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Archive for the ‘Customer Service’ Category

Stephen Novak gets out his crystal ball and predicts what we can expect in the year2013.

Inspired by Jeffrey Gitomer

• Some customers will say “No”
• A competitor is going to undercut your estimate and get the job
• You’re going to say something stupid
• Your customer is going to ask you a question that you are not prepared for
• One of your customers are going to complain about your price
• You will want to snap back at a customer
• You’ll have a big sale fall through
• You will become frustrated with where you are and where you want to be
• At least once you’ll think that the grass is greener somewhere else
• You will miss opportunities at meetings and parties because you forgot your business cards

But, I also predict that if you endure those challenges, keep a level head, and do what you’ve been trained to do – with a positive attitude:

• Most customers will say yes!!!
• Competitors may beat our price, but never our service – they will come back!!!
• You are going to watch what you say and how you say it in order to get your point across professionally!!!
• You will know that if you study up on your product and service lines, you will become more prepared to answer any question confidently!!!
• Once you fully wrap your head around the truth of “Customer Trust,” you will realize that price isn’t the only reason that customers will come to you!!!
• You won’t snap back at customers because you realize that although you may win that battle, you will eventually lose the war!!!
• You will close many big sales.  Many of them being repeat customers!!!
• You will realize that nothing stays the same.  You will either get better or you will get worse – it’s up to you.  Then you will take steps to grow yourself both personally and professionally.  You will pick up a book.  You will listen to something inspirational or motivational instead of the clowns on the radio!!!
• You will contemplate change with a clear head.  You will never make rash or illogical decisions.  You will ask for help through difficult times and not make irrational choices that thrust change upon you!!!
• You will always be ready to talk to people at social events about who you are and what you do.  Prepare and practice a 30 second verbal “commercial” that you can whip out at any time.  And, of course, keep business cards with you at all times!!!
• You will come into your own and learn to relax and enjoy your customers!!!
• You are going to face each day with a renewed enthusiasm!!!
• You are going to have a healthy, happy, prosperous new year!!!

Pat yourself on the back for all of your hard work and dedication in 2012 – learn from any past mistakes and successes – Now, let’s take our eyes out of the rear view mirror, look straight through the windshield, and MAT THE GAS PEDAL!!!

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2013 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

I was heading home after a late meeting and didn’t feel like cooking.  On my way was an Italian restaurant that I’d heard had great food – being a sucker for Italian, I thought I’d give it a try.  When I entered the building I walked to the front counter. I approached the employee behind the register who was seated on a bar stool leaning back against the wall while staring off into space.  I explained that this was my first visit, I had heard good things, and would like to order some dinner to-go.  The employee leaned forward…popped out his ear buds…and said, “Hugh”.   I took a step back and then repeated what I had just said.  He had a puzzled look on his face as he said, “You can’t order to-go food up here.” 

Of course I asked, “Well, where can I order food to-go?”  He pointed to an area towards the back of the restaurant…put his ear buds back in…and leaned back.  I walked to the area that he designated and waited…and waited.  Two servers walked by at least twice before I flagged one of them down.  I immediately recognized the why-are-you-bothering-me look on her face.  I’d go on, but the rest of my visit wasn’t any better.  This experience enlightened me to the fact that although good customer service may be hard to define, poor customer service stands out like fingernails scraping along a chalkboard.  Let me explain:

You could pull a hundred different people off the street and ask them the question, “What is good customer service?”  And you would probably get a hundred different responses.  What’s OK for one person may not be good for another, but there are some fundamentals that must be present in any customer interaction.

Some typical “good customer service” elements that we all look for are:

1. We want to feel welcomed when we enter a business.
2. We want to be treated with respect.
3. We want to be listened to.
4. We want to get what we were promised and treated fairly.
5. We want to be thanked for our business.

Any business that is serious about providing good customer service must have these elements at the core of their customer service process.  Keep in mind that these elements are just a starting point.  If your goal is to provide excellent customer service, then you must notch up the intensity of the above elements while monitoring their effectiveness.  Tweak when necessary and eliminate any obstacle that prevents your customers from having such a positive experience that they honor you with their business time and time again.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

I remember when starting a new business was as easy as…

1. The IDEA.
2. Acquiring some powdered lemonade.
3. Mix it up in a pitcher with water, sugar, and ice.
4. Put up a card table by a busy sidewalk.
5. Painting a sign that reads, “ICE COLD LEMONADE .35 CENTS A GLASS”.
6. Smile and say hello to people. 
7. Make sure that the lemonade doesn’t get too watered down from the ice melting.

Come to think of it…starting a business today requires very similar steps.  Just on a larger scale.  Let’s look at some key points compared to our theoretical lemonade stand.

1. The idea  =  the visualization stage. This is usually the most exciting part.  One can explore the possibilities of taking a raw gut feeling and transforming a dream into something innovative, rare, and successful.  Enjoy this stage but don’t linger in it – once an idea is revealed, it quickly starts to accumulate dust and lose its luster.
2. Acquiring some powdered lemonade, sugar, water and ice  =  The acquisition of the materials and concepts that lay out the building blocks of the product or service that you want to sell.  This may require financing: please read one my earlier posts “Starting a small business” (July, 30^th 2011) for more information on this topic.
3. Mix it in a pitcher  =  the manufacturing, making, or developing your product or service.  This is the nuts-and-bolts of your operation.  If you are predominantly a service oriented business, how you do what you do is more important than what you do. It’s your know-how and skill that will differentiate you from your competition.  If you will provide a product, will you manufacture it yourself or have it built for you?  What will be unique about its nomenclature?
4. Put up a card table where people can see you  =  the location of your business.  This could be a standard brick and mortar or web based site.The U.S. Small Business Administration has an excellent page that discusses this topic in great detail.  http://www.sba.gov/content/tips-choosing-business-location
5. Paining a sign  =  advertising.  This is your declaration to the masses: who you are, what you are about, and what you can do for them.  This proclamation could be as subtle as a handing out business cards, or as obvious as a flying around in a blimp with your name plastered all over the side.  There are literally thousands of new and innovative ways to get you name out there.  Explore.  Have fun.    
6. Smile and say hello to people  =  customer service.  This involves hiring, training, and holding accountable qualified customer service artists.  Without a proper customer focused business strategy, you will be out of business in no time.
7. Make sure that the lemonade doesn’t get watered down  =  Quality control.  This may be one of the most overlooked areas of any small business.  Big businesses have processes like Six Sigma in place to measure and improve their products or processes.  It may not be practical or cost effective for a small business to have a whole quality control department; however, it must be the responsibility of everyone in your business to make sure that by the time your product or service contacts the customer, it represents what you need it to. Any business must continually ensure that the products or services that they are offering exceed their customers’ expectations.

So we’ve had the vision, got the startup cash, created our product or service, picked our location and got the word out…whew…that was hard work.  I think I’ll have a glass of that lemonade now.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

 Everything we do requires some form of a process.  From brushing our teeth to planning a trip, there is always a chain of events.  Merriam-Webster defines a process as:

1 a : progress, advance <in the process of time>

   b : something going on : proceeding

2 a (1) : a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result <the process of growth> (2) : a continuing natural or biological activity or function <such life processes as breathing> b : a series of actions or operations conducing to an end; especially : a continuous operation or treatment especially in manufacture.

We learned as a child how to brush our teeth, walk, and eventually ride a bike.  These processes took practice and determination to perfect.  A novice salesperson should constantly read new books, continually train with knowledgeable teachers, and diligently practice with the same resolve as a strong-minded child.  Come to think of it – experienced salespeople should do the same thing!!!   

 As an exercise, let’s look at a basic step-by-step approach to sales – The ever enduring 5 Steps To A (Anything) Sale:

1) Friendly greeting.

2) Assess needs.

3) Make recommendation.

4) Explain benefits and features.

5) Ask for the sale.

 If we left out step 2, we wouldn’t have any idea which product or service was right for the customer.  It would not help to push the two-car garage if the buyer’s main concern is the age of the roof.  Your job as a salesperson is to seek out what the customer wants.

 If we did not explain the benefits and features in Step 4, it would be impossible for the customer to differentiate our product or service from our competitor.  

 If we did not even ask the customer for the pleasure of his or her business…well, we probably should be doing something else for a living.

 Just as if we had forgotten to use a toothbrush while brushing our teeth, we could not be as effective as we should have been.

 BEWARE:  Do not allow yourselves to become slaves to any process just for the sake of the process.  If what you are doing ain’t working, you MUST try something else.  If the process gets in the way of customer communication, scrap it…amend it…modernize it (Read, train, practice).  Every sales process should enhance customer interaction, and keep a salesperson on track.  A process should NOT be there just to hook customers into buying something that will later regret.   

“We must first identify, before we can satisfy the customer’s proclivity…profitably”.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

Consider the following situations:

A child is eating watermelon in the blistering dog day’s heat – The smile reverberates the true joy that only a simple summer treat can provide.

A man’s feet stammer in the aisle of a church at the beginning of the best decision he will ever make – His prospective spouse’s soul sings as she steers toward the aisle.

Now contrast with the following:

A single mom is leaving work; she notices her tire is low.  She’s knows that she’ll be late picking up her child from daycare (They penalize by the minute if you’re late) as she limps towards her favorite car repair shop.  She’s relieved that the shop doors are just now coming down, someone is still there, she thinks.  The person behind the glass doors waves their hands and yells, “We’re closed”, and steals away into the back room.

Now the reason for the rant:

I went into a convenience store a few days ago.  After checking out, the clerk stuffed my purchases into the bag and said, “Thanks, young man”.  During my sales training courses, I’ve heard similar statements from inexperienced salespeople for years.  When confronted they usually say that they’ve been told to always compliment the customer…to make them feel good.  And while that statement is true, they forgot the most important part of a compliment – IT MUST BE SINCERE.  Today’s customers are a lot savvier than they have ever been – They can spot a sales pitch a mile away.  After being assaulted by such a line, most customers will just smile back while thinking to themselves, what a schmuck. 

For anyone that works with people, commit to this: if you give anyone a compliment, IT MUST BE SINCERE.  People know how old they are, if they’ve lost weight, or if they’ve been working out.  Trite or dishonest statements will shore up any preconceived barriers that the customer may have.  Always remember: it’s our job to break down ANY barriers that get in the way of building strong relationships with our customers.

As for being there for your customers…we’ll cover that later.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

If you know your customers you will be better able to meet their needs. Not every customer that walks into your store is going to want to buy the same thing as the one before them. If you can find out what it is they are looking for you can point them in the right direction.
This is sometimes hard to do when most people don’t want to be followed around or hounded, so you are going to have to be careful. Greet them right away, ask them if you can help them if they are looking for anything specific and if they say no they are just looking let them be.

Watch what they gravitate towards, what they are looking at, without being too obvious, if they spend a lot of time on one product or in a certain section of the store then you can approach them again. Apologize for interrupting and explain that if they are looking for…you have these on sale, or this brand is actually better, even if it is a bit cheaper than what they were looking at.

This builds trust in your customer that you aren’t out to gouge them or make them spend all their money, that you truly do have their best interest at heart and are their to help them.

Once a customer trusts you, you can find out a lot about them just by asking specific questions. For instance, let’s say you sell appliances. You notice your customer going between the cheapest washer and dryer to the most expensive. They can’t seem to decide if they want quality or to go the cheap route.

Ask them if they have any questions, are they purchasing it for their home or a rental unit, is it for a big family or a small one. How much laundry do they do in a week etc. Then you will be able to decipher their needs more and point them in the right direction.

Again, it’s all about trust, not pressure. Nobody likes to be followed around and hounded when they aren’t sure exactly what they want, they like time to look for themselves first, talk amongst themselves and then when they seem confident in what they are looking for they will be more approachable.

The best sales person is one that doesn’t have to sell!

Follow-up,follow-up, follow-up!!! We can’t say this enough. No matter what your product or service make sure you follow up with your customers! Within a few days of their purchase call and ask them how their product is working or if the service was up to their expectations.

Ask them if there was anything more you could do for them, if the delivery of their product or service was on time and if the employees were courteous and helpful.

Finally you will want to know if there is anything else your company can do for them or if they have comments or suggestions. If you have a very large customer base that doesn’t allow you the time or you don’t have the manpower to call each customer you can either have an automated system do this for you or you can send out postcards with survey questions on them requesting your customers to fill them out and send them back in.

You might even offer and incentive such as a percentage off the next purchase for filling out the survey or answering the phone survey. Each of these things will be not only helpful to you as a business owner but will also show your customers that you truly care about what they think.

Remember, without customers, clients, patients etc. you have no business, so treat them with respect and show them you care and you will always have a customer base in good standing!

If you ask most any small business owner what goes into providing great customer service and you have answers such as, being polite, serving promptly, keeping your promises etc. But in this hi-tech age we live in, we often forget that the humble written letter has just as an important role in ensuring good customer service. How many times have you received a ‘letter of apology’ which makes you even more dissatisfied? The message it conveys, the tone of the letter, the language used – many times only heightens your frustration!

With some careful thought and planning, a well-crafted letter can provide comfort to a complaining customer and enhance your business reputation as a customer-focused business. the following are some tips on how to write a great letter.

Why are you writing a letter?

You have to be in the right frame of mind when you start. Are you writing to handle a complaint, to answer a query or to thank a customer for placing an order? Framing the letter in the right context means you will use the appropriate language and the tone will be correct. Try writing a thank you letter as if you are responding to a complaint – the message is totally different.

Before you begin, stop and think for a minute to decide what your aim or goal is.

State your purpose of your letter

Start off by summarising why you are writing to the customer. Open your letter by saying that you are responding to a query, or to resolve a problem they might have had. Stating why you are contacting them puts them in the right frame of mind to accept your message. An opening summary will grab their attention best.

Include a W.I.I.F.M.

WIIFM stands for ‘What’s in it for me?’ To truly engage your customer and get them on your side or to see your point of view, you have to include why it will benefit them. While it may see selfish, customers care about their problem and only their problem. Your customers have to get something out of your letter so they feel satisfied, or at the very least, that they have been heard. What could their WIIFM be? Their complaint may be resolved; they may get a discount on their next order, coupons or maybe priority service the next time they use you. Treating them like they are special can also go far and could create a raving fan of your business. If the compliant is a minor one, a simple, yet sincere heartfelt apology may be enough!

Do not say ‘I’

If possible, avoid filling your letter with I’s. The customer will find it hard to link with you if they receive, it’s all about ‘me, me, me’ letters. Edit your letters and wherever possible substitute ‘I’ with ‘you’. Change the focus to the reader. Make them feel valued.

Write as you speak

Your writing style should reflect the way you would talk to some one in person. Providing good customer service comes down to how you interact or communicate with your client and letters can play an important role in the process.

Clear call to action

While writing a great letter, you don’t want it to tail off into nothing. Have a clear action-orientated close. Make sure your reader knows what you expect him or her to do next. Maybe something along the lines of – “call me so we can discuss this idea in more depth”, “Fill in the attached form and place it in the mailbox”, “send me an order” (a bit strong perhaps but certainly to the point!). A resounding call-to-action is a great way to finish a letter and leaves the customer in no doubt what he or she needs to do next which is another important element of quality customer service.

Have someone check your letter

If you are writing an important letter or one that contains a complex message, it’s best to ask someone to proof read it before you send it out. A different, fresh set of eyeballs. Another person can not only check your spelling, but also check readability. Is the structure of the message you wish to convey clear and easy to understand? You’ll be surprised by what someone else will pick up, that you might have completely missed!

We’ve covered some useful tips on how to write a superb letter, which will further enforce your image of providing exceptional customer service.

Is your business really serious about it’s customer service? When it comes down to it, excellent customer service is often one of the most important ways you can use to convert visitors into customers. You may also increase your ROI and improve your sales with above and beyond customer service.

If you are truly serious about offering high quality customer service, your best plan could would be customer service software. With customer service software you can reduce customer service costs and increase your sales conversion rate at the same time. All the while, you will be making your customers happier, which will lead to more sales and an increase in your return on investment.

Customer service software helps small businesses and large businesses alike by offering customer service messenger, support messenger, along with FAQ’s pages and more. These offer 24/7 customer service to customers and more importantly, potential customers. They may also allow you track customers online and track consumer behavior online as well.

Customer service software can offer live chat help including, animated avatar help, animated avatar service, animated avatar support and animated avatar guide. Many people prefer the avatar because it makes them feel more like they are talking to an actual person.

Serious quality customer service means a serious customer service solution. Consider customer service software for your online business if you would like to convert visitors to buyers and improve your bottom line.

Today’s post covers how to properly deal with customers that maybe upset.

1. Do not tell the customer they are wrong. Telling your customer he or she is wrong arouses opposition and will make the customer want to battle with you. They might well become defensive as well. It’s difficult, under even the most troubling situations to change a person’s mind. So there is no positive aspect by making your job harder by starting out on the wrong foot.

2. Do not argue with the customer. You will never win an argument with your customer. It’s most certain that even though you can prove your point and even have the last word, you may even be completely in the right, but as far as changing your customer’s mind is concerned, it will probably be just as futile as if you were wrong.

3. Do not speak with an negative and authoritative tone with the customer. Even if the customer is wrong, this is not an appropriate response, as it will put the customer on the defense and could escalate the situation further.

4. Do not say, “We would never do that.” Instead try asking your customer, “Tell me about that.” This can also have the side affect that your listening to the customer and care about their views or opinions. Often customers just want to be heard, they just want to have their say, or voice their frustrations.

5. Do not be afraid to apologize when you can. Offer an apology even when the customer may be at fault. An apology is not an admission of fault or guilt. It can be offered to express regret for their problem. For example you could say something such as, “I’m so sorry for any inconvenience this misunderstanding has caused you.”

Never forget in problem situations the issue is not always the issue. The way the issue is handled can become an even bigger issue. Just acknowledging the customers frustration and listening to them can calm the situation and even turn it into a positive.

Most customers understand that things can happen, they just want to be heard.