Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

Outshine the Competition with Customer Service

Jo Ann Joy, Indigo Business Solutions

One of the most important things that can set you apart from your competition is giving better service. Better service means that you have a genuine customer-friendly attitude. You view your customers as the most important part of your job, and you sincerely respect them and appreciate their choosing to do business with you. A customer-friendly attitude means that communicating and establishing customer relationships are really the essence of your job. You can make a customer a friend or an enemy for life in just a few minutes. Every moment of customer contact is vitally important.

One of the most important parts of customer service is your telephone response and personal contact. When a customer calls your company on the phone and the telephone rings ten times before someone picks it up, your company has already made a bad impression before any business was transacted. These contacts are simple and quick, and they are moments of truth for the customer. Customer contacts are opportunities to create positive impressions and they include the following:

1. Answer the phone with a greeting before identifying yourself or your company. Start the contact the right way and create a good first impression.

2. Be aware of your facial expression when a customer approaches you. Always smile to give customers the impression that you are delighted to see and to help them when they approach you.

3. Never take a customer complaint personally. Rather, think of a complaint as an opportunity to get valuable feedback from your customers and improve your relationship with them.

4. Always offer options if you cannot give customers exactly what they want. Customers can accept a “no” if it is softened by alternative recommendations.

5. Never transfer a customer to another extension until you are sure that the other person is available and will give full assistance to the customer. Always stay on the line until you are certain that the customer’s needs are being handled and questions are being answered.

Customers love the companies that treat them the way they like to be treated every time they have contact with the company. Customers will choose these companies over competitors even if they have to pay more to obtain their products or services. Be sure that every employee that has customer contact is well-trained in the best ways to provide excellent customer service.

The future of your business starts here.

Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions, a legal and business consulting firm. Indigo Business Solutions is a “one stop shop” for small businesses. We differ from other business consulting firms, because we offer comprehensive legal and business counseling. We can offer most of the professional services that a business requires. We work with our clients to develop strategies that create value and competitive advantage.

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How to Provide Better Service Today

Mark Feinberg, Blue Jay Consulting

Time and time again I find myself working with companies or individuals that don’t seem to get it. They simply offer poor service. I end up frustrated and look to take my business elsewhere.

Take the airlines – Everyone has a story to tell about air travel. Service these days is a bad as ever. How about retail? Ever find yourself looking for help from an employee – let alone one that is competent? Too many stores have cut to the bone and offer little service. If you have a problem and need to call your bank, insurance company, telephone company, or any large company service provider chances are you will navigate a maze of recordings and you will be there for a while.

Good service is free. Responsiveness is free. Making a client feel as if he or she is the most important person in the world, while not always practical, is free. Personal attention and service are key differentiators of the small to mid-sized business. People will want to work with you if you make them feel like you are working hard for their business. First impressions are very important, but consistency is the key to longevity. People are willing to pay you more because you provide more responsive service.

For the most part, the merchandise at Nordstrom isn’t any different than that of a lower-priced chain. However, Nordstrom is consistently able to command a higher price. People who shop there know this and are willing to pay for the “service”. There are more sales people, who also happen to know their products, willing to help you. At the conclusion of a transaction, it’s no coincidence that the Nordstrom employee will walk out from behind the counter to hand you your bag, shake your hand and say thank you.

Here are a few things you can do you help improve the service you provide.

1. Return phone calls and emails in a timely manner. I know this sounds simple. But if I do business with you, on average, I expect a call back the same day.

2. Have consistent follow through on commitments. Don’t leave things open ended. Finish what needs to be done quickly and close the loop. You don’t need a client asking you about a project that you forgot.

3. Be on time. Don’t be late to meetings or calls. It’s rude and demonstrates lack of respect. It’s also your first impression.

4. Be polite. Even when the world is spinning and you are losing control - be polite and positive. Always use please and thank you and skip the four letter words.

5. Always let your customer know you appreciate their business. Even if you don’t say those specific words, you can let them know their business is important.

6. Be realistic. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Tell the client the truth up front. You may lose the business today, but gain a client for life when they realize that your information was realistic.

7. Be an example to those around you. Your employees will follow your lead. Hire people who can provide good service and treat them well. Communicate the importance of providing good service and recognize them when they do.

These are simple things and can easily be overlooked. These basic behaviors transcend industries and jobs. I have had just as much poor service from highly skilled executives as I have had from less skilled workers. It really doesn’t matter what you do – these are basic behaviors that will help overcome other difficulties in a business relationship and command higher margins.

Make a list of these things and focus on them for 30 days. You may be surprised with the positive results you see from the change in your behavior.

Mark Feinberg

Managing Partner

Blue Jay Consulting, LLC

Mark’s career includes sales, marketing and management consulting positions with Baxter Healthcare Corp., Allegiance Healthcare, MCI WorldCom, and Cardinal Health Consulting and Services.

Prior to founding Blue Jay Consulting, he served as vice president at Cardinal, where he oversaw the continuum of consulting services offered by the company throughout the Southeastern United States. An active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and trained as an emergency medical ambulance technician, Mark holds a master’s degree in business from the Johns Hopkins University.

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How to Keep Customers Coming Back

by Lee Reams

Building value in a business has a direct correlation with the value you generate through your most important asset–your customers. These are the customers you have now and the ones you will have in the future.

What can you do to keep these client relationships intact, and how can you turn them into active referral sources?

Leading businesses have figured out how to use client retention marketing techniques to keep their customers longer, while growing them into bigger customers, generating more word-of-mouth referrals and providing a highly-efficient service. By making these techniques part of your long-term business strategy, you are taking the first step towards keeping your clients for life.

It always amazes me that when talking about growth and building long-term business models, so many businesses forget to focus on their current audience before moving on to acquire new customers. Just think about your own experiences after buying a new product or trying a new service and the support that follows. Today’s bottom line culture has definitely lost sight of client retention and appreciation. After a bad experience, what are the chances that you refer that company? Will you leave at the first opportunity? These are the things to consider and avoid. With a little effort, there are many ways to guarantee a positive customer experience.

Don’t Drop the Ball After the Sale!

How many of you say “thank you” after a sale? Do you have a systematic program that includes regular follow-up contacts to make sure everything is going smoothly? Or are the customers just passed off to a call center to fend for themselves? The period after the sale of a new product or service will reinforce the buyer’s beliefs about your company and service. This is the beginning of whether they become your greatest ambassadors or detractors. Exceeding their expectations post-sale gives people a positive reason to talk about your products and services. An example would be to develop a three-contact, follow-up program over a six-week period. The first communication should be more of a “thank you” and “we are here if you need us” contact. The second and third follow-up could be more educational, like case studies.

Communicate to Your Current Buyers on a Regular Basis

It is by educating and maintaining contact with your audience that your business will reach its greatest heights. At ClientWhys, we recommend that you communicate with your core audience at least six times a year. Depending on your market, monthly contact is generally preferred. But make it something valuable. Either with special offers or educational material that could be used to improve the way they use your product or service. Our best results come from educational materials that are not directly selling our product or service. Examples of ongoing client retention marketing include client newsletters, direct mail coupon offers, white papers, webinars, membership clubs and customer service follow-up calls.

Why Talking Points Are So Important in Client Retention

Why is it that some politicians are so accomplished at breaking down complex issues into simple words or sentences? Why are these politicians usually elected? By developing your own set of talking points about your product or service and repeatedly using them in your client retention programs, you enforce your brand message. It is more likely that your customer base will repeat this message to their peers. What do you think of when I mention Apple® Computers? Since the word “computer” was removed from their company name, they have effectively repositioned themselves as a lifestyle provider of electronics. They have taken products that are sold as commodities by their competitors and effectively created the leading brand in their space. More importantly, their products sell at a premium. Think of using some of that magic on your own products or services. Develop talking points and use them repeatedly. When you are tired of using them, your message is just starting to make its impact.

Make it Personal and Market by Name

A lot has been written about personalizing your marketing communications. Without listing the results of different studies, let’s just use some common sense. You are much more driven to respond to being called out by name in marketing communications. Better yet, by targeting the message and the sales pitch to the historical purchases of a buyer, you will yield much higher response rates than a “one message fits all” approach. At ClientWhys, we personalize every e-mail promotion with the client’s name, and even personalize the message with product images that relate to the individual. In testing, we have at least doubled every promotion that was personalized. Variable printing and
e-mail technology make it easier than you think to personalize.

By focusing first on your customer and client retention, you are on your way to implementing marketing programs that empower your customers to share their positive experiences. It is by addressing your current customers first that will create a positive voice and word-of-mouth testimonials. Businesses can work hard to deliver customer experiences that are beyond their expectations, but it is by listening to your customers and the fostering of influential ambassadors that your business will generate positive buzz about the good qualities of your product or service.

Lee Reams II is the President of ClientWhys, a nationwide publisher of educational material for tax and financial professionals and their clients. Lee’s company has assisted over 40,000 small businesses to more effectively communicate with their customers.

Lee can be reached at lee2.reams@clientwhys.com.

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