No doubt you have read or seen news on the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Well the occupy movement has spread to cities around the globe, with no end in sight. Corporations need to take notice of how this movement will change their operations. Years ago there was the environmental movement, which caused companies to go green, well in the same way this movement has the real potential to change the way big businesses run their companies.
Companies now have a chance to get ahead of everyone else and make some changes for the better. People everywhere are tired of seeing CEO and shareholders alike, make huge money, while they make a low wage. Corporations get a lot of bad press, and often with good reason. They sometimes pay as low a wage as they can, which can cause employee stress and reduce the level of customer service. They often think profit first then customers and employees. Both customers and employees then lose out. They are often more concerned about their shareholders, than doing what is best for the local community and employees.
For example, many companies have outsourced their production plants overseas, to save a pile of money. Sure the company saves money, by paying low wages overseas, but the local community suffers. The community loses quality jobs, which can have a very negative affect around the community. You now have unemployed people in the community, who could be depressed, and now rely on social programs to survive. Some companies will cut jobs, just so they can get a better return for their shareholders. However, if the company has a smaller profit and keeps those jobs, it benefits the community as a whole. You would have less unemployment and a more positive community atmosphere. Also when companies keep employees, this will benefit customers by having more staff around, who are ready to help them, which is great for customer service.
Companies could make it known that they will or have made changes in response to the occupy revolution, and be ahead of other companies. If the company starts paying fair wages, and works on keeping jobs, they will develop a great reputation as a place to work. This reputation will allow the company to attract top employee prospects, which is good for business. Great employees will provide great customer service.
Now what if corporations could live with less profit for their shareholders and make some real positive changes. This would generate enormous goodwill from the employees and customers. Employees would be more likely to develop long lasting beneficial relationships with their customers, which is great for business. Also the whole community benefits by having less unemployment, and having workers who have higher incomes. Corporate change will produce smiles for both customers and employees, and then the whole community benefits
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Customer Loyalty
Customer Loyalty is great for business and creates smiling customers. Sadly many businesses say they love their customers, but will often treat new customers better than old customers. This leaves the long term customer with a very bad impression of the business, which is not good. Loyal customers are vital to every business and can bring in a lot of repeat business and they will often refer their friends to the business. Companies need to rethink how they can reward customers in unexpected and surprising ways.
It will be the front line staff who will be vital to increasing customer loyalty. They are the ones who are the first point of contact between the company and the customer. They are the face of the company. Now aside from the more formal company procedures to reward customer loyalty, it will be the front line staff who will be crucial to the loyalty process. They get to know their customers, and are often in the best position to decide how best to reward customers. Some customers like discounts, some special promos, or they want to increase their current product or service for free. Each customer can have different ideas about how they want to be rewarded for their loyalty.
The point is that staff need to recognize loyal customers and be prepared to reward them on the spot. Yes , I know companies often have well organized loyalty programs, but sometimes customers fall through the cracks of these programs. Also what if the customer does not want to wait the full two years to get their special loyalty gift ? This is where the front line staff could offer an unexpected loyalty gift, and surprise the customer with this gift.
Unexpected reward gifts are great because the customer does not expect them, and they did not have to fight with supervisors or managers to get a small loyalty gift. This will show the customer, that the business really does appreciate their patronage. Can you imagine how surprised the customer will be, when the front line staff can reward them immediately, without them having to ask for a gift or discount.
It will take time to train staff on how to reward customers and recognize loyalty. However, this loyal customer training will bring long term benefits to both the business and customer. Staff training will increase customer retention and create a lot of happy customers. We all know how much it costs to gain new customers, so retaining customers is simply good business.
Common sense will often be the biggest factor, when staff reward customers. They will need to listen more and should be able identify loyal customers. When the staff are interacting with customers, they will need to be trained on how to identify a loyal customer. Also, every business will have different customer clues on how to recognize loyal customers. The point is, that each business needs to produce training materials appropriate for that business. Then staff can be trained correctly on how to identify and reward loyal customers for that business.
Customer loyalty is built over time, and as customers develop a positive relationship with the business, the company will notice a growing customer base. Proper loyalty training for staff will be the key to increasing customer retention and loyalty. This growing customer base will produce many smiling customers, and is great for business.
It will be the front line staff who will be vital to increasing customer loyalty. They are the ones who are the first point of contact between the company and the customer. They are the face of the company. Now aside from the more formal company procedures to reward customer loyalty, it will be the front line staff who will be crucial to the loyalty process. They get to know their customers, and are often in the best position to decide how best to reward customers. Some customers like discounts, some special promos, or they want to increase their current product or service for free. Each customer can have different ideas about how they want to be rewarded for their loyalty.
The point is that staff need to recognize loyal customers and be prepared to reward them on the spot. Yes , I know companies often have well organized loyalty programs, but sometimes customers fall through the cracks of these programs. Also what if the customer does not want to wait the full two years to get their special loyalty gift ? This is where the front line staff could offer an unexpected loyalty gift, and surprise the customer with this gift.
Unexpected reward gifts are great because the customer does not expect them, and they did not have to fight with supervisors or managers to get a small loyalty gift. This will show the customer, that the business really does appreciate their patronage. Can you imagine how surprised the customer will be, when the front line staff can reward them immediately, without them having to ask for a gift or discount.
It will take time to train staff on how to reward customers and recognize loyalty. However, this loyal customer training will bring long term benefits to both the business and customer. Staff training will increase customer retention and create a lot of happy customers. We all know how much it costs to gain new customers, so retaining customers is simply good business.
Common sense will often be the biggest factor, when staff reward customers. They will need to listen more and should be able identify loyal customers. When the staff are interacting with customers, they will need to be trained on how to identify a loyal customer. Also, every business will have different customer clues on how to recognize loyal customers. The point is, that each business needs to produce training materials appropriate for that business. Then staff can be trained correctly on how to identify and reward loyal customers for that business.
Customer loyalty is built over time, and as customers develop a positive relationship with the business, the company will notice a growing customer base. Proper loyalty training for staff will be the key to increasing customer retention and loyalty. This growing customer base will produce many smiling customers, and is great for business.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Hire For Attitude
Happy staff can either be the biggest asset or biggest detriment to great customer service. Happy staff are great for customers and staff alike. Great staff can also help keep employees from leaving, because its a good place to work. Happy, smiling staff come from having people with great attitudes. A bad attitude will show up in all kinds of ways. How often do you walk in to a store, and you can just tell the staff are not really that interested in providing great customer service. Sure they have all the product knowledge and sales training, but lack a real caring attitude towards customers.
Walk through the mall about ten minutes or so before closing time, and you will see how many stores have begun to close their doors. When you see this, it just screams, please do not come in to our store, we really just want to go home soon. The staff will stay open until they have to, but they will not be be very happy when a customer comes in just before closing time. That poor attitude will show, and the customers can sense they do not really want their business. What if the door is left wide open, with the staff smiling when you come in ? The customer will then feel welcomed and is more likely to be a repeat customer.
What about the customer who calls a call center two minutes before it closes ? Will the staff really want to give the best customer service, or will they just do the basics so they can get the customer off the phone fast. The staff are often thinking more about their after work plans, than actually wanting to help the customer. Can you imagine how good it would be for customers and businesses alike, if the customers did not feel rushed during their transactions and felt wanted as a customer.
Great business customer service begins with the hiring process. The selection process should focus on attitude, then knowledge. You can train for knowledge, but hire for attitude. Clearly references will be very important to ensure the prospect has demonstrated prior great customer service attitude. Also during the interview process, some questions could focus on prior customer service experience and how they dealt with past customer service challenges.
Once staff are hired and trained, they do need to be monitored to ensure they continue with great attitudes. After awhile, the staff will develop the habit of great customer service, and that is good for everyone. Employees with great attitudes mean less employee turnover, which saves money. Also companies should consider paying above basic entry level wages which can help attract and keep the staff. If the wages and staff atmosphere were better, that would motivate and maintain staff. Once your company gets a great reputation as a place to work, you will be able to attract and maintain all kinds of great staff. Also customers will start to see and hear familiar employees, and will feel more comfortable. Once customers are more comfortable with the business, that can be great for the customer and business. Great staff attitude will produce winning results for business, and create many smiling customers.
Walk through the mall about ten minutes or so before closing time, and you will see how many stores have begun to close their doors. When you see this, it just screams, please do not come in to our store, we really just want to go home soon. The staff will stay open until they have to, but they will not be be very happy when a customer comes in just before closing time. That poor attitude will show, and the customers can sense they do not really want their business. What if the door is left wide open, with the staff smiling when you come in ? The customer will then feel welcomed and is more likely to be a repeat customer.
What about the customer who calls a call center two minutes before it closes ? Will the staff really want to give the best customer service, or will they just do the basics so they can get the customer off the phone fast. The staff are often thinking more about their after work plans, than actually wanting to help the customer. Can you imagine how good it would be for customers and businesses alike, if the customers did not feel rushed during their transactions and felt wanted as a customer.
Great business customer service begins with the hiring process. The selection process should focus on attitude, then knowledge. You can train for knowledge, but hire for attitude. Clearly references will be very important to ensure the prospect has demonstrated prior great customer service attitude. Also during the interview process, some questions could focus on prior customer service experience and how they dealt with past customer service challenges.
Once staff are hired and trained, they do need to be monitored to ensure they continue with great attitudes. After awhile, the staff will develop the habit of great customer service, and that is good for everyone. Employees with great attitudes mean less employee turnover, which saves money. Also companies should consider paying above basic entry level wages which can help attract and keep the staff. If the wages and staff atmosphere were better, that would motivate and maintain staff. Once your company gets a great reputation as a place to work, you will be able to attract and maintain all kinds of great staff. Also customers will start to see and hear familiar employees, and will feel more comfortable. Once customers are more comfortable with the business, that can be great for the customer and business. Great staff attitude will produce winning results for business, and create many smiling customers.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Handling Difficult Customers
It can be a challenge to smile with some customers. Customer service jobs are some of the most stressful jobs in the world. If you are dealing with pleasant customers all day, then the job is good. However the reality is that you will have plenty of customer conflicts, which can be very stressful. Most customer interactions are pleasant, but it just takes a few bad interactions a day, to cause stress. If the staff have no training for conflict resolution, they will go home full of stress. Staff who have a lot of stress are not good for customers or business.
While you can not eliminate all stress from these jobs, there are ways to reduce stress. The number one reason that these customer conflicts are so stressful, is that we do not have a lot of practice handling these conflicts in a correct way. The staff need to be trained and be given the tools to better deal with the conflict. One of the first things to do is to give staff a preset power or dollar amount so they can solve most customer issues. Then staff can be trained in some basic steps in conflict resolution. Below are some conflict resolution training tips.
Do not say , "Calm down" to the customer, that is like pouring gas on a fire. This can further enrage the customer. Empathy needs to be shown to the customer. You need to be able to listen and understand the emotional language of the conversation to see how important the issue is to the customer.
(Example) A customer might call their newspaper customer service and complain about just one missed paper. The staff might think , big deal its just one missed paper and why is this customer so angry. Well, unknown to the staff, the customer wanted this morning paper because there was going to be an article about one of their children. So in this case the strong emotional tone from the customer indicates how this is very important to the customer and why it needs to be corrected. (Send another paper out right now) Once the staff realize the real reason, they might be able to understand the level of anger from the customer. Also the staff can now see why the customer is so angry, and show empathy.
Also keep in mind the customer may have had a bad day, and this issue could be the outlet or trigger for their anger. Their anger is not a personal attack, but rather strong emotion about the issue.
Once you know what the issue is, present a few solution options.Then review the options with the customer and implement the best solution.
There are many more techniques that can be taught to the staff, but these give a little insight into how training can help staff deal with difficult customers. Staff who have less stress are great for customers and will help increase business.
While you can not eliminate all stress from these jobs, there are ways to reduce stress. The number one reason that these customer conflicts are so stressful, is that we do not have a lot of practice handling these conflicts in a correct way. The staff need to be trained and be given the tools to better deal with the conflict. One of the first things to do is to give staff a preset power or dollar amount so they can solve most customer issues. Then staff can be trained in some basic steps in conflict resolution. Below are some conflict resolution training tips.
Do not say , "Calm down" to the customer, that is like pouring gas on a fire. This can further enrage the customer. Empathy needs to be shown to the customer. You need to be able to listen and understand the emotional language of the conversation to see how important the issue is to the customer.
(Example) A customer might call their newspaper customer service and complain about just one missed paper. The staff might think , big deal its just one missed paper and why is this customer so angry. Well, unknown to the staff, the customer wanted this morning paper because there was going to be an article about one of their children. So in this case the strong emotional tone from the customer indicates how this is very important to the customer and why it needs to be corrected. (Send another paper out right now) Once the staff realize the real reason, they might be able to understand the level of anger from the customer. Also the staff can now see why the customer is so angry, and show empathy.
Also keep in mind the customer may have had a bad day, and this issue could be the outlet or trigger for their anger. Their anger is not a personal attack, but rather strong emotion about the issue.
Once you know what the issue is, present a few solution options.Then review the options with the customer and implement the best solution.
There are many more techniques that can be taught to the staff, but these give a little insight into how training can help staff deal with difficult customers. Staff who have less stress are great for customers and will help increase business.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Improvement Opportunities
We often think of complaints as bad things. Complaining customers can cause stress and grief for staff and managers. Staff dread having to deal with a customer complaint. However, we need to see these complaints as opportunities, rather than things to be dreaded. I know it will not be easy, but once our perspective is changed, it can really make our life less stressful and be good for business.
Its all a matter of our how you view the complaint process. We all know most customers will not actually take the time to complain to the business. Customers will simply stop coming to that business, which is not good for customer retention. Look at customer complaints as a chance to get valuable feedback from customers. The main issue is that if you have a customer complaint, this is a chance to improve your company and make a customer smile. When customers complain, they tell us valuable information about the company. This information can help us improve the business for that customer and many others. Also if you can solve the customer complaint, that will create a loyal customer.
Customer conflicts can be tough on staff, so proper training needs to be provided. Effective conflict resolution skills would need to be taught. Once the staff have the proper tools to solve conflicts, they will be more confident and have less stress. It will take time for all staff to be trained and monitored in the new complaint resolution process, but it will very good for business. We also need to reward staff for proper complaint resolutions. It should be a key metric for staff performance reviews. This metric should be just as important as attendance, and other key metrics. A business might want to look into giving staff bonuses based on how well they solve customer complaints. This could boost staff motivation to solve customer issues and the staff might not dread the complaining customer.
Proper complaint resolution will be great for customer retention and great for business.
Its all a matter of our how you view the complaint process. We all know most customers will not actually take the time to complain to the business. Customers will simply stop coming to that business, which is not good for customer retention. Look at customer complaints as a chance to get valuable feedback from customers. The main issue is that if you have a customer complaint, this is a chance to improve your company and make a customer smile. When customers complain, they tell us valuable information about the company. This information can help us improve the business for that customer and many others. Also if you can solve the customer complaint, that will create a loyal customer.
Customer conflicts can be tough on staff, so proper training needs to be provided. Effective conflict resolution skills would need to be taught. Once the staff have the proper tools to solve conflicts, they will be more confident and have less stress. It will take time for all staff to be trained and monitored in the new complaint resolution process, but it will very good for business. We also need to reward staff for proper complaint resolutions. It should be a key metric for staff performance reviews. This metric should be just as important as attendance, and other key metrics. A business might want to look into giving staff bonuses based on how well they solve customer complaints. This could boost staff motivation to solve customer issues and the staff might not dread the complaining customer.
Proper complaint resolution will be great for customer retention and great for business.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Proactive Customer Service
Attitude and being proactive is the biggest factor when it comes to truly great customer service. We have all been to a business where the service was okay, but you could tell the staff did not really care. They answered all your questions and were fast enough, but you were still left feeling like a number.
For example, you call your cell phone company with a basic request, and it gets fulfilled. However, unknown to you there is a new value package for cell phone services, that would save you money. Most staff would just process the request and get on to the next customer. Staff with a great customer proactive attitude would see that the new value package could save the customer money and tell the customer. Now the customer could see the staff actually care and want to help.
How often do staff look to actually really help customers ? Well the answer, is not often enough. We are so busy training staff with knowledge, we can forget that the most important thing is to have a customer centered attitude.
Proactive customer service begins with the hiring process and continues with the training. The training should be a chance to not only train for knowledge but also to train for a helping attitude. This is where staff should be trained to look for customer needs based on sales history. Also staff could be trained to ask appropriate questions to find out customer needs. Customer retention will increase once staff get trained to maintain the habit of taking a proactive helping approach to customer service.
Smile training is really just a way to ensure we are training staff to have a proactive helping attitude towards customers. Proactive customer service is good business and great for customers.
For example, you call your cell phone company with a basic request, and it gets fulfilled. However, unknown to you there is a new value package for cell phone services, that would save you money. Most staff would just process the request and get on to the next customer. Staff with a great customer proactive attitude would see that the new value package could save the customer money and tell the customer. Now the customer could see the staff actually care and want to help.
How often do staff look to actually really help customers ? Well the answer, is not often enough. We are so busy training staff with knowledge, we can forget that the most important thing is to have a customer centered attitude.
Proactive customer service begins with the hiring process and continues with the training. The training should be a chance to not only train for knowledge but also to train for a helping attitude. This is where staff should be trained to look for customer needs based on sales history. Also staff could be trained to ask appropriate questions to find out customer needs. Customer retention will increase once staff get trained to maintain the habit of taking a proactive helping approach to customer service.
Smile training is really just a way to ensure we are training staff to have a proactive helping attitude towards customers. Proactive customer service is good business and great for customers.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Retaining Customers
How often have you heard, " I need to go see the manager about this issue " ? This can really annoy a customer even more than they already are with the issue. Now the customer has to wait some more, and get angrier by the minute. The customer might also be wondering if the CSR/Clerk is relaying the correct information to the manager. Then the CSR /Clerk comes back and either approves the customer request or says the manager denies the request.
Both these results are not great for retaining the customer. In the first scenario, the manager approves the request. The customer gets what they want, but they had to waste more valuable time. They might be glad to have resolved the issue, but they sure will not be word of mouth champions. Sure the issue was resolved , but they had to waste alot of time. This is not something that impresses customers, and will not get them to tell other customers about the great service.
Then in the other scenario the customer might just accept the managers disapproving decision and leave unhappy. They also might ask to speak to the manager, and fight to have the issue resolved. This will not impress the customer. They may or may not get the issue resolved, but either way they will leave unhappy about the customer service. No business needs more unhappy customers.
Now we all know it costs alot more to acquire a new customer than to retain a customer. So in the interest of keeping customers, why not empower the staff to resolve most issues on the spot. This would impress the customer and save them time. The staff would have to be trained in this new way of customer service. Staff could be given a preset amount of power or dollar amount to resolve customer issues.
Now the staff would need to be fully supported by management in this new way of retaining customers. Also the staff can be monitored to ensure the staff are following the new process. Once implemented, I think you will see alot more smiling customers walking out of your business.
Both these results are not great for retaining the customer. In the first scenario, the manager approves the request. The customer gets what they want, but they had to waste more valuable time. They might be glad to have resolved the issue, but they sure will not be word of mouth champions. Sure the issue was resolved , but they had to waste alot of time. This is not something that impresses customers, and will not get them to tell other customers about the great service.
Then in the other scenario the customer might just accept the managers disapproving decision and leave unhappy. They also might ask to speak to the manager, and fight to have the issue resolved. This will not impress the customer. They may or may not get the issue resolved, but either way they will leave unhappy about the customer service. No business needs more unhappy customers.
Now we all know it costs alot more to acquire a new customer than to retain a customer. So in the interest of keeping customers, why not empower the staff to resolve most issues on the spot. This would impress the customer and save them time. The staff would have to be trained in this new way of customer service. Staff could be given a preset amount of power or dollar amount to resolve customer issues.
Now the staff would need to be fully supported by management in this new way of retaining customers. Also the staff can be monitored to ensure the staff are following the new process. Once implemented, I think you will see alot more smiling customers walking out of your business.
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