competition?
How does your company measure progress?
How does your company approach change?
What pending market conditions (i.e., regulation, competitive threats, demographic trends, etc.) might change the way you do business?
How does your company address the competitive pressures of the market?
What issues do you think your company must address or overcome in order to be more successful? What specific steps or actions will you need to take?
What are your goals to increase market share. What’s working well for you? What isn’t?Remember that your prospects’ time is at a premium, so you’re in danger of disconnecting from their wavelength if you try moving too quickly to tactical approaches to qualify or close. The way to connect and demonstrate your worth is by asking the right questions, and zeroing in on what’s important to your prospect. Asking big-picture questions will help tune you into their mindset—and will highlight your added value as an insightful advisor to them—with faster and greater results.
What has been the biggest contributing factor to your company’s success?
In the next three years, what opportunities and threats do you anticipate?
What do you think truly differentiates your company from the competition?
How does your company measure progress?
How does your company approach change?
What pending market conditions (i.e., regulation, competitive threats, demographic trends, etc.) might change the way you do business?
How does your company address the competitive pressures of the market?
What issues do you think your company must address or overcome in order to be more successful? What specific steps or actions will you need to take?
What are your goals to increase market share. What’s working well for you? What isn’t?Remember that your prospects’ time is at a premium, so you’re in danger of disconnecting from their wavelength if you try moving too quickly to tactical approaches to qualify or close. The way to connect and demonstrate your worth is by asking the right questions, and zeroing in on what’s important to your prospect. Asking big-picture questions will help tune you into their mindset—and will highlight your added value as an insightful advisor to them—with faster and greater results.
Love the One You're With: Strengthening Existing Customer Relationships
Strengthening customer relationships is like strengthening a marriage. Have you ever faced a situation where you thought your relationship with a customer was still going strong, only to find she’s got her eye on a rival vendor? You come back from a sales meeting feeling confident and secure, only to find a message on your voicemail that your business won’t be up for renewal because a competitor bid lower! You feel so betrayed—how could your customer do that to you after all that you’ve done to support her, without even a hint that she was unhappy with you?
QUESTIONS TO STRENGTHEN EXISTING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
Wait around for your customer to affirm your relationship status, and you’ll probably hear about it after she’s taken her business elsewhere. Instead, be proactive and uncover her true feelings by asking the following questions:
“What is it that you value most about doing business with us (me)?”
“What do you feel we are (I am) doing right to sustain our business relationship?”
“In what ways are we (am I) helping you to achieve your goals?”
“In what ways can we (I) improve?”
“What changes do we (I) need to make to ensure greater success?”
“If you could change one thing about our relationship, what would it be?”
“What goals would you like to see us (me) accomplish with you in the next 12 months?”
“How can we (I) make your job easier?”
“Would you be willing to serve as a reference for my product or company? If so, can you elaborate on what you would say about us? If not, why not?”
“What will it take on our (my) part to win the business you are giving to our competition?”
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE ANSWERS
Maybe you’re reluctant to ask these questions because you’re afraid of your customer’s answers. After all, what if she says she isn’t satisfied? What if she wants faster turnaround, greater discounts, and higher quality? But if those issues or anything else are indeed bothering your customer, you need to hear it from her before she runs into the arms of the competition. So embrace negative answers—respond to them with gratitude and a desire and determination to meet her requests by asking for things in return.What if, deep in your heart of hearts, you already know your service or quality leaves much to be desired? Then you don’t need to ask her those questions—you need to fix the problem, and fast. If you don’t, your competition will be happy to do it for you!If it’s better pricing she wants, persuade her to commit to purchasing greater volume. If she wants faster turnaround, price those projects at a premium so that they receive the extra attention, commitment, and support that your customer values.Like a marriage, a business relationship is always two-sided, so don’t be afraid to ask what you can do to enhance the relationship while asking for something in return. If you do, the answer to the age-old question “Can this business relationship be saved?” has a much better chance of being “Yes!”
QUESTIONS TO STRENGTHEN EXISTING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
Wait around for your customer to affirm your relationship status, and you’ll probably hear about it after she’s taken her business elsewhere. Instead, be proactive and uncover her true feelings by asking the following questions:
“What is it that you value most about doing business with us (me)?”
“What do you feel we are (I am) doing right to sustain our business relationship?”
“In what ways are we (am I) helping you to achieve your goals?”
“In what ways can we (I) improve?”
“What changes do we (I) need to make to ensure greater success?”
“If you could change one thing about our relationship, what would it be?”
“What goals would you like to see us (me) accomplish with you in the next 12 months?”
“How can we (I) make your job easier?”
“Would you be willing to serve as a reference for my product or company? If so, can you elaborate on what you would say about us? If not, why not?”
“What will it take on our (my) part to win the business you are giving to our competition?”
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE ANSWERS
Maybe you’re reluctant to ask these questions because you’re afraid of your customer’s answers. After all, what if she says she isn’t satisfied? What if she wants faster turnaround, greater discounts, and higher quality? But if those issues or anything else are indeed bothering your customer, you need to hear it from her before she runs into the arms of the competition. So embrace negative answers—respond to them with gratitude and a desire and determination to meet her requests by asking for things in return.What if, deep in your heart of hearts, you already know your service or quality leaves much to be desired? Then you don’t need to ask her those questions—you need to fix the problem, and fast. If you don’t, your competition will be happy to do it for you!If it’s better pricing she wants, persuade her to commit to purchasing greater volume. If she wants faster turnaround, price those projects at a premium so that they receive the extra attention, commitment, and support that your customer values.Like a marriage, a business relationship is always two-sided, so don’t be afraid to ask what you can do to enhance the relationship while asking for something in return. If you do, the answer to the age-old question “Can this business relationship be saved?” has a much better chance of being “Yes!”
Eliminate Waste and Reduce Costs
What would you say if I were to hand you a check for $25,000? $250,000? Before you get too excited, I’m not going to do that, but I am going to tell you how you can find that kind of money and add it to your bottom line. No, it’s not by terminating employees or instituting pay cuts, two methods companies throughout the world are using in an effort to survive the drastic downturn in the economy. If you want to cut costs and save thousands, if not millions, of dollars each year, the most effective method—and one that will have long-term benefits—is to do so by eliminating waste, not people. How do you do that? Simple: Ask your employees. There is waste in every organization. The challenge is to identify that waste and then eliminate it. Your employees are the experts. They see where the waste is—in time, procedures, and materials—throughout the organization. You need to ask them to identify that waste and to make suggestions on how to eliminate it. When you do, you will build morale by making those employees feel like you value their ideas—and you will improve your bottom line. Many employee suggestion programs fail for one major reason: Executives are only interested in ideas that will save the company $100,000 to $1 million. They fail to identify the low-hanging fruit, the small savings that quickly add up to big money. Let me give you an example. My company, the Service Quality Institute, offers a program called BAD—Buck a Day—that asks each employee to identify a way to save just $1 a day. It has been used successfully during the past 30 years by 3,000 companies throughout the world. Right now you are probably thinking, “Why in the world would I go to the trouble of instituting a cost-savings campaign if it’s only going to result in savings of $1 a day?” I’ll tell you why—because that $1 a day adds up to a lot of money, money that can make a huge difference in your bottom line. Consider this: There are 250 working days in a year. If you have 1,000 employees and they each identify a way to save $1 a day, you are looking at a yearly savings of $250,000. If your company has 100 employees, your annual savings would be a respectable $25,000. If you doubt the impact of cost reduction and waste elimination, look at service leaders like Amazon, Costco, Wal-mart, and Southwest Airlines. They are successful for many reasons, including their ability to reduce costs at every level of their organizations. Then they pass those savings on to customers through reduced prices. The result? Increased market share and increase profits. When it comes to instituting an employee suggestion program that will be successful, I have some suggestions of my own that I’d like to share with you: Keep it short. Our BAD program, for example, runs for just 30 days. A short campaign keeps enthusiasm high. Make it fun. Dry, dull campaigns get little attention, which means they get few results. On the other hand, when you incorporate fun and humor, employees become more involved. Build it on recognition. You don’t have to offer monetary rewards or trips to Las Vegas to get employees to participate. Recognition is a much stronger motivator than money. Recognize employees in a timely manner through public praise. That might include an article and photograph in the company magazine or a simple pizza party. Involve everyone. The backbone of a successful employee suggestion program is to get all employees involved. That means everyone from frontline employees to executives. The idea is to get everyone to consider his or her job and ask, “Is there a better, less-expensive way to do this?” Implement ideas quickly. Nothing will kill a suggestion program faster than a long lag time in implementing employees’ suggestions. If you don’t implement ideas quickly, employees will lose interest—and faith—in what you are trying to accomplish. An effective cost-reduction campaign is based on the assumption that employees have worthwhile ideas. And those ideas can mean the difference between your company’s failure and survival. If you head a publicly held company, you can dramatically improve the value of your stock by reducing costs and eliminating waste. On the other hand, if you miss your earnings projection by just one cent, the value of your stock could plummet by 20 to 25 percent. In today’s dismal economy, if you want to survive and grow, you must look for ways to dramatically eliminate waste and reduce costs. Ask your employees to help you and you will be amazed at the results.
Exceptional service, exceptional returns
How many times have you seen an advertisement or heard a commercial in which a company proclaims: Our service is unparalleled! Service with a smile! Then, when you do business with that company, that service and those smiles are nowhere to be found.
That’s not the case with the folks who run the Oceanaire Seafood Room in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their web site proclaims, “Where exceptional seafood meets exceptional service.” And that’s not just lip service; they deliver what they promise. They know the power of customer service in instilling customer loyalty, boosting word-of-mouth advertising, and adding to the restaurant’s bottom line.
Let me give you an example of the Oceanaire’s service and its impact on customers. Pat and her husband Bob decided to celebrate their anniversary by dining at the Oceanaire Seafood Room. When Pat called to make a reservation, the conversation went like this:
“Is this a special occasion?” “Yes, it’s our anniversary.” “How many years have you been married?” “Twenty-eight.” “That’s wonderful. Does your husband go by Robert or Bob?” “Bob.” “Thank you. We’ll see you at 7:00 Saturday evening.”
When Pat and Bob entered the Oceanaire the following Saturday, the hostess greeted them by name, adding, “Happy Anniversary.” After they were seated, the couple was pleasantly surprised to see that, printed at the top of each of their menus was this: Happy 28th Anniversary, Pat and Bob.
The rest of the evening was beyond their expectations—great food, superior service, and a wonderful ambiance. Even though the dinner took more out of their budget than they normally would spend on even a special dinner, they agreed that they would return and not wait for a special occasion to do so. They also told everyone and anyone who would listen—family, friends, and co-workers—about their wonderful experience at the Oceanaire.
The folks at the Oceanaire understand the importance of exceptional customer service. They understand that giving their customers more than they expect doesn’t have to cost a lot—but the financial rewards are tremendous. They understand that word-of-mouth advertising not only is much less expensive than any advertising they could pay for, it also is much more credible. When someone gives you a personal recommendation for a business, you’re much more likely to believe them than you are any newspaper ad or TV commercial.
No matter what business you’re in, you can earn the loyalty of current customers and attract new customers by providing service that is so exceptional it results in powerful word-of-mouth advertising. To do so, however, you must enlist the help of everyone in your organization. And that starts at the top. Management must make a commitment to customer service; they must develop a service strategy.
That strategy begins with hiring people who genuinely enjoy working with people and then training them to meet your service standards. You can bet the receptionist at the Oceanaire didn’t just happen to ask Pat why she and her husband were making a reservation at the restaurant; she had been trained to do so. And the other employees followed up, which made the couple’s dining experience a memorable one, one that they eagerly and enthusiastically shared with others.
At the core of a service strategy is the belief that no transaction is complete unless the service customers receive is sufficient enough to motivate them to return and do business with the organization again and again. The folks at the Oceanaire certainly accomplished that goal with Pat and Bob.
What kind of service are you providing your customers that will earn their praise—and their loyalty?
That’s not the case with the folks who run the Oceanaire Seafood Room in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their web site proclaims, “Where exceptional seafood meets exceptional service.” And that’s not just lip service; they deliver what they promise. They know the power of customer service in instilling customer loyalty, boosting word-of-mouth advertising, and adding to the restaurant’s bottom line.
Let me give you an example of the Oceanaire’s service and its impact on customers. Pat and her husband Bob decided to celebrate their anniversary by dining at the Oceanaire Seafood Room. When Pat called to make a reservation, the conversation went like this:
“Is this a special occasion?” “Yes, it’s our anniversary.” “How many years have you been married?” “Twenty-eight.” “That’s wonderful. Does your husband go by Robert or Bob?” “Bob.” “Thank you. We’ll see you at 7:00 Saturday evening.”
When Pat and Bob entered the Oceanaire the following Saturday, the hostess greeted them by name, adding, “Happy Anniversary.” After they were seated, the couple was pleasantly surprised to see that, printed at the top of each of their menus was this: Happy 28th Anniversary, Pat and Bob.
The rest of the evening was beyond their expectations—great food, superior service, and a wonderful ambiance. Even though the dinner took more out of their budget than they normally would spend on even a special dinner, they agreed that they would return and not wait for a special occasion to do so. They also told everyone and anyone who would listen—family, friends, and co-workers—about their wonderful experience at the Oceanaire.
The folks at the Oceanaire understand the importance of exceptional customer service. They understand that giving their customers more than they expect doesn’t have to cost a lot—but the financial rewards are tremendous. They understand that word-of-mouth advertising not only is much less expensive than any advertising they could pay for, it also is much more credible. When someone gives you a personal recommendation for a business, you’re much more likely to believe them than you are any newspaper ad or TV commercial.
No matter what business you’re in, you can earn the loyalty of current customers and attract new customers by providing service that is so exceptional it results in powerful word-of-mouth advertising. To do so, however, you must enlist the help of everyone in your organization. And that starts at the top. Management must make a commitment to customer service; they must develop a service strategy.
That strategy begins with hiring people who genuinely enjoy working with people and then training them to meet your service standards. You can bet the receptionist at the Oceanaire didn’t just happen to ask Pat why she and her husband were making a reservation at the restaurant; she had been trained to do so. And the other employees followed up, which made the couple’s dining experience a memorable one, one that they eagerly and enthusiastically shared with others.
At the core of a service strategy is the belief that no transaction is complete unless the service customers receive is sufficient enough to motivate them to return and do business with the organization again and again. The folks at the Oceanaire certainly accomplished that goal with Pat and Bob.
What kind of service are you providing your customers that will earn their praise—and their loyalty?
Friday, July 10, 2009
Close more sales no matter what the economy
Yes, the economy is lagging and budgets are cut. Yes, we have competition. Yes, clients are postponing buying decisions. So what? If you focus on building customer relationships and implement the sales strategies below, you will be able to close more deals and get more sales now. People will buy from you even in a lagging economy — no matter what your price point.
Sales closing Tip 1: Recommend new approaches
Good salespeople have always talked about creating value. Now we need to put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and be creative. We must get in and get started. Think smart, not big. It’s always smarter to have a smaller piece of something than a big piece of nothing. Begin with a smaller project, a reduced order or a regional, rather than global, implementation. Get in, and get to know the client. Let them get to know you. Get to know their business.
Sales closing tip 2: Create metrics
Sit on the same side of the table as your client. Work together to determine the best way to get started. Always, always, create metrics with your client. How do you, together, define success? Get agreement that once this project is successful - according to the metrics you’ve agreed upon - that the client will work with you to identify other sales opportunities within their organisation. A successful project breeds a successful relationship, which leads to successful referrals. This means more sales leads and more money for you!
Sales closing Tip 3: Negotiate or walk
Yes, the client will want to negotiate on price; that’s their job - to build business while watching the bottom line. How many times have you submitted a sales proposal to a client and had them say, right off the bat, "Great! Where do I sign?". It doesn’t happen. We always want to get the best deal, so why wouldn’t our clients?
If you must adjust your price, then adjust the scale of your project or the deliverables as well. Always get something in return and write it into your agreement. Maybe the client agrees to write a testimonial or promises to refer you to another business unit in their organisation, or to someone they know at a different company. Maybe you barter some of your services. Bartering is an age-old way of doing business and it makes sense, in many cases, if you want what they have and they need what you have. Perhaps the client has software that your company needs or a consulting methodology that could propel your business. You get the picture. Work it out.
If you can’t work things out, be willing to walk away. It’s a tough decision, but it may be your best strategic sales decision. You’ll be off to the next client who values what you offer and is willing to pay for it. By
By following this advice, you will build lifetime customer relationships with clients who want to buy from you over and over again, even in a lagging economy. You will get more referrals and you will close more sales. So, what are you waiting for? Get in and get started now!
Semiotics 101 for marketers
Semiotics explores how meaning is created by looking at constituent parts (layers) of any message and breaking them down into the contexts of consumer resonance or experience. It then anticipates and reveals how to adjust ‘meaning’ to predict ‘take-out’. For example, a print ad, a piece of packaging, a TV ad, a brand message, a set of transcripts, a collage, a campaign leaflet, a product, a piece of furniture, a film – in fact, anything that leaves a trace on our society is fair game for the semioticians sharp eye, keen ear and delving brain.
Everything we experience is something semiotics can decode, including the culture that surrounds us - be it high, low, pop, digital, youth, mash-ups etc. Semiotics understands how to unpick culture in a way that is infinitely flexible for marketing and communications.
Marketing semiotics
But let’s define semiotics in a way which should make more sense in marketing terms. Marketing is an integrated communications-based process through which individuals and communities discover that existing and newly-identified needs and wants may be satisfied by the products and services of others. I can equally say semiotics is an integrated communications-based process through which marketers can discover how best to intersect with newly identified needs, wants and desires, which may be satisfied by products and services.
Conventionally, when you want to ask questions about what people want or think, it is assumed we just need to get into people's heads – inside is where all those attitudes, beliefs and assumptions live. If we can get at them, then we’ll understand.
Semiotics takes a different view, it asks ‘how’ did all those attitudes, beliefs and assumptions get in there in the first place? The answer is the culture that surrounds us: you, me, your products, your branding and your friend down the street, or even that market segment in Asia you have been so keen to pursue. It’s an outside-in perspective, not inside-out.
Desk-based clients often say to semioticians: "you don’t speak to people!" But we do. In the course of examining all the messages, impressions and artefacts around us we listen to far more people than could ever be reached in a normal qualitative project. Semioticians analyse thousands of thoughts and opinions. Who hasn’t been confounded by consumers saying one thing in a group, then going out and doing something different in the marketplace? It’s not that they lie, often they just can’t articulate things in a way which is useful for marketing purposes. Semiotics reaches deeper, beyond conscious articulation.
When semioticians look at anything, they break down impressions into codes and signs - the fonts, the sounds, the words, the colours, shapes, lines, and how they represent together in a particular combination the overall message - understanding how meaning can be made in any number of contexts to keep brand communications fresh, new and relevant.
Semiotics in practice
Let me share a real client example. A few years ago, insurance company AXA changed its branding. They produced a range of posters in their new corporate colours and sent the ads out for consumer testing. The testing was bad. Consumers didn’t like the posters but, as is often the case, they couldn’t really explain why they didn’t. They just didn’t.
The posters were red and blue, with an AXA advisor on the red side of the picture and the consumer on the other, blue side. The client was adamant; they had spent a great deal of money on their branding and they weren’t about to change the colours now! But the answer was clear when you just looked at the communication differently – what and how it was communicating the AXA experience.
I could reel off chapter and verse about binary oppositions of colour associations in our culture and how certain sectors talk, but it was as simple as the colour and consumer vs. advisor associations were the wrong way round. AXA retested the ad with the AXA advisor in blue and the consumer in red. Guess what? Consumers said they liked it. Again, they didn’t know why they liked it but they did. And the rest, as they say, is history.
There are other examples. The BT It’s Good to Talk campaign, which reinvigorated a saturated market in the early 90s, was based on semiotics. The idea was to get people to use the telephone more when BT realised that as everyone in the country now had a telephone, the only way forward was to get them to use it more!
Halifax's positioning and the 'Howard' campaigns were similarly based on semiotic work – love him or hate him, at his height Howard was helping the bank to accumulate more than 100,000 new customers a year.
Semiotics can drive quality insights into just about anything and can strategically re-frame an entire category or map a new one. It’s flexible, commercially honed, naturally creative and innovative. It also evens out your communications, ensuring your product and brand is talking the right language, to the right people, moving swiftly to intersect opportunities.
How interaction analytics can improve customer service
Stop for a minute and think not as a customer service professional but as a customer. Are you managing your relationships with the organisations you spend your money with or are you being managed?
The popular CRM philosophy and associated technologies are often used to imply that an organisation can have some degree of control over how it manages relationships with its customers and, indeed, that customers want or are willing to be managed. However, with consumers more aware than ever of the value and power of the pound in their pocket, businesses need to revisit how they can address this shift in the balance of power, with the service they deliver.
The acronym CMR (Customer Managed Relationship) has been used, albeit sparingly, in recent years to recognise the power and influence of the customer. Yet, until relatively recently, it has been a major challenge for organisations to reflect this cultural change internally and externally in the way they execute their customer-facing operations. However, today there are some sophisticated organisations that are responding to the force of the market and are striving to deliver better service by embracing new technologies that enable them to understand the customer and appropriately empower them.
Customer empowerment
Retail banks have come under relentless pressure, yet one area that many of the major high-street banks have succeeded in is customer empowerment. For example, if I have the time, I can go into my local branch during my lunch hour or, if that is not convenient, I am able to manage my account online, over the telephone and even via my smartphone. Regardless of the channel I choose, the overall quality of service, in the main, remains high. Add to this the ease at which I can switch my account/s to another competitor and I truly consider myself to be in control of my day-to-day relationship with the bank.
However, as I write this (pausing only to quickly pay a creditcard bill online) the stark contrast in my attitude as an empowered customer as opposed to being a ‘managed’ customer is all too apparent.
I have been sat on my new sofa all morning awaiting a ‘sofa technician’ to arrive at my home at some point today (they could not specify an arrival time!) to ‘validate’ the claim I made, via the company’s contact centre, that the new sofa I had been waiting well over three months to be delivered is faulty. I have the telephone number for the contact centre but that is only open during standard office hours and has a particularly long queue whenever I call. And the mobile number for my ‘sofa guru’ doesn’t seem to respond each time I try it. As a result I feel that they have the upper hand and I am not valued as a customer (despite the fact that my purchase was not inexpensive).
But how does my bank get it so right and my furniture supplier so wrong? Surely it isn’t simply because the bank is rich with resources, as my furniture supplier is much smaller and, theoretically, more agile to remain in touch with the needs and wants of customers such as myself. I don’t really expect multi-channel service with all the bells and whistles, I just want to know they are taking my sofa problem seriously. No, the fact is, my bank acknowledged my power and influence as a customer and then put the right groundwork in place that would empower the organisation to empower me and make me feel my custom is valued.
The starting point on the route to a successful customer-oriented service strategy is one of the fundamentals of good customer service: listening to your customers. Ironically, the problem for larger businesses is that as they grow, they can lose that valuable insight into the customer needs, wants, behaviour and intent that got them there in the first place.
How can interaction analytics help?
With so many interactions taking place it can be difficult to understand how to filter out the noise and listen to what is important. To counteract this, many savvy organisations are adopting technologies such as interaction analytics to bridge this gap.
The Harvard Business School comments on the use of such tools: “More and more companies are using superior insight into customer data to make better, faster and more strategic decisions about everything from marketing to the supply chain to product development.”
Interaction analytics provide a route to gaining meaningful insights from unstructured information. Imagine the thousands/millions of interactions that are occurring right now throughout your customer service operations (particularly the contact centre). Now consider the goldmine of clues and hints buried in those interactions that, if harnessed, could give valuable knowledge regarding not only the quality of service being currently delivered, but also how it could be refined, improved or altered.
In order to ‘listen’ to all of these calls (and it is important not to listen to a sample if you want to get a true representation) that are being recorded and stored as part of the contact centre’s compliance and quality programmes, analytics tools are realistically the only way of capturing, categorising and analysing these insights. On the basis that none of us really knows what we don’t know, analytics solutions are a way of delivering real insights into the business.
Typically, an interaction analytics solution will incorporate techniques such as customer feedback, emotion detection and phonetic indexing that, in layman’s terms, makes it possible to conduct a Google-style search of all that interactions that are being captured and stored from the contact centre.
The customer service operations and the associated contact centres that are ideally placed to support the business are those that recognise the value in listening to the customer and responding appropriately. Whilst it is perhaps an admirable endeavour to place all of the power in the hands of the customer, it will ultimately lead to a disillusioned customer service team and disappointed, as well as a disappearing customer base if you fail to do things right (efficiency) and then do the right things (effectiveness) in the delivery of service.
Empowering the customer isn’t about relinquishing a position of strength or control, quite the contrary. By altering the perception of the balance of power you will ultimately tip the scales in your favour.
What is customer engagement?
An interruption
I’m busy, the telephone rings. I rush to answer it; I’m expecting a call. “Is that Jennifer Kirkby?” a young lady asks. She stumbles over my name; my suspicions are aroused. She’s from one of my credit card companies; I relax, they’ve won some ‘good service’ points with me recently. “This is a customer information call” she announces. I ask her what about? “Before I can tell you, can you give me the first line of your address?” “No”, I answer firmly “I’m not calling you, you’re calling me, and I don’t know you or what you want”. A silence indicates this is not in her script, she hangs up. So much for customer information. I’m annoyed at the interruption and feel a sense of achievement at defeating the system. If this was meant to engage me by using my data to make a predictive product offer it has failed miserably.
A service
Compare this to a call from the same company a few days previously – the reason I was initially more prepared to listen. They called to tell me that from February I had to use my pin number on all transactions. They didn’t ask for any personal data before talking to me, in fact they had sensed my annoyance at being interrupted whilst having dinner, and made an appointment to call back at a convenient time – which they did. This was impressively proactive; they knew I didn’t use my pin number, and were checking I had it. They had used my information for my benefit and I had given them ‘service’ points.
Engagement card
Now companies love giving loyalty cards, but few realise that their customers give them engagement cards in return. You may not have a piece of plastic but, make no mistake, an engagement card is in the head of every customer on your database. Customers exchange engagement points for personal information. The more I trust you as a supplier on my side, the more information I will willingly give you. If you learn from that information and use it wisely for my benefit, then you’ll get the really important feedback that will engage me, win my advocacy and differentiate you from your competitors. Lose points and I will give you nothing, I may well sabotage the information you do hold.
The engagement muddle
Winning customer points is the art of customer engagement, an area of strategic thinking spawned by the success of companies such as Harley Davidson, Starbucks and Tesco. Now, I’d like to just pause a moment and ask you to write down quickly what you think customer engagement actually means. For this important concept at the heart of real relationship building is being tossed around liberally and is well on its way to becoming jargon. Done? Well, I asked a group of experts to do the same – the answers demonstrated the mish-mash of understanding on the topic; many actually called for some clarity.
Interaction and interest
Some saw it as two way, customer-initiated, interaction ranging from call centre dialogue to the eBay community. Conversely, others viewed it as gaining proactive interest, like encouraging the collection of promotional devices such as Nescafe coffee beans; voting on the X Factor; or throwing a branded street party. But, collecting points or partying doesn’t mean I’m truly engaged – just taking advantage of an opportunity. Two-way interaction doesn’t mean I am interested, after all we’ve been interacting with our banks for years. Engagement must mean something more.
Advocacy and customisation
Some stressed the emotional state of customer advocacy in engagement, either via brand identification, like Apple, or experience like First Direct. But advocacy does not necessarily require interaction, as admirers of Ferrari know. Others pointed at interactive customisation, eg Vodafone’s customised radio service or Amazon book recommendations – but these do not necessarily mean advocacy.
Listen and learn
Some focused on the benefit of engagement: the means to get customers to listen and pay attention in a noisy market place. Others took the opposite view that it is a process by which the company listened, learned and acted to meet individual customer needs.
Engagement true north
All these definitions seem to reflect an aspect of customer engagement, but not the whole story, they need amalgamating. What does that mean for customer engagement in practice?
Defining what your company stands for, and orchestrating customer interactions like a perfect ballet (communications, products, services) to build up engagement. Interactions should themselves be engaging and encourage customer and staff interest and participation. Customer engagement necessitates companies listening to customers, accumulating knowledge and learning from each interaction in order to create more personalised value; it results in a state where the customer feels the company is on their side – and the company’s engagement card is full.
Can customer feedback boost trust?
Despite Britons spending about £43.8bn online last year, the Office of Fair Trading has revealed that almost one in three internet users is still reluctant to shop online. For 30% of internet refuseniks, their reluctance is down to a lack of trust. This shows that consumers want reassurance that your site offers good products and services in a safe environment and the best way of achieving this is though the testing of people who have bought from you in the past.
With the banking crisis and MP expenses scandal, the public is rapidly losing trust and demanding more and more information from corporations and public bodies. What’s true for the government should be true for any commercial supplier, whether it is a retailer or a professional. ASDA’s CEO Andy Bond recently compared the scale of change in the relationship between shoppers and retailers to that which unions brought to relations between employers and employees. Customers are demanding a voice and expect transparency and honesty in their dealings with retailers. For start-ups and smaller brands in particular, a lack of faith from customers can be a tricky obstacle to overcome.
The web can be both intimidating and overwhelming for customers. Whilst its sheer size offers a great opportunity for business ventures big and small, it is crowded with thousands of etailers, each shouting about their fantastic products and services to grab the attention of roaming shoppers. Not many internet businesses have a high street presence or a big brand name like Amazon that is well known. How does the company compete and gain trust in this online jungle to become the leader of the pack? Well, the answer lies in clearly independent recommendations from others who have used your service.
Reputation is everything
Few would contest that the success or failure of a business is highly dependent on its reputation and the satisfaction levels of its customers. As revealed in a recent study by the Interactive Media Retail Group, website features that are likely to keep customers satisfied involve provision of advice and reassurance about purchases, including recommendations and customer reviews. However, many companies only feel the need to highlight the positive feedback received, or indeed to make vague statements such as “our customer feedback is positive”. But there is a world of difference between heavily edited and potentially biased feedback that is made public and is a true eBay-style feedback system.
eBay simply couldn’t work if it were not for the feedback system. How else do you know that you can trust a seller who lives at the other end of the country, or even the other end of the earth? To some, displaying direct customer feedback publicly on their web site threatens their control over their reputation. However, the internet has provided us with an unparalleled opportunity to be open and transparent in our dealings. Displaying the good and the bad can be a great opportunity to address the operational problems within the business. You can see where things are going well and also what needs improving. And when you make those improvements, you can feed that back to your customers in public responses to their own complaints.
By directly addressing any negative feedback in a public manner, the business is able to show that it cares about its customers and will build greater trust. All too often, etailers will ask their customers: "What did you think of this product?" in order to gather customer feedback. By asking this question, etailers are avoiding the much more important question: "What did you think about us?" An open-ended question such as this is certainly a better way of finding out what’s on customers’ minds and more effective than distributing a questionnaire concentrating on areas that are assumed to be important to customers.
Online feedback is also a good way to boost employee morale, with every member of the business able to see that customers respond to good service.
Learn from bricks and mortar
The lack of face-to-face contact available to online retailers compared to brick and mortar outlets means that businesses are in danger of sliding further and further away from their customers. The old fashioned values that operated in the corner shop are a good template for etailers to follow. In the shop, the man behind the counter talked to his customers and, by doing so, made them enjoy buying from him. He also learnt what his customers wanted, which made him a better supplier as well as a more profitable supplier.
With customers quickly losing faith in corporations it’s imperative that businesses develop clear and open lines of communications to build greater trust. Those that are in fear of losing control are fighting a losing battle. The very nature of the internet means that any comment about you from your customer will reach a massive audience in just one click.
Anyone operating a good, clean business will benefit from a public feedback system which asks every customer to comment and allows the supplier the right of reply. To be in control is to know what your customers are thinking - and to be in a position to do something about it.
How to Impress Today’s Budget-Minded Customers
Small business owners are known for going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to customer service. And even this tough economic climate hasn’t stopped savvy small business owners. Entrepreneurs everywhere have come up with outside-of-the-box ways to wow their customers, and possibly woo some new ones.
Reward Parents' Loyalty
Dr. Jeremy Ciano is the owner of RevolutionEyes in Carmel, Ind. With eight employees and an extensive list of longtime clients, Dr. Ciano started noticing a trend when the economy took a downturn: Moms were forgoing their own eye exams to ensure they could pay for their children’s care. So Dr. Ciano started Mom-Care, offering free exams to moms who bring in their kids for regular appointments.
"We started the Mom-Care program in March," Dr. Ciano says. "We noticed a trend in moms taking excellent care of their families—as they normally do—but putting their own medical needs on a back burner. We thought it was a great way to thank our clients for their loyalty throughout the years and to recognize them for their noble stance." How long does he plan to continue the program? "We haven’t thought that far ahead," he says. "Let’s just hope the recession ends sooner rather than later and no one has to choose any longer."
Offer the Personal Touch Even Online
Dan and Liz Holtz have been married for almost 13 years and in business together for six. Their Waitsfield, Vt.-based Liz Lovely Inc. cookie company employs six team members, all with a passion for baking, healthy living and the environment. Together, the couple owns 65% of the vegan, fair-trade baking company; a team of family and friends who helped get them going owns the remainder.
It seems the more things change in this yummy Vermont business, the more they stay the same.
"We quadrupled our line last year," Dan says. But despite adding new flavors and gluten-free options to the menu, the Holtzes have never raised their prices.
They’ve added equipment that allows them to package cookies automatically. This reduces packaging costs so they can bake more cookies with the same number of employees.
They’ve also found other ways to stay competitive: The couple started offering their goodies directly from their Web site instead of solely in retail locations. They include handwritten and hand-doodled notes with every new Web order they receive. And they try to involve their customers in their business through their blogs and e-newsletter, which often include fun contests. Free cookies, anyone?
These little things are working to wow customers in a big way. "We get e-mail feedback from happy customers every day, literally," Dan says. "So we know our plan is working."
Chocolates on Your Pillow
10 things you can do to wow your customers today
A piece of chocolate on your pillow at a hotel seems like a tiny gesture, but it’s the little things that leave a big impression. Show your customers how much you care with the following thoughtful freebies.
1. If they order 12 of something, give them 13.
2. When they pay for standard shipping, surprise them by getting it there overnight.
3. If they purchase a pair of sneakers, slip an extra set of laces into the bag during checkout.
4. Take 10% off of their total bill at your restaurant, just because it’s Tuesday.
5. Give a gift bag of shampoo and conditioner samples after you give a haircut.
6. If you provide service and parts on a car, wash the car before the owner picks it up.
7. Offer free gift-wrapping year-round.
8. Surprise your newsletter subscribers or Twitter followers with discounts or gifts just for them.
9. Include a personalized, handwritten thank-you note with every order you ship.
10. Remember client birthdays with a postcard or personal phone call.
5 Ways to Reward Referrals
Many businesses grow by word of mouth. If you want yours to be one of them, consider giving people incentives to get the word out about your company. Whether you're seeking referrals by friends, customers or competitors, here are five ways to motivate people to keep the kind words--and business--coming.
Offer a personal gift. Even if you expect friends, family members and colleagues to send clients your way, let them know that you appreciate their efforts by giving them a small token of gratitude, such as a gift certificate for a dinner out or a free service at a spa. The gesture need not be repeated every time they refer someone; if they make several referrals let them know that the gift is to thank them for their ongoing support. At the very least, send a thank-you card to acknowledge the gestures they've made.
Create a referral discount system. One way to get customers to spread the word about your business is to give them a discount on products or services in return. For example, you might offer a one-time five% off for each referral that is made. This type of promotion works best with customers who are buying a frequent service since those who buy a product or service one time won't see as much benefit from a discount on future purchases. One of the additional benefits of such a promotion is that customers can be particularly convincing since they already buy your product or service. To encourage referred customers to make a purchase, you may want to extend the one-time discount to them, as well.
Create a cross-promotion. It might seem counterintuitive that competitors would refer customers your way, but if you offer some services that competitors do not or if you're in a different regional area, consider coming up with a cross-promotional agreement. For example, if customers go to the competitor looking for a service that they don't provide, have them refer the customers to you. Likewise, you refer customers to them when they ask you to provide services you don't or can't provide. Don't fear that you'll lose potential customers in the process. You may, in fact, cement your relationship with customers because by making the referral, you're still helping them get what they want.
Exchange cash for clients. Consider offering an old-fashioned finder's fee. Let people know that you'll give them a monetary amount for any referrals that lead to business for your company. The amount you give for referrals should depend upon the average amount new customers spend. The more money customers tend to spend on your business, the more valuable each referral is and the more money you may consider offering as payment.
Give referrals. Sometimes, you have to give to get. By sending your customers to other local businesses (and letting those businesses know you did so), you're making a favorable impression on those businesses. They're likely to remember your generosity and do the same when they come across potential customers for you.
Chain Reaction: How to Handle a Sticky Customer Situation With Care
Sometimes bad things happen. It can be a relatively minor thing, like a store clerk forgetting to include a purchased item in a customer’s bag. Or it can be a problem that affects thousands of lives, like the theft of medical records from a doctor’s office.
How a business reacts to a crisis can be the difference between keeping customers happy and losing them--and their referrals--for good. Here are some tips to help you handle your next customer crisis.
Keep customers informed. The employees at Newark, N.J.-based BookSwim.com call it the Great Shelf Collapse of 2008. The paperback rental company stored books in an old warehouse that had no air-conditioning. On a hot summer day, the plastic bookshelves melted, bringing 20,000 books crashing to the floor in an unorganized mess. Within hours, e-mail notices--complete with photos of the mess--were sent to every customer, alerting them of the situation.
"Not all of our customers would have been affected by the crash, but we wanted everyone to know before it became a problem they discovered on their own," explains customer service representative Chip O’Brien. "When they’re aware of the problem in advance, it makes them feel as if they’re involved in the company, rather than feel swindled and cheated when we failed to send their books."
Admit when the mistake is yours. Robert Greenfest still remembers the mistake he made years ago when he owned a residential mortgage firm. He was working with a young couple buying their first home and locked their interest rate in for a 5/1 mortgage with a 5 percent down payment. "Everything was approved, and the day before settlement the lender called to tell me I had made a mistake," says Greenfest, today a principal with Santos, Postal & Company, a 35-person accounting firm in Rockville, Md.
The customers did not have any more capital to put down, and if they did not close the next day, they would have been in default of the contract. "The mistake was mine, and I decided to purchase their loan, out-of-pocket, for $1,600," Greenfest says. "In my mind, it was the right thing to do."
Empower your employees. When an angry customer walks into your business, chances are, you aren’t the one dealing with the problem. Your employees on the front lines--those answering the phone and standing at the cash register--are the first ones dissatisfied customers encounter. That’s why your employees need the tools, information and training that can help them diffuse heated situations on the spot, Greenfest says.
If your employees run to grab a manager every time an angry customer walks in the door, your patrons might think your staff doesn’t have a handle on company policies. Brief your workers on the proper procedure for handling all kinds of disputes, from simple pricing disagreements to major slip-ups that could cause you to lose multiple customers.
Validate what the customer is feeling. "Sometimes, the customer simply wants to be heard," says Julie Murphy Casserly, founder and owner of JMC Wealth Management in Chicago. The customer has a right to be angry or upset if a business transaction goes wrong, and while the business owner may not be able to correct the problem, recognizing these feelings goes a long way to smoothing customer relations.
There will be times when a sticky problem can be easily corrected, and times when it cannot. But owners who take the time to explain the problem will be the ones whose customers are willing to give them a second chance.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
How to Woo Back Your Customers
How does a guy act while trying to win back his ex-girlfriend? He works to convince her he's changed while reminding her about the good parts of their relationship. Surprisingly, some of the same techniques apply to winning back customers who haven't done business with you for a while. Here are some strategies for re-establishing a winning relationship with your former customers.
Figure out why they left
Go about reestablishing these relationships methodically. Comb through your old files and make a list of customers who once brought you steady business and with whom you've fallen out of contact. Now go through the list and write down why they left. Did they move? Were they dissatisfied with your service? Do you suspect they went with a competitor who gave them a better deal? While you won't know for sure why you haven't seen some customers for a while, taking your best educated guess will help you figure out your strategy for winning them back.
Personalize contact
Assuming that these ex-customers are still receiving your emails and promotional materials, these haven't been enough to bring them back. Step up your strategy and get back in touch with them directly. Send a personal note or an email. (If sending email, be sure to use their name in the subject line, or else they may assume it's a group mailing and delete it.) If you've just stocked an item that would be of interest or are running a sale on something they used to regularly buy, let them know. Especially if they left for a big box competitor, a personalized gesture may be just the thing to remind them of why they did business with you in the first place.
To apologize or not?
Reaching out may be more difficult when the customer left on bad terms. Before sending a note, make sure that you really want this customer back. Some clients would never be satisfied with even your best service, and it may be a blessing in disguise if they took their business elsewhere. However, in cases in which the relationship is worth repairing, it might be best to approach the situation by eating a little humble pie. Your note could read something along the lines of, "While I know our last transaction didn't go well, we still value your business and would like to make things up to you." And just how to make up with these customers? That brings us to our next point.
Extend special offers
The surest way to bring an old customer back to your storefront is by giving a special deal. If a customer left you for a competitor, announce that you'll match the competitor's price. If you and the customer had a disagreement, offer a percentage off the next transaction. For customers whose motives for leaving are mysterious to you, offer a month-long special for "absentee" patrons only. The bigger the deal, the more luck you will have cinching their return, but even a small gesture may be enough for some.
Sometimes customers disappear for a period of time, then reappear as mysteriously as they vanished. However, you can do more than simply wait for their arrival. Contact old customers every few months for at least a year before giving up on them. Unless someone specifically asks to be taken off your general mailing list, always keep them on there, as you never know what event, deal or item of interest may hasten their return.
Figure out why they left
Go about reestablishing these relationships methodically. Comb through your old files and make a list of customers who once brought you steady business and with whom you've fallen out of contact. Now go through the list and write down why they left. Did they move? Were they dissatisfied with your service? Do you suspect they went with a competitor who gave them a better deal? While you won't know for sure why you haven't seen some customers for a while, taking your best educated guess will help you figure out your strategy for winning them back.
Personalize contact
Assuming that these ex-customers are still receiving your emails and promotional materials, these haven't been enough to bring them back. Step up your strategy and get back in touch with them directly. Send a personal note or an email. (If sending email, be sure to use their name in the subject line, or else they may assume it's a group mailing and delete it.) If you've just stocked an item that would be of interest or are running a sale on something they used to regularly buy, let them know. Especially if they left for a big box competitor, a personalized gesture may be just the thing to remind them of why they did business with you in the first place.
To apologize or not?
Reaching out may be more difficult when the customer left on bad terms. Before sending a note, make sure that you really want this customer back. Some clients would never be satisfied with even your best service, and it may be a blessing in disguise if they took their business elsewhere. However, in cases in which the relationship is worth repairing, it might be best to approach the situation by eating a little humble pie. Your note could read something along the lines of, "While I know our last transaction didn't go well, we still value your business and would like to make things up to you." And just how to make up with these customers? That brings us to our next point.
Extend special offers
The surest way to bring an old customer back to your storefront is by giving a special deal. If a customer left you for a competitor, announce that you'll match the competitor's price. If you and the customer had a disagreement, offer a percentage off the next transaction. For customers whose motives for leaving are mysterious to you, offer a month-long special for "absentee" patrons only. The bigger the deal, the more luck you will have cinching their return, but even a small gesture may be enough for some.
Sometimes customers disappear for a period of time, then reappear as mysteriously as they vanished. However, you can do more than simply wait for their arrival. Contact old customers every few months for at least a year before giving up on them. Unless someone specifically asks to be taken off your general mailing list, always keep them on there, as you never know what event, deal or item of interest may hasten their return.
Become Your Customer's Best Option
In fat or lean times, the greatest way to build business and strengthen relationships is to become the best option for your customers. Consistency and responsiveness are paramount to becoming the best option. The foundation to this can be achieved in a few simple ways:
1. Don’t rely on voice mail or automated menus—avoid them whenever possible. You can’t build relationships by having your customers talk to a machine; people want to know they have been heard. Customers need to feel they are important.
2. Be consistent in pricing—your prices don’t always have to be lower than the competition, but the price should match the value.
3. Understand your customers enough to know what a proper response time is, and be consistent in reducing yours. Whether a proper response time is seconds or hours, never delay communicating with your customers.
When building relationships, being able to say: "We are going to be the most responsive organization you will work with"—and then proving it goes a long way. When "I hear you" is coupled with "You hear me," then "I like you" can turn into "We like each other." That sounds like a relationship to me.
1. Don’t rely on voice mail or automated menus—avoid them whenever possible. You can’t build relationships by having your customers talk to a machine; people want to know they have been heard. Customers need to feel they are important.
2. Be consistent in pricing—your prices don’t always have to be lower than the competition, but the price should match the value.
3. Understand your customers enough to know what a proper response time is, and be consistent in reducing yours. Whether a proper response time is seconds or hours, never delay communicating with your customers.
When building relationships, being able to say: "We are going to be the most responsive organization you will work with"—and then proving it goes a long way. When "I hear you" is coupled with "You hear me," then "I like you" can turn into "We like each other." That sounds like a relationship to me.
How to deal with stressed and angry customers
As people face layoffs, cut backs, decreases in bonuses and the like in this turbulent economy, many customers are feeling stressed. And with this stress comes anger - often aimed at people on the frontline. It can be easy to get defensive or bite back but part of customer service means recognising these. But there are also some common misconceptions about how to react.
After 30 years of studying stress, particularly when my partners and I first began to study emotional outbursts, we observed dozens of explosive interactions and almost nobody handled them well. Here are the big five mistakes and how to handle them:
Mistake One: Patronising the client
If you’ve been instructed that you shouldn’t get angry at a customer who has become angry at you, the most common replacement behavior is to talk down to them. “I’m sorry, but I’m doing my best here to solve the problem and you’re acting very unprofessionally. You must calm down before we continue this conversation.” All true - but exactly the wrong thing to say.
Mistake Two: Controlled anger
You’ve been told you can’t get angry, so you try to hide your emotions by not saying anything mean or disrespectful. Of course, your non-verbal reactions could start a fist fight, but you’re not saying anything bad. If you let yourself get angry, you’re very likely to show it and if you show it you’re part of the conflict.
Mistake Three: "You shouldda oughtta"
With many blow-ups, the other person contributed to the problem by being imperfect in some way and it seems only natural to point out their role in the problem. “We told you of our upcoming price increase. You should have purchased more material six months ago when the price was lower.” Telling the person he or she is a dimwit is not a good strategy.
Mistake Four: Righteous indignation
When someone is verbally abusing you, you think to yourself 'how dare they treat me in such a way'! In fact, they’re acting so unprofessionally, they deserve whatever I’m about to give them in return!” These are the words that go through your head right before you become angry and unload on the customer. Any interaction that starts with “they deserve what I’m about to give them,” ends with you in trouble. Giving yourself permission to act unprofessionally and then doing so quickly takes the spotlight off the abusive client and places it squarely on you. Long after everyone has forgotten how poorly your client treated you, they’ll be talking about that day you lost control.
Mistake Five: Correcting a minor point
Desperate to change the subject or take away the other person’s right to complain, people often stop the verbal onslaught by pointing out a minor factual error: “Actually, the price increase is 6%, not 7%.” Once again, correcting people - and in this case, pointing out an issue that has little or nothing to do with the anger in the first place - only leads to increased anger.
Okay, so we’ve covered the most common mistakes, even when the person is trying his or her best to not become emotionally out of control. What’s a person to do instead?
Show empathy: When someone starts to raise their voice, they want you to listen to them. Empathetically listening may seem unnatural at first because you’re just dying to step in and solve the problem. Don’t. First, listen. Then as you listen, the angry person wants you to show empathy. They’re suffering so they want you to feel bad in return. This is done as much through your expression as through what you say.
Show understanding: Once the other person realises that you care, they want to know that you understand them. In your own words, repeat their issues and concerns. Don’t correct them or set the record straight; repeat back their view. This can be hard - particularly when you know they’re wrong - but restate their view as their view, not the truth. They want to know they’ve been understood.
Connect to values: Finally, once you’ve shown empathy and understanding, explain how your actions are aimed at satisfying the client’s long-term values. “We’ve been forced to increase our prices so we’ll be around to meet your needs over the long-run.” By connecting to their values, you take the focus off the short-term pain and place it on your long-term, value-based purpose, where it belongs.
So, next time you find yourself talking to an angry customer, fight your natural tendency to patronise them, hide your emotions, point out your client’s role in the problem, give them what (you think) they deserve, or correct them. Instead, show empathy and understanding, and connect to their values. How you behave in these high-stakes and emotional conversations will determine if you keep or lose valuable business relationships, if your company succeeds and, ultimately, if you keep your job through the duration of this economic downturn.
After 30 years of studying stress, particularly when my partners and I first began to study emotional outbursts, we observed dozens of explosive interactions and almost nobody handled them well. Here are the big five mistakes and how to handle them:
Mistake One: Patronising the client
If you’ve been instructed that you shouldn’t get angry at a customer who has become angry at you, the most common replacement behavior is to talk down to them. “I’m sorry, but I’m doing my best here to solve the problem and you’re acting very unprofessionally. You must calm down before we continue this conversation.” All true - but exactly the wrong thing to say.
Mistake Two: Controlled anger
You’ve been told you can’t get angry, so you try to hide your emotions by not saying anything mean or disrespectful. Of course, your non-verbal reactions could start a fist fight, but you’re not saying anything bad. If you let yourself get angry, you’re very likely to show it and if you show it you’re part of the conflict.
Mistake Three: "You shouldda oughtta"
With many blow-ups, the other person contributed to the problem by being imperfect in some way and it seems only natural to point out their role in the problem. “We told you of our upcoming price increase. You should have purchased more material six months ago when the price was lower.” Telling the person he or she is a dimwit is not a good strategy.
Mistake Four: Righteous indignation
When someone is verbally abusing you, you think to yourself 'how dare they treat me in such a way'! In fact, they’re acting so unprofessionally, they deserve whatever I’m about to give them in return!” These are the words that go through your head right before you become angry and unload on the customer. Any interaction that starts with “they deserve what I’m about to give them,” ends with you in trouble. Giving yourself permission to act unprofessionally and then doing so quickly takes the spotlight off the abusive client and places it squarely on you. Long after everyone has forgotten how poorly your client treated you, they’ll be talking about that day you lost control.
Mistake Five: Correcting a minor point
Desperate to change the subject or take away the other person’s right to complain, people often stop the verbal onslaught by pointing out a minor factual error: “Actually, the price increase is 6%, not 7%.” Once again, correcting people - and in this case, pointing out an issue that has little or nothing to do with the anger in the first place - only leads to increased anger.
Okay, so we’ve covered the most common mistakes, even when the person is trying his or her best to not become emotionally out of control. What’s a person to do instead?
Show empathy: When someone starts to raise their voice, they want you to listen to them. Empathetically listening may seem unnatural at first because you’re just dying to step in and solve the problem. Don’t. First, listen. Then as you listen, the angry person wants you to show empathy. They’re suffering so they want you to feel bad in return. This is done as much through your expression as through what you say.
Show understanding: Once the other person realises that you care, they want to know that you understand them. In your own words, repeat their issues and concerns. Don’t correct them or set the record straight; repeat back their view. This can be hard - particularly when you know they’re wrong - but restate their view as their view, not the truth. They want to know they’ve been understood.
Connect to values: Finally, once you’ve shown empathy and understanding, explain how your actions are aimed at satisfying the client’s long-term values. “We’ve been forced to increase our prices so we’ll be around to meet your needs over the long-run.” By connecting to their values, you take the focus off the short-term pain and place it on your long-term, value-based purpose, where it belongs.
So, next time you find yourself talking to an angry customer, fight your natural tendency to patronise them, hide your emotions, point out your client’s role in the problem, give them what (you think) they deserve, or correct them. Instead, show empathy and understanding, and connect to their values. How you behave in these high-stakes and emotional conversations will determine if you keep or lose valuable business relationships, if your company succeeds and, ultimately, if you keep your job through the duration of this economic downturn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)